eferred to in early texts as "The Gullah-Geechie Coast" and more recently as "Carolina's Treasured Coast", the area surrounding the town of Beaufort is one of the prettiest settings in America -- one that also played an important role in the Revolutionary War. Under the command of General Moultrie, it was here that the American colonial army defeated the British in The Battle of Port Royal Island.

Between Beaufort and the open ocean, tidal waters carve channels linking more than 60 large and small islands, including Lady's Island, Coosaaw, Judge, Cat, Cane, Gibbs, St. Helena, Dataw, Distant, Harbor, Hunting and Fripp. The vistas as one cruises by car or boat along these barrier islands is magnificent. Where once stately plantations cultivated rice, long stem cotton, tobacco and indigo from this rich coastal soil, now farming and fishing hamlets dot the terrain providing fresh produce from the land and sea. State parks fronting on pristine Atlantic Ocean beaches are within a half hour's drive of Beaufort. Additionally, resorts with world-class golf courses and exclusive private communities attract vacationers, retirees and new residents from around the world. A bubbling cosmopolitan, sophisticated yet comfortably small town atmosphere has evolved here, steeped in genuine historical relevance and Southern tradition. As a place to live it is unique, exceptional, and endlessly entertaining. Little wonder that Southern Living Magazine has cited it as "one of the South's best small towns to live" in each of the past two years.