A City Called Beaufort... and Beyond

 Carol and I are learning a lot more about history that occurred in the South. A short drive from MCRD Parris Island is a small town called Beaufort, with a lot of history to invite visitors to see.

Like most small towns, they have small streets that were not designed for large vehicles, thank the Lord there were public parking lots. Our first stop was across the street to see a church and monument.

Here is the Tabernacle Baptist Church. It became a black members church after the white members of the church evacuated due to federal occupation in 1861. This church was also believed to have been a stopping point for a raid into the South, which reportedly brought back nearly 800 slaves. One of Beaufort's prominent black gentlemen is buried next to the church. The gentleman that is buried here on church grounds is none other than Robert Smalls. You are probably asking yourself... why is he so

important. Let's take a good amount of time and talk about Robert Smalls. (The photo is courtesy of Florida PBS.)

He was born in Beaufort as a slave in 1839, behind his owners (McKee family) city house. His mother worked in the city house, but grew up working in the fields. Robert was treated different from the other slave children, its assumed that he may have been a child from one of the McKees, or their plantation manager. Because he was being favored, his mother wanted him to see the horrors slaves dealt with everyday, so she arranged for him to work in the fields one day, and he watched slaves at the "whipping post."

The lesson made the impression Lydia was hoping for, only it made it too well... he frequently found himself in the Beaufort jail. His mom's love drove her to ask the McKees to rent him out to people in Charleston. He worked several jobs in the city, but his best educational experiences came from the waterfront. Robert became one of the most knowledgeable persons regarding Charleston harbor.

Because of his knowledge of the harbor, Robert earned his job on the ship Planter. While working on the Planter he met his wife to be. The two received permission from their owners to marry, and move into an apartment together; they had two children. Knowing that there was no guarantee they would stay together, he asked his wife's owner if he could buy his family, her owner agreed... for $800.00. Robert only had $100.00, and wondered how long it would take to earn the other $700.00. This is the point where a seed is planted, creating a memorable time in history. 

Robert Smalls and the captain of the Planter could have been considered brothers, if it wasn't for the fact that the captain was white. Robert knew that his and his families freedom could only come from the sea, so he told his wife to be ready when the opportunity arose. From here we will read the event according to Navy records.

The opportunity came the night of 12 May 1862. Once the boat's officers went ashore, he confided his plan to his fellow slaves, because the plan was an extreme risk, some of the slaves didn't participate. 

At 0200 (2:00am) 13 May, Robert dawned the captain's straw hat and ordered the skeleton crew to "put up" the boilers, and hoist the Confederate colors, and ease from the dock. They steamed past General Ripley's headquarters, and paused at the West Atlantic Wharf to pick up his family and other men, women and children.

At 0325 the Planter accelerates. Robert pilots the boat, blowing the boat's whistle when they passed Confederate forts Johnson and Sumter at 0415 coolly, as if General Ripley was onboard. Robert Small was so smooth... his movements emulated those of the actually captain of the boat. According to the Confederate Aide-de-Campe, the boat was the "guard boat", and allowed to pass without interruption.

Once they neared the Union blockade, Smalls ordered the Palmetto and Rebel flags be lowered, and a white bed sheet be raised. Unfortunately they were almost fired upon, but in the nick of time someone noticed the white sheet, and the boat was not fired upon. Robert Smalls turned the Planter over to the Union.

Because Smalls was not able to purchase his family, and his bravery, Congress in 1862, passed a private bill authorizing the Navy to appraise the Planter, and award Smalls and his crew proceeds for "rescuing her from the enemies of the government."  Smalls received $1,500.00 as his share.

In the North Robert Smalls became a hero. He personally lobbied the Secretary of War to enlist black soldiers. In October 1862 Smalls returned to the Planter as the pilot, and part of Admiral DuPont's South Atlantic Blockade Squadron.

