Consultants document 82 properties in Old Town Bluffton; seven earn state nod for National Register eligibility
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Summary
A Stantec survey of Old Town Bluffton documented 82 properties (106 resources), identified seven properties the state finds eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, and recommended that the town consider loosening local designation criteria to recognize up to 52 additional contributing properties.
A consultant team told the Town of Bluffton Historic Preservation Commission on Feb. 4 that an updated historic resources survey of Old Town Bluffton documented 82 properties encompassing 106 individual resources and identified multiple candidates for expanded local designation and National Register listing.
Stantec project manager Sandy Shannon and lead architectural historian Althea Wunderler Selby presented the results, describing the survey as standard practice and ‘‘a tool that municipalities can use to identify and record historic properties,’’ and said the work followed National Park Service‑recommended tasks including community outreach, historic context development, field documentation and post‑field analysis.
The survey team said the South Carolina Department of Archives and History has determined seven properties newly eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and that two previously determined eligible properties remain eligible. Three additional properties are pending because the state has requested more research. The consultants also reported that two properties previously listed as contributing have been demolished and that 13 properties were not visible from the road and require right‑of‑entry permission for full documentation.
Consultants named several specific resources and why they warrant recognition: the circa 1840 John A. Seabrook House as an example of the Lowcountry cottage form; the John J. Cole House and associated enslaved quarters for architectural and social‑history significance; the Elizabeth Sanders boarding house (‘‘7 Oaks’’) for its role in Bluffton’s boarding‑house tourism; the Jane H. and George S. Guilford House for its association with a rare woman physician who practiced in rural Southern Beaufort County; the Planters Mercantile as the town’s oldest extant commercial building; the Cyrus Garvin Garvey House as an early freedman‑constructed dwelling; and the Bluffton Oyster Company for its economic role and later operation by the Bluffton Oyster Cooperative.
Stantec recommended the town obtain right of entry to document the 13 May River properties that were not visible from the road and suggested that if the town adopts less‑stringent local designation criteria than it currently uses (the 2021 ordinance that tightened local contributing criteria), up to 52 additional properties could be designated as contributing to the local historic district. The consultants emphasized that National Register eligibility decisions rest with the state and the National Park Service; consultants make recommendations but do not make final determinations.
Commissioners asked for a copy of the 52‑property list; the consultants agreed to provide it. The consultants also invited any members of the public with additional information or oral histories to submit that material before the final report is filed. Stantec said the final deliverables will be revised to incorporate town and state comments and the report is expected to go to the town council for possible adoption in March.
Next steps: consultants will incorporate comments from the town and the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, complete any additional research requested by the state, and finalize the survey and forms for submittal. Town staff and the town council will decide which recommendations, if any, to adopt locally.
