HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — Beaufort County will open Ford’s Shell Ring Park on Hilton Head Island on Friday, Oct. 16, with a grand opening celebration at the park site at 273 Squire Pope Road.
The county is joined by the Town of Hilton Head Island and the Hilton Head Chapter of the Archeological Society of South Carolina for the event. A reception starts at 9:30 a.m., and the ceremonial program begins at 10 a.m.
No parking is available on-site. Shuttle service will run from 133 Squire Pope Road starting at 9 a.m., and organizers are asking attendees to carpool if possible.
After the ceremony, a docent-led tour of the park