SOUTH CAROLINA Heading down to Beaufort? It sure is a beaut

Full of Southern charm, the town offers a bounty of seafood and sweets.
By REBECCA SLOAN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
BEAUFORT, S.C. -- If you ever travel down yonder to South Carolina and visit the charming town of Beaufort, y'all better be careful how you pronounce the town's name.
It's Beau-fort as in beau-tiful and don't you forget it!
By no means should it ever be pronounced Beau-fort so that the first syllable rhymes with the kind of bow you tie in your shoelace or the kind of beaux girls intend to marry.
Pronounce it wrong, and you're sure to get your cotton-pickin‚ mouth corrected, thank you very much!
Now that we've got that out of the way, I will tell you why Beaufort is such a wonderful place to visit.
Quite simply, Beaufort oozes with good, old-fashioned Southern charm.
It's got so much Southern charm that it has been chosen as the setting for 20 quintessentially Southern-flavored films, including such big screen favorites as "Forrest Gump," "The Prince of Tides" (author Pat Conroy is a Beaufort native) and "Something To Talk About," which starred Julia Roberts.
One of the best
Beaufort has also been declared one of the best places to live in the book "The 50 Best Small Southern Towns" and has been selected as a "distinctive destination" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
It's no surprise that Beaufort has been recognized for its rich history.
This town's roots stretch all the way back to 1562 when a band of French Huguenot soldiers tried to start a colony on nearby Parris Island.
By the 1750s, Beaufort was home to scores of wealthy planters who cultivated indigo, Sea Island cotton and Lowcountry rice. (Beaufort is part of the region in South Carolina that's called the Lowcountry.)
In their heyday before the Civil War, Beaufort's planters were among the richest men on the continent, owning hundreds of acres and hundreds of slaves.
Many of these slaves were Gullahs -- a group of blacks who populated the Sea Islands of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
The Gullahs developed their own dialect and unique folkways, and many of their traditions helped shape the culture of the old South.
About the old South
And if it's the old South you want to get a glimpse of, Beaufort is sure to deliver.
Even today, Beaufort seems to possess an unmistakable essence of the old South in its lifestyle and architecture.
Although many antebellum towns were destroyed during Sherman's infamous march to the sea, Beaufort survived unscathed.
As a result, the town's shady streets are lined with proud Dixie mansions that boast fat, Greek-revival-style pillars, open arms staircases and sprawling, outdoor porches designed for soaking up the sea breeze on a sultry summer evening.
Many of Beaufort's oldest homes are built from "tabby" -- a mixture of sand, oyster shells, lime and water.
Because it was so inexpensive and durable, "Beaufortonians" of yesteryear used tabby to construct churches, outbuildings, fences and stores.
Perhaps one of the best ways to get an introduction to Beaufort and see some of its grand, old homes is to take a horse-drawn wagon ride around town.
Hourlong carriage tours depart daily from the downtown boat marina and cost about $15 per adult and $7 per child.
History lessons
During the wagon ride, a tour guide will rattle off colorful facts about Beaufort's past and present.
You'll hear about Gullah superstitions; about the feud Barbra Streisand started with Beaufort residents while filming "The Prince of Tides"; and about a fellow who insisted that a shovel be placed in his coffin so he could dig his way out if he were buried alive.
That quirky gentleman is buried in the cemetery at St. Helena's Church, an Episcopal parish established in 1712.
After the carriage ride, you might want to take a ramble through St. Helena's cemetery.
Here, tangled vines of purple wisteria climb freely among wrought-iron gates and fascinating old headstones shaded by palm trees and ancient live oaks.
If you're from the north, you might be surprised to find a rebel flag planted proudly on the sunken grave of a forgotten Confederate soldier, and you'll soon realize that the southern perspective on the War Between the States isn't quite the same as the northern perspective, even today.
If history isn't your bag, perhaps nature is, and if so, Beaufort will not disappoint you.
Nature's beauty
Freshwater rivers flow slowly toward the ocean to form tidal creeks and marshes teeming with wildlife.
While driving to or from Beaufort, you're sure to see a few snowy egrets creeping gingerly through tall, greenish-brown grasses in search of a meal, and you might even spot a shrimp boat similar to the one captained by Forrest Gump as it chugs off into a tranquil orange sunset.
Shrimping and crabbing are a way of life in the Lowcountry, and boating and fishing are year round pastimes in the mild climate.
If you're into fishing, you can cast your lines for redfish, spotted sea trout, flounder, mackerel, ladyfish or sheep head, just to name a few. Just be mindful of the tides. Beaufort County tides can reach levels of 10 feet or more and wreak havoc for a novice.
If you don't want to reel in your own dinner, rest assured that Beaufort abounds with plenty of great restaurants where seafood is served up with style.
Oysters, shrimp, fish and crab legs are as plentiful as they are delicious.
Sweet treats
And travelers with a sweet tooth won't want to miss the ice cream at Brusters, Southern Sweets or Berry Island at Newpoint.
Diehard choco-holics will surely want to visit The Chocolate Tree, Beaufort's chocolate factory on Carteret Street where even the seashells are made of chocolate.
Beaufort is also hub for fine arts and culture and has more than a dozen fine art galleries, a dance theater and several local theater troupes that perform "Lowcountry Shakespeare." Beaufort's Penn Center also houses a museum of Gullah and black history.
Well, one could go on and on about beau-tiful Beaufort but to really capture the essence of this charming, old Southern town, you'll just have to visit there yourself.
XFor more information about Beaufort, visit destinationbeaufort.com on the Web or call the Greater Beaufort Chamber of Commerce at (843) 986-5400.