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	Helen Barnwell Composition, May 1855, "Description of Beaufort [S.C.] in 1855"     A gift to the SCL Manuscripts Division announced in 2003 | Gifts to Manuscripts 2003 | Front Page 2003 | Endowments | Friends of the Library |
	Manuscript, May 1855, schoolgirl’s composition entitled “Description of Beaufort in 1855,” by Helen Barnwell, describes Beaufort as the oldest town in South Carolina with mention of the native American presence there before English colonization and the beauty of the town’s homes, gardens, and surrounding woodlands. Among its other attractions, the composition notes, are recreational activities on the Port Royal or Beaufort River, streets paved with oyster shells, the ruins of Old Fort, and the proliferation of churches. “Beaufort is surrounded by woods except the front where a pretty river runs and in the spring it is delightful to take an early morning drive and look at the beautiful trees and wild flowers,” Barnwell wrote. “Beaufort really can make one happy,” she concluded, and “it is such a pleasing place I am sure nobody ought to be discontented in that place. Who ever is ought not to live here.”

This page updated 16 Jan. 2004 Comments: Contact SCL Copyright © 2004, The University of South Carolina. URL http://www.sc.edu/library/socar/uscs/2003/barn03.html

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