According to the 1883 Naval Affairs Committee report, Smalls was engaged in 17 military actions, which included the assault on Fort Sumter in April 1863. Two months later he assumed command of the Planter when it was under attack with "very hot fire" from the enemy. The reason he took command was because the white captain of the boat hid in the "coal bunker", demoralized. Because of his actions, Smalls was promoted to Captain, making him the highest paid black soldier in the war.

After the war Robert did not fall back on his laurels. Do you remember that $1,500.00 award he received for turning over the Planter, well, part of that money went to buying the manor he was born at. He pushed the boundaries of freedom, serving in the South Carolina state assembly and senate, and five non-consecutives terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1874-1886). Unfortunately all his efforts went down the tubes in South Carolina, because in 1895 the state rolled backed back reconstruction efforts, stripping all blacks of their political rights. With the rise of "Jim Crow" laws, Smalls was a unyielding advocate for African-American political rights, stating "My race needs no special defense for the past history of them in this country. It proves them to be equal of any people anywhere. All they need is an equal chance in the battle of life."

Mr. Robert Smalls died in 1915 in the house he was born in, behind the manor.

That manor he bought, cost him $700.00 after the Civil War.  He was able to buy the home when it went up for auction due to unpaid taxes. Today it is estimated to be worth $1.2 Million.

So let's talk a little about Beaufort itself. During the war most whites moved away from Beaufort, and eventually lost their homes and plantations due non-payment of taxes. Many of these properties were bought by freedmen, who continued to farm the land, no longer with slave labor.

Cotton was still king in the south, just less profitable. Antebellum cotton was ginned in different locations than it was grown, and in the Reconstruction Era, cotton was ginned locally. The area supported other agricultural crops as well.

Phosphate mining became a big deal when it was discovered that the Coosaw River, running through Beaufort county, had an abundance of phosphate... and a boom began. It was first mined by freedmen diving down to the river's bottom, with a metal basket, mining as long as their breathe held out. Eventually machines took over, able to mine tons of rocks at a time, vice baskets at a time. For 20 years the Beaufort area was the leading producer of phosphate.

Another spot of industry that helped the area was the railroad. The Port Royal Railroad opened for business in 1873, and linking the Sea Islands to the mainland with an immediate impact. Local products, like timber and cotton could now be exported north, west, east, and to Europe. Imports like coal, and guano (fertilizer made from bird droppings) could now be carried across the United States and territories. Even during economics troubles the railroad carried passengers between Port Royal, South Carolina, and Augusta, Georgia for 50 years.

Remember that teaching a slave to read was illegal before the Civil War. Education was to change in this area as well, and the freedmen were eager to learn. Port Royal was about to become an experiment in education. In 1862, Missionaries were sent to teach, but before they could, they needed a school... that would have been the Penn School, which was one of the first schools for freemen... which we will visit later. The schools in the area flourished only because there were Union military near to protect them, and this protection was provided after the war as well.

Politics was another change in South Carolina, whether it wanted it or not. Robert Smalls was a big reason where the education system changed in South Carolina, and he could rightfully be called the "father of public education" in South Carolina. In the Constitutional Convention of 1868, in Charleston, he insisted that South Carolina educate its youth at public expense. Because he championed for public education, Beaufort led South Carolina in public education. It has been said that: "had the rest of South Carolina been as foresighted as Beaufort in offering education opportunities for all its citizens, it is likely the destitution which afflicted so much of the state would have been greatly reduced."

Across the street from the National Parks Visitor Center, is the Beaufort Arsenal. The original arsenal was erected in 1798. In 1802 the Beaufort Volunteer Artillery (B.V.A.) was commissioned; their roots stemmed back to the Revolutionary War.

The original arsenal was a single story facility made from brick and tabby material. The building in the photo is the 1862 reconstruction of the arsenal. During the Civil War, the B.V.A. was stationed in Fort Beauregard, at Bay Point. After the Union attacked and captured Port Royal Sound, they took control of all the contents, using them for the U.S. Army, Department of the South. The Union used the Arsenal to store quartermaster and ordnance supplies until the end of the war.

