Darrah Hall: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Reconstruction Era National Historic Park
IR 2 Cultural Landscapes Program. 2024. Darrah Hall: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Reconstruction Era National Historic Park. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 976298. National Park Service. NPS Southeast Regional Office / CRIS-CL Database
This Cultural Landscapes Inventory report documents Darrah Hall, one of four Reconstruction Era National Historic Park sites in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Located within the Penn Center Historic District, Darrah Hall is a 3.75-acre historic site that was added to the park to preserve and interpret “the resources and complex national stories of Reconstruction—African Americans’ quest for freedom, the challenges resulting from the abolition of slavery, and the struggles to redefine the nation during and after the Civil War.” The land upon which Darrah Hall was constructed was at the center of the country’s first programs designed to redefine African American life in the United States (U.S.)—the Port Royal Experiment. The building itself served generations of African Americans as part of the Penn Center campus. Penn Center, formerly Penn School, is the first African American educational institution that arose during the early years of the Civil War on U.S. Army-occupied St. Helena Island. SIGNIFICANCE SUMMARY The historic significance of Darrah Hall cultural landscape is tied to both the overall Reconstruction Era and the Port Royal Experiment, as well as to Penn Center. While not individually listed in the National Register, Darrah Hall is a contributing resource to the Penn Center Historic District. The district’s period of significance is 1850-1924. In reflection of Darrah Hall’s association with the history Penn School (established in 1862) and its important community function well into the twentieth century, this CLI applies an 1862 - 1972 period of significance to the site. The Darrah Hall building was relocated to the cultural landscape in the early 1970s and is not its original location, which was in the center of the Penn Center campus. The site along with its principal cultural resource, Darrah Hall, was until recently owned by the Penn Center and is directly associated with that institution’s history. Today, the building sits on an edge of a broad, undeveloped field and is used as a visitor contact station and interpretive area.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- IR 2 Cultural Landscapes Program
- Date of Issue
- 2024-08-26
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- REER , SER
- Keywords
- African American history, civil rights, Civil War, contact station, education, National Historic Landmark, Old Fort, Penn Center, Penn Center Historic District, Penn School, Port Royal Experiment, reconstruction, relocated structure, school
- Subjects
- NPS.gov Subject Site: Cultural Landscapes , NPS.gov Subject Site: Reconstruction Era