Local tours can be like brushing away a layer of beach sand, hoping something marvelous appears. Usually it's ordinary, too often disappointing, but during a long overdue, impromptu weekend in Beaufort, S.C., we met Evelene Stevenson of The Spirit of Old Beaufort, which may be an apt description for the owner and chief guide.
During a three-hour van ride, we reviewed the circumstances that led to the settlement of Beaufort and its role as the heart of South Carolina Lowcountry plantation life, the barrier islands' influence on commerce, the impact and ramifications of slavery and the influence the area played on American history during and after the Revolutionary War and the 19th century "unpleasantness."
We visited the site of plantation that emerged as one of the wealthiest on Saint Helena Island including a stop at a slave cemetery where it's believed bodies are stacked three deep because of the size of the plot and we backed out the gate to keep the spirits from leaving on our shoulders. We took pictures at the gate to the "big house" and along the avenue of oaks, visited a reconstructed "praise house" where we sang spirituals and listened to Gullah dialogue.
We drove through Hunting Island state park with its magnificent lush undergrowth that served as backdrops for a number of feature films, walked a bridge over a thick, emerald swamp hoping for a glance of an gator -- just a glance -- but not luck. We ambled to the beach on a cool, clear day and looked back at the light house which requires sturdy knees to negotiate the 188 steps.
We drove through Penn Center School which was created to educate slaves and slave children after the Union invaded the islands within a year after the start of the war, and visited the remains of a church built in 1740 that used oyster shells in its construction.
Through it all Evelene maintained a steady stream of storylines and anecdotes and songs, of quips and quotes she accumulated in 20 years of sponging up the region's history, frequently speaking in vernacular, almost slipping into character. It was evident she loves sharing what she has learned, and it was hard to leave because there were still so many questions, but it was clear Evelene was the Spirit of Beaufort -- old and new.