Daufuskie Island

Daufuskie Island is a residential "sea island" between Savannah, Georgia and Hilton Head Island, South Carolina about 2 3/4 miles offshore. Rather than a "barrier island" within a series of associated linear islands, it is the sort of island we usually imagine as a sea bottom high point that rises up above the water's surface. The total island surface is just 8 square miles within the maximum length of 5 miles and maximum width of 2 1/2 miles.

Daufuskie has become a popular retreat away from the typical tourist route. Daufuskie embraces a local feel with an island lifestyle often visited by music lovers and great down-home bands. It has a full-time population of around 430. Daufuskie is home to two resorts, a private residential community, and a largely undeveloped tract of residential property.

The island's recorded history traces back to Pre Revolutionary War times. It was the site of a skirmish called the "Daufuskie Fight" during the Yamasee War of 1715-1717. The island was home to a sizable population of Gullah inhabitants from the end of the Civil War until very recently. Gullah are the descendants of freed slaves. The 1988 Jimmy Buffett song, "The Prince Of Tides" laments the urbanization of the island and loss of the Gullah. The 1972 Pat Conroy book The Water is Wide was set on Daufuskie, fictionalized as "Yamacraw Island." The book recounts Mr. Conroy's experiences teaching on the island in the 1960s.

The island is now split into five parts.

To the northeast is the Haig Point Club[1], a private, member owned residential club with around 150 year-round residents and over 225 homes.

South of Haig Point is the Daufuskie Resort and Breathe Spa. Formerly a private vacation club with an emphasis on golf and tennis, and offering a private residential component, this is now a publicly accessible resort. Further south on the eastern side of the island is Oak Ridge, a small oceanfront community, followed by Bloody Point, a private residential community with amenities that are an accessible part of the Daufuskie Island Resort and Breathe Spa. The Resort recently filed for bankruptcy, but a trustee has been appointed with the task of reopening the resort for the summer 2009.


The western part of the island is unincorporated land. Several dozen residents live in a variety of accommodations, from trailers to beautiful waterfront homes with private docks. This section of the island is often referred to as the Historic District. Visitors can take a tour around this historic portion of the island, with boat transportation available from nearby Hilton Head Island, Bluffton or Savannah on the mainland. Highlights include the site of the Bloody Point Lighthouse, the school where Pat Conroy taught, and the home workshops of local artisans.

The island is also home to the First Union African Baptist Church, which is Daufuskie's oldest building, and is still in use today as a place of worship.

A recent census in 2007 by the local Daufuskie Island Fire and Rescue Department counted a total of just 429 residents living full time on the entire island.
Dolphins gliding in front of the Haig Point private ferry

The Haig Point Club has its own private ferry service. Additionally, the Daufuskie Island Club runs its own ferry service, which is also contracted by the county to provide public ferry services between Hilton Head (Salty Fare Embarkation Center) and the Melrose Landing on Daufuskie. Residents of the clubs, as well as some of the other residents on the island, use golf carts and bicycles to travel around the island, although there are a handful of cars and trucks, too.

The Daufuskie Island School is a Beaufort County public school built in 1997. It is a modern facility with 13 students and significant community support, a marked contrast to the conditions depicted by Pat Conroy two generations ago in The Water is Wide

Students in grades 6-12 are transported to the Hilton Head Middle School and High School by a county school ferry. On Daufuskie, these students take a small school bus to the boat at Melrose Landing and travel approximately 45 minutes by boat to Skull Creek on Hilton Head. The students' commute is completed when they are picked up by a bus and taken to the Hilton Head schools campus. The entire trip is about an hour and ten minutes each morning and afternoon. Kids often do their homework or simply nap during the boat ride. It's a unique way of life for schoolchildren.

There are two historic lighthouses on Daufuskie Island. The Bloody Point Lighthouse, built in 1883, and the Haig Point Lighthouse, built ten years earlier.

The Daufuskie Island Conservancy is one of several local organizations charged with preserving the ecosystem, flora and fauna, and quality of life on Daufuskie Island. Details of these groups and their meetings can be found at the island's only news source The Daufuskie Front Porch. www.DauFusKie360.net; www.ExploreDauFusKie.com and www.TheBinyahFoundation.org also provide information online. In addition there is a web portal for the island with local interests and local business listings at Daufuskie Tides

The island has three golf courses, the Bloody Point Course designed by Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, the Melrose Golf Course designed by Jack Nicklaus, and the 20 hole Haig Point Signature Course plus the 9 hole Haig Point Osprey Course designed by Rees Jones.

The twenty hole Haig Point Golf Course is designed to be played as two separate 18 hole courses, one easier, one more difficult. The course has two extra "easy" par threes and many holes have two sets of tees. It is a unique and ingenious design that allows every level of player to enjoy the Signature Course and its natural beauty. Ten of the twenty holes have spectacular marsh, sound and ocean views.

Daufuskie Island boasts a wide variety of nature and animal life. One of the notable animals that inhabit the island is the Fox Squirrel. And, one of the most magnificent animals that calls the island home, is the American Bald Eagle. During the day, you can see eagles soaring high in the air and occasionally swooping into the water for a catch.