Hilton Head Island

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Hilton Head Island
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Please accept this certificate for a wonderful vacation getaway as a token of our esteem and gratitude, a very special gift to you from PhoneSmart and Royalty Universe! For a very nominal processing fee of $15 and the hotel room tax between $7 and $12 per night you will enjoy luxury accommodations for 2 at your choice of 24 fantastic resort destinations. There are no time share presentations or sales pitches of any kind connected with this offer. Just follow the instructions to make your reservations and get ready to un wind, relax and have fun!

Picture a special place warmed by Gulf Stream tropical breezes with 12 miles of ivory sand beaches lapped by the beautiful azure blue Atlantic waters. Hilton Head Island has long a been the destination of choice for visitors from around the world.

The golf course on Hilton Head may be legendary but tennis, water sports, shopping, historic tours, arts, family programs and gourmet fine dining beckon to every visitor. A sunset cruise aboard a dolphin watch ship not only will allow to the spot the Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins swimming, playing and feeding with the tide but you will marvel at the beauty of the sunset as the sun slips behind the verdant salt marsh.

Hilton Head Island features state of the art meeting facilities that accommodate form ten to 2,000 people and feature every convenience for a productive conference. Other accommodations are flexible and ad the rich diversity of activities to the natural beauty makes it a nearly perfect destination for business and fun. Two airports serve the Island When you visit Hilton Head Island you will find that the only thing warmer than our temperature is our welcome.

Hilton Head Island was the first Eco-planned destination in the United States. The 12 mile long and 5 mile Wide Island lying on the Intracoastal Waterway. The Island’s natural environment is pristine and the atmosphere is relaxing and hospitable. Signage is very subtle and there are no neon lights. There are championship golf course, tennis courts, fine restaurants and luxurious hotels, resorts and private villa accommodations intersperses with fertile salt marshes, networks of lagoons and creeks, forest of moss draped oaks, magnolias, pines, and palmettos.

Approx imately 31,000 permanent residents welcome 2.5 million visitors annually with accommodations from luxury resorts to a quaint bed and breakfast in the heart of town.

In addition to sporting events and water sports a flourishing cultural community of fine art, music and theatrical venues offers exhibits, galleries and performance. The Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, Hilton Head Playhouse, Repertory Theatre, Hilton Head Orchestra, Hilton Head Dane School, Coastal Discovery Museum and the cole-Heyward House Historic Center offer a year around palette of the arts.

The crown jewel of the cultural community is the BRAVO-Celebrate the Arts month long festival. Sponsored by the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce’s Arts and Cultural committee more than 25 area groups and organizations work together in May bringing an array of arts and cultural activities to the Low country. Area hotels, restaurants, the Hospitality Association, school, historical organizations and the South Carolina Artisan’s Center also participate.

There are over 250 restaurants on Hilton Head Island offer major ethnic cuisine including French, German, Italian, Caribbean, Japanese, Greek, Chinese, Thai, and Mexican and all American and Southern style fare. The local seafood is famous.

Shopping is as extravagant as all the rest. 200 shops, from elegant boutiques and art galleries to an indoor mall with major department store and specialty shops. Nearby Bluffton offers two outlet malls.

The ethereal beauty of the beach and ocean draw many couples wishing to be married on the beach. In order to be married on the beach you must have a permit from the Town of Hilton Head Island. Requirements are posted on their website www.hiltonheadislandsc.gov.

You will also need a marriage license. Both applicants must apply in person and the Probate Court Office at the Beaufort County courthouse in the government Center on the corner Ribult Rd and US Hwy 21 during their office hours. Marriage licenses can also be obtained on Hilton Head Island at the Satellite count Offices across from the First Presbyterian Church. The judge is available only on Wednesday and Fridays by advance appointment only.

The license does not have an expiration date but it is preferred that you use it within three months. It may be used statewide as a license purchased in any county can be used in any other.

Valid picture ID and Social security numbers are required and the minimum age for applicants is 18 without parental consent and 16 with parental consent. The cost of the license is $50 to $95 depending on the residency status of applicants.
This must be paid in cash in the exact amount. No blood test is required but there is a 24 hour waiting period. The ceremony may be performed by minister of Notary Public as there are no Justices of the Peace in South Carolina.

Hilton Head is more than just another resort. Her rich history dates back 10,000 plus years to a time when Paleo-Indians roamed the area call the Low country. Shell Ring Sites from the Archaic Period 8,000- 2,000 BC were left by the Woodland Indians who subsisted on the rich bounty of the waterways.

The written History of Helton head Island began in 1526 with the Spanish explorations... Rich deposits of archaeological treasures from this era are still being unearthed. The French Huguenots built a fort near the present town of Port Royal but in 1566 the Spanish again prevailed establishing For Santa Elena in Paris Island. In 1586 England’s Elizabeth I sent Sir Francis Drake to develop the area but it was not until 1663 when King Charles granted the Coastal area to 8 Lord Proprietors that development began. They named the territory “Carolina”.

English Captain William Hilton sighted the bluffs of these islands while exploring the Port Royal Sound in 1663. He named the island for himself and lingered several days making note of the sweet water and clear sweet air. By 1766 25 families lived on the Island.

During the Revolutionary war the British burned plantation on the Island and captured slaves who were later sold in the West Indies. The recovery period after the war was the "Golden Age" as cotton, indigo and rice crops flourished. Large and airy houses much like the pillared mansion of romantic novels were built but not for owners. Lavish townhouses were kept in Beaufort or Savannah, or even Charleston. Many of these splendid homes remaining are in use today. The War of 1812 once again disrupted life on the Island as the British invaded and burned many homes. When that war ended the booming economy returned.

At the beginning of the Civil War South Carolina was the 1st state to secede from the Union. The Union navy survived a hurricane off Cape Hatteras and circled the Sound firing at all settlements. By noon on Nov 7th the Confederate battle for the area was lost.

Blacks in the area were pressed into service to work in the transfer of wounded troops and supplies. They were formed into the first Black troops in the Union. During that time their children attended schools and the lived in housing built especially for the freedmen for the duration the war. After Lee's surrender the Federal troops departed and the small city disappeared. The island was left to nature and the slaves. Hilton Head Island was forgotten. Small communities of former slave sprang up consisting of farmers, fishermen, basket weavers, and fishnet makes. Summer was for farming and winter was for harvesting oysters and blue crab were caught in the fall.

"Gullah", a blend of slave, native, cadence, and Elizabethan English was spoken here. This rich culture developed over the years of slavery, survives to this day. As interest in the history of African Americans on Hilton Head grows more evidence of their lifestyle is being preserved.

Leamington Lighthouse was the site of Camp MC Dougal during WW2. Relics of emplacements are still visible south of the Hyatt Hotel as they shift with the tides. These join Indian relics and landmarks of the Revolution and Civil War.

Electricity arrived in 1951 and a telephone was installed in 1960. Dirt roads gave way to paved roads and beautiful bridges replaced ferry service accessing the Island. Rapid growth began in 1970 and today this beautiful island continues to offer visitor and resident a beautiful oasis.

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