The first floor of the Arsenal accessible to visitors, is a gift shop. Part of the second floor is a museum exhibiting life on the Sea Islands. 

I didn't tell you that the English wanted a part of the action in Carolina too. Much of the east coast was considered La Florida, Spanish claimed land. England's first planting was Jamestown in 1607. The English established Charles Town (Charleston) in 1670. Merchants from Charles Town began taking their business further south in the early 1700s, and petitioned to establish a town protected by a fort. This is where Beaufort comes in the picture in 1706. The town was named after Henry Somerset... Duke of Beaufort.

The Beaufort District survived Indian attacks, gradually business and infrastructure grew, and out sprang the King's Highway, running from Boston to Savannah. From the 1740s to the Revolutionary War, the plantation owners made their fortunes from rice and indigo... off the backs of their African slaves, as seen below. In 1700 Carolina exported 12,000 pounds of rice, without slaves. Between 1706 to 1723, they imported 4,504 slaves, and their cotton increased to 18,000,000 

pounds of rice. With the slave  they continued to import up to 1769, the plantations were able to export 83,000,000 pounds of rice. Looking at the chart you can see that the cotton farmers weren't exactly hurting for funds either.  By 1865, they exported 15.6M pounds of cotton, raking in over $7.3M, on other people's backs. 

Circumstances did change some after the Civil War.

Leaving the museum, we walked around downtown. There are many historic buildings in the downtown area. One of the businesses that was recommended, was right up our alley... The Chocolate Tree. We walked in for a look, and walked out with two pounds of assorted dark chocolate morsels... but there is milk and white chocolate available too.

The Berean Church was founded in 1892 by Samuel J. Brampfield, who was an influential African-American politician during the Reconstruction. The congregation purchased the lot and built this church. In 1931 the building was purchased by the Beaufort Township Library, and converted to a segregated branch library for African-Americans. In 1965 the branch was closed when the Township Library was desegregated, and later used as the headquarters for the Neighborhood Youth Corps. In 1993 University of South Carolina, Beaufort, bought the building for use as an art studio.

Time to head back home, who knows where we will be tomorrow.

BREAK......BREAK.....BREAK.....BREAK

Today we are going to have fun, we are heading to the Kazoo Museum.

This place was great, they even have a guided tour. The tour starts with a video about the kazoo, and the manufacturing of kazoos.

These two photos are a look at the mold used to produce kazoos. After the video presentation one of the guides spoke about the different types of kazoos and accessories. After this part of the tour, we went to the back assembly area; production remains at their plant in Florida.

This is their assembly area, consisting of four stations. The first station selects the kazoo body and top colors chosen by the customer. The second station inserts a membrane in the body of the instrument, sealing it in with the cover piece. After the kazoo is assembled it

will move to one of two stations before boxing. If the kazoos do not require wording, it goes to one of the packaging machines. One machine packages them individually, the other in bulk packaging. The last station is a machine that labels the kazoo with the requested wording before it goes to packaging. One station

not mentioned was a station making the membranes in bulk production. Once the kazoos are finished, the order is boxed for shipment.

After the tour in the assembly area, visitors return to the museum for their opportunity to make their own kazoo. The purple and green kazoos are ones Carol and I made. Having made our kazoos, we moved to the museum.

The kazoo got its start in the 1880s, and looked more like a duck call.

At one point the kazoo was so popular, 10,000 were sold in one week in Rochester, New York. Over the years many styles of kazoos were manufactured. Are you ready to see a couple?

Bath-House Brass Flooglehorn, from Mattel, circa 1967.

Popeye Pipe, Northwestern Products, circa 1934.

Submarine Kazoo, circa early 1900s.

Dagwood Sandwich Kazoo, made by Midwest Corporation, circa 1947.

Saxophone Kazoo, circa 1950s.

It's not all about the kazoo... HA, it is too. So, 200 years ago there was no such thing as a kazoo... so where did it come from, let's look at a couple of theories.

