BEAUFORT AND ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. — The Reconstruction Era National Historical Park, located in Beaufort County, commemorates the pivotal period following the Civil War when the United States struggled to define freedom, citizenship, and equality for formerly enslaved people. It is the first national park site dedicated specifically to the Reconstruction era—a time of profound transformation as African Americans gained political power, established institutions, and fought for civil rights amid rising resistance.

The park includes several historically significant locations: the Old Beaufort Firehouse (visitor center); Camp Saxton, where the Emancipation Proclamation was first read in South Carolina; and the Penn Center on St. Helena Island, one of the nation's first schools for freedpeople. Together, these sites tell the story of a brief but groundbreaking effort to create a more just and inclusive democracy in the aftermath of slavery.

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