A Map of the Plantations of Hilton Head Island.
Historic plantations of 1861 are shown as dashed lines and
script letter. Modern plantations of 2015 are shown as
colored areas and block letters.
2015, 19” wide by 13” tall, watercolor on cotton rag
Hilton Head Island is well known to people throughout the United States
and beyond. Much of this recognition is as a result of 20th century
development of world class golf courses and its beautiful beaches – a
recipe for great summer vacations. But the island has a much longer
history, especially during the pre-Civil War era. Many plantations were
developed on the island for production of Sea Island cotton, a highly
valued long staple cotton variety.
This map helps describe how Hilton Head Island has changed from
the eve of the Civil War to today. We have used several cartographic
techniques to simultaneously describe the modern layout of the island
and what would have been there over 150 years ago. We hope this map
helps lovers of Hilton Head to have a greater appreciation of how the
island has changed over generations.