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Two archaeologists with the S.C. Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology at USC took part in a Sept. 21 unveiling ceremony for a monument at Santa Elena on Parris Island designating the site as a National Historic Landmark.
Stanley South and Chester DePratter, research professors with the institute, helped unveil the marker that designates the area as a significant part of the nation’s past.
Also taking part in the ceremonies were John Tucker, superintendent of the Fort Sumter National Monument, and Brig. Gen. Richard Tryon, commanding general of Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
“This is a major archaeological site in American history and we’re pleased to see it’s been made a National Historic Landmark Site,” South told the Beaufort Gazette.
The area was a focal point of competition for control of the region between Spain, France, and England during the 16th century, said DePratter. Though claimed by Spain, he added, the first Europeans to actually settle on what is now Parris Island were Frenchmen under Jean Ribault.
They occupied an installation named Charlesfort from 1562 to 1563 but abandoned it, only to have the Spanish arrive in 1566 to reclaim the land and make it the capital of Spanish Florida. The Spanish were forced out by Indians in 1576 and when they returned a year later, held the area as a military outpost until 1587 when they pulled back to St. Augustine after Englishman Sir Francis Drake sacked and burned the town, which by then had become Florida’s capital.
Though the site was made a National Historic Landmark because of the French Charlesfort and the Santa Elena occupations, the roughly 40 acres also were occupied by Indians more than 10,000 years ago, DePratter said. During the colonial era, plantations occupied the area.
South and DePratter discovered evidence of both French Charlesfort and Santa Elena on the land, and they have conducted archeological digs there for 25 and 15 years, respectively.
The National Historic Register is maintained by the National Park Service and lists some 2,200 registered sites in the nation. Designations are given to buildings, districts, and battlefields significant to the nation’s past to give them greater protection and raise awareness of them for visitors. The Santa Elena site is the 76th S.C. site to be designated.
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Stanley South, left, and Chester DePratter performed archaeological studies at Santa Elena that led to the area’s designation as a National Historic Landmark. 