Theory #1: Alabama Vest, and African-American, invented the kazoo, and built it with the help of German clockmaker, Thaddeus Von Clegg. They showed their instrument at the Georgia State Fair in 1852.

Reality: it came from an article in a British music magazine from 1951.

Theory #2: the kazoo was a popular instrument in ancient Egypt. The instrument was then lost for centuries before being discovered by archeologists among the ruins of the pyramids.

Reality: there were no kazoos found in any archeological digs. It appears to have been an advertising stunt in the 1880s.

Take a look at this American flag made by one of the employees during the COVID pandemic.

The stripes are made from kazoo bodies, and the blue field and stars is made of kazoo top pieces.

The kazoo became a phenomena, and still is today. Back in 1884 there were at least two songs written about the kazoo, one was titled "Fellow That Plays The Kazoo". In 1895, the man that patented the first kazoo, invents the Zobo, similar to the kazoo, but with a large brass

trumpet-like bell. in the first year of this invention, over a one hundred thousand were sold. Continuing on the timeline, we jump to the 1920s. Here is an excerpt from an August, 1927 issue of Popular Mechanics: "and for musicians, one need not have a single person in the band who can read one note of music...", and here is why. In 1927 a woman by the name of Lucy Maude Clanahan Smith, inspired by similar groups, created the Susie's Kitchen Kabinet Band. When I say created, that's what I mean. Without a lick of experience in soldering skills, she created the instruments her band used. Here is another excerpt from the Popular Mechanics article: "the instruments themselves are as varied as the ingenuity of the maker", detailing the saxophone made from " tin cans soldered together, with tin ice cream spoons as keys, a flour sifter at one end, and a kazoo at the other."

Lucy's band performed for charitable organizations, and later churches and schools requested their shows.

Lucy made and played her instruments, as well as renting them out to other groups around the country. The Susie's Kitchen Kabinet Band performed across America from the 1920s to the late 1950s. 

If you were around in 1948 you might remember this classic, Doo Dee Doo On An Old Kazoo. This song was hit for two different

musicians.

The 1950s saw a new genre of music in the United Kingdom, Skiffle, which was a genre in the folk music category. Skiffle was influenced with blues, jazz, and American folk music. It was generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade, or improvised instruments. You ask yourself, where does the kazoo come in... it was one of the improved instruments.

Kookie Kombo One Man Band, Marx 1960

1961 sees the kazoo make it to BROADWAY. That is correct... BROADWAY. In the play How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, kazoos were played by the orchestra, simulating electric razors in the song, I Believe in You. 

Mary Poppins fans would have heard kazoos in 1964 when the movie hit the theatres. Think back to the penguins, their antics were scored with kazoo.

1967 saw the Beatles getting into the kazoo act. They created a kazoo-like sound by wrapping toilet paper around combs, then using that sound in the recording of Lovely Rita, on the Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album.

Time for some more conspiracy theories.

Theory #3: the kazoo was based on African instruments made of bones or gourds with a stretched membrane of animal stomachs or spider egg sacks. By speaking or singing into these early instruments, the performer could alter their voice.

Reality: there are many records of early African instruments that look like kazoos and work very similarly.

Theory #4: the kazoo evolved from a 16th century French instrument called 'flute á I' oignon' or onion flute. The instrument got its name from the thin membrane, made from onion skin, that created a buzzing tone.

Reality: there is a three-foot onion flute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City from 1702, and works similar to a kazoo.

1999: Rick Hubbard, known as the "King of Kazoos" leads 30,000 kazoo players along with Weird Al Yankovic at Cincinnati's 24th Annual Oktoberfest Celebration.

2019:  

As seen in Bizarro Comic.

Also in 2019: Facebook premiers a commercial during the Grammy's featuring the International Kazoo Players Association, their membership soars from 500 members to over 8,000 in a few weeks time.

2020: socially distanced kazoo parades takes to the streets of Rochester, NY to spread cheer during the COVIDs pandemic.

This was a big find in the little town of Beaufort, a must see. Check them out at: https://www.thekazoofactory.com.

Parting thoughts:

FAMOUS KAZOOS

Finally:

TAKE A BREAK... I AM.

I promised you more on the Penn School, the first formal school in the South for freed slave students. But first we need to drive to St. Helena Island, South Carolina, a few miles from Beaufort. I highly encourage you to visit their website: https://www.penncenter.com because I will only be showing a portion of their history.

First we need to understand a little something about the enslaved community. From one of the guides at the school, were we told a little of the history of the Gullah (Gul lah) culture, as she was part of the Gullah community. 

She explained that the culture started with enslaved blacks that came over from Nigeria, and other parts of Africa. Because they all spoke different languages, they came up with a single way to communicate, creating a new language.

The Gullah community is located from the Sea Islands in South Carolina, through Georgia, to northeastern Florida. I recommend you visit: https://www.beaufortsc.org/things-to-do/gullah-culture, to learn more about their culture.

Abolitionists and reformers from the North figured they would head south to Port Royal as an experiment. They were interested in seeing if they could teach the local population a life without slavery.

The Penn School was created during an era when it was illegal to teach enslaved/black folk how to read. But in 1862, several women, Laura Towne, Ellen Murray, and Charlotte Forten, did just that. You need to understand that when the Civil War began in 1861, a lot of the southern whites abandoned their plantations, and this made it easy for freedmen to purchase those abandoned properties. The school did not not see any permanent structures until the early 1900s.

Laura Towne, one of many abolitionists; she arrived on St. Helena in April 1862 to work as a nurse, but ultimately ended up teaching the children that lived on the island. That summer her friend Ellen Murray joined her, and they began the Penn School. Should you be wondering why they chose the name Penn... it was in honor of William Penn. In the fall of 1862 Laura recruited Charlotte Forten, an African-American scholar to come and teach. Charlotte was not the only scholar Laura recruited to teach at Penn School. Despite many requests for her to return to the North, Laura stayed and used her political and personal connections to secure safety for the school and scholars, as well as securing a new schoolhouse and furnishings in 1865.

Charlotte "Lottie" Forten was an African-American educator that came down from the North to teach children at various schools on the island. She was born in Philadelphia, and active in the abolitionist movement. After the Civil War is moved back north, to Washington D.C.

Ellen Murray joined her lifetime friend, co-founding the Penn School. In June of1862 she led the first official classes... nine scholars met in a back room of the Oak Plantation. For the next 40 years her and Laura served as educators, and as principal administrators at Penn School.

The oldest structure on the property is Darrah Hall, named after Laura Towne's sister, Sophia Towne Darrah. The first hall was built in 1882, the current hall was built in 1903, later moved from the center of the school to its current location. In 1893 the original hall was used as refuge for the survivors of hurricane Gracie. unfortunately that same year it burned down, and was replaced with the current building. What is now Darrah Hall, was originally the gymnasium for the school, hosting town meetings and basketball games. Today the building is managed by the National Park Service, the rest are maintained by the school.

Some of the building are available for events, and they even have a small house on the canal that can be rented.

The school taught the children a variety of skills pertaining to their gender... remember, this was the late 1800s and early 1900s. Visitors to the grounds start at the Welcome Center.

The welcome center was the lumber storage barn. That lumber barn now sells admissions, t-shirts, coffee cups, and art work from local artists. The building in the background is the Cope building, the industrial shop that used that wood. The Cope building was constructed in 1912. The building was named in the honor of  

Francis Cope, who was a Philadelphia Quaker, and served as a trustee for many years. This building housed harness-making, wheelwrighting, blacksmithing, basketry, carpentry, and cobbling classes. Cope building was dedicated on Penn's 50th anniversary. The dedication was highlighted by remarks from people like General Robert Smalls... remember him, a few stories up.

