Historic Beaufort Foundation’s Fall Festival of Houses and Gardens provides a very rare vantage point in a selection of private homes representing three centuries of Beaufort architecture normally not open to the public. The event shows off the Beaufort style. This year’s event is scheduled for October 21st and October 22nd.
Just as Charleston and Savannah developed a unique individual styles of residential architecture in the early years of the 18th Century, so did their smaller neighbor located between the two on Port Royal Island in the Old Beaufort District. South Carolina’s second oldest town, Beaufort founded in 1711, did not grow as fast as the two larger more urban towns did but was just as strategically settled on a bend in the Beaufort River.
“The Fall Festival of Houses & Gardens is the best time to experience Beaufort’s extraordinary setting and architecture as gracious property owners open their private homes and exquisite gardens to public view.” said Cynthia Jenkins, executive director of Historic Beaufort Foundation. “To witness the interiors of these houses and to walk their gardens is truly magical.”
The Beaufort style reflects the rural setting of the new town laid out following the natural bends of the river as it wraps around Beaufort’s famous Point Neighborhood. Sometimes referred to by architectural historians as a “plantation style come to town.” Beaufort’s architectural heritage clearly reflects both topographic and climatic conditions with key design elements that ensured more comfort in the sub-tropical climate of the Lowcountry.
Historic Beaufort Foundation’s annual Fall Festival of Houses and Gardens offers the unique opportunity to visit inside private houses, gardens and country estates. The event allows attendees to experience the charm and character of our 18th Century town and explore the architecture and setting of our National Historic Landmark.
The festival offers two different tours as well as a luncheon, on two different days.
The Saturday tour will lead visitors through an historic and architectural timeline dating from the 19th century and into the economic recovery of the early 20th Century. Saturday highlights include the George Moss Stoney House, built ca. 1823 and remodeled in the 1840s; the Berners Barnwell Sams House, #1, ca. 1810; the Joseph Hazel House, ca. 1815-1820; and First African Baptist Church, ca. 1861.
Another highlight is the John Mark Verdier House, which underwent a comprehensive exterior renovation in 2021 followed by a rare restoration in 2023 of the Federal Period door surround and entrance.
Tickets for Saturday’s tour are $65 for HBF members and $75 for non-members. The tour is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 21.
Sunday’s tour and Southern brunch will showcase Pick Pocket [Plantation], a 15-acre farmstead and former plantation nestled among pecan trees and mature live oaks less than half a mile from one of Beaufort’s busiest intersections.
This property, which was the center of one of the Lowcountry’s earliest truck farming properties, includes the impressive ca.1905 farmhouse with wraparound piazzas, a barn and packing shed now transformed for use as an event venue that maintains the property’s rich agricultural character and history. Join us for a rare glimpse at this important phase of Beaufort’s early 20th century economy and way of life.
Tickets to the Sunday event are $130 for members and $150 for non-members of HBF. The Sunday brunch and tour are from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Visit this link to get your tickets, and to see Beaufort like you haven’t before.
