Cultural Landscape Report: Old Beaufort Firehouse, Reconstruction Era National Historical Park
WLA Studio. 2023. Cultural Landscape Report: Old Beaufort Firehouse, Reconstruction Era National Historical Park. Cultural Landscape Report. National Park Service. Atlanta, Georgia
This Cultural Landscape Report (CLR) is for the Old Beaufort Firehouse unit of Reconstruction Era National Historical Park in downtown Beaufort, South Carolina. Though the Old Beaufort Firehouse does not relate directly to the Reconstruction era, it is located in the heart of downtown Beaufort, where much of the activity related to the period transpired. The Old Beaufort Firehouse was built in 1912, initially serving as a municipal market. It was converted to a firehouse in 1916 and functioned in that way into the 1980s. Following that time, the site was used as an events space, restaurant, bookstore, and coffeehouse. Today it is used as a visitor contact station for Reconstruction Era National Historical Park. This CLR aims to synthesize our understanding of the cultural landscape of the site and offer recommendations to guide its future use. The site history section of this report organizes the site into periods of development. These periods reflect both broad themes in regional history as well as specific events related to the ownership of the project site. The Old Beaufort Firehouse is a contributing resource to the Beaufort Historic District, which has a period of significance of 1712-1950. Other units within Reconstruction Era National Historical Park are Brick Church, Darrah Hall, and Camp Saxton.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- WLA Studio
- Date of Issue
- 2023-09
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- REER , SER
- Keywords
- African American History, civil rights, Civil War, firefighting, firehouse, market, National Historic Landmark District, Penn Center, Port Royal Experiment, Reconstruction, visitor center