As we walk the property, you may notice that the buildings are not pristine, this is because the property is owned by a non-profit organization. 

This house is the Pine Grove Cottage, built in 1921 by school students under the direction of the Carpentry Instructor, Mr. Benjamin Boyd; Mr. Boyd was the instructor at Penn from 1919 to 1948. It was originally the home for the school superintendent, today it is the guest house for visitors to Penn School.

The Cedar Cottage, built around 1903, was home for the single female teachers, the Nurse's office, and dispensary. It was so named because of the cedar trees that were so abundant. In 1951 the school established a children's nursery / day care in the cottage, the first of its kind in Beaufort county. 

The Jasmine Cottage, built in 1911 by the carpentry students, and was given its name due to the abundance of Yellow Jasmine flowers on St. Helena Island. This cottage also had the honor of winning third prize in the 1922 National Better Homes Campaign.  With the prize came $50.00 cash. This cottage also housed teachers.

The Arnett House was built in 1937 by the islanders and students. It was named in honor of Dr. Trevor Arnett, who was one-time President of the General Education Board of Penn School. At one time it housed student teachers from South Carolina State University, who worked in the county schools.

This building, built in 1905 was named after a Frenchman, Anthony Benezet, who stood for freedom in the mid-and late 1870s. This was home for female students and teacher, and the focal point of the home economics classes for female students; it was required that female students live in Benezet before they could graduate. Males were only allowed in the building when chapel services were held in the ground floor lobby.

The Emory S. Campbell Dining Hall structure was built in 1917, and was originally the laundry building. In the 1940s it was converted to a dining hall, expanded in the 1960s, and brought up to code in 1999. The dining hall serves meals to folks visiting the Conference Center; it seats up to 100 people.

The Hampton House, built in 1904 was named after Hampton Institute, in Hampton Virginia, which was an industrial school for black students. Several of the early principals lived and entertained in this house. Today the house can house up to 13 guests.

Before we head back across the street, lets stop at the Brick Church.

This church was built in 1855 by the enslaved, for the rich whites. During the Civil War this was the home for the Penn School. Hundreds of black South Carolinians crowded in the church to learn. Charlotte Forten wrote in her diary that through education the pupils were "born in slavery, but free at last!" 

Many moons ago I wrote about how bricks were usual made here in the South:

child labor was commonly used in making bricks, and these are a little child's fingerprints.

At one time the enslaved were only allowed to stand in the cramped balcony, seven years later, they took over the entire church as their own, and the Penn School used the space.

This building, the Lathers Memorial Dormitory, was the male dormitory for students and teachers. It was built in 1922, and a memorial to Agnes Lathers, an early Penn School teacher. Today it is the administrative offices for the Penn School foundation.

We are going to jump through time, there is much to learn. This campus was one of the few in the South, that civil-rights discussions could be conducted without harassment. 

This is Gantt Cottage, built by students around 1940, after the original cottage burnt down. Gantt Cottage was named after the ex-slave who donated the original tract of land to Laura Towne for Penn School. Mr. Gantt was a businessman and politician. He served in the South Carolina Legislature as the representative from Beaufort. Its believed that he was an inspiration to not only landowners, but land toilers alike. 

Here is the jump forward: in the 1960s Martin Luther King Jr. stayed in this cottage during his stays. This is where the Civil Rights plans for the March on Washington D.C. were made. Dr. King found this campus to be pleasant, and a suitable place for rest, as well as work. Here on campus is where he wrote his "I Have a Dream" speech.

This retreat house and dock were built for relaxation and meditation. Plans were that it was to be Dr. King's place to hold his meetings, rather than the small Gantt Cottage. Unfortunately, with his

death, he was never able to hold meetings here. This house is a replacement for the Palmetto Cottage that was in 1920, and burnt down in the 1950s. This house and dock were completed in 1968. When we visited the house, the tide was low, and oyster shells could been seen everywhere.

This experience was fun and educating. It was our last stop in South Carolina... this trip.