Daufuskie
History
English Captain, William Hilton, sailed to what is now the
South Carolina coast; in his log My Voyage to
Carolina
Coast 1644, he wrote “the air is clear and sweet, the country very pleasant and delightful, we wish that all they, wanting a happy settlement, were well transported here.” 1664
Yemassee Indians arrived at
Daufuskie
Island
Island and replaced the peaceful Cusabo Indians.
1664
First known British Land Grant of Daufuskie Island given to Thomas Cowte on 15th of November. 1707
Like the Yemassee, Indian allies of the Spanish were rewarded for raiding English settlements up the coast. During one such raid on Daufuskie, a patrol of English scouts surprised an Indian party near the Southern tip of the
Island. The deadly skirmish earned the land a name it holds to this day - Bloody Point. 1715
Daufuskie Tory Loyalists staged an attack on Hilton Head’s Skull Creek Plantations. In retaliation, Revolutionary War Patriots of Hilton Head formed the Bloody Legion and ambushed homes on
Daufuskie
Island. 1781
John Stoddard married Mary Mongin, granddaughter of wealthy Daufuskie planter, “Money” Mongin. While on their honeymoon in Scotland, they were enchanted by the gardens at Melrose Abbey in the small town of Melrose. 1836
Melrose Mansion was completed on the Stoddard-Mongin Plantation. 1848
The
First
Union
African
Baptist
Church was erected.
1881
Melrose Mansion withstood the Great Storm of 1893 but the flower gardens are destroyed.
1893
In the early 1900’s,
Daufuskie
Island was at the height of its prosperity. The
Island’s economy flourished with the sale of Sea Island cotton, indigo, lumber, farm goods and oysters.
1900
Fire destroyed
Melrose
Mansion.
1912
The boll weevil brought an end to the Daufuskie cotton industry, the oyster industry prospers.
1920
The Great Depression forced many residents to leave the
Island in search of work. Three hundred residents remained to work the
Island’s oyster canneries.
1930
During World War II, it became necessary to guard the shorelines of the east coast. United States Coast Guardsmen were stationed at
Melrose and lived in the “Boat House”.
1943
The pollution of the
Savannah River forced the closing of hundreds of oyster canneries.
1950
The Stoddard brothers, Dan and Henry III, sold
Melrose’s 700 acres. The Stoddard reign of
Daufuskie
Island ended.
1971
The movie Conrack, based on Pat Conroy’s book, The Water is Wide, was filmed on the
Island.
1974
Developers established the Melrose Club.
1987
The Bloody Point Club was established by Club Corp.
1991
Daufuskie was established as a result of the merger of
Melrose and Bloody Point Clubs.
1997
Tiburon Hospitality Management acquired the Daufuskie Island Resort and Breathe Spa.
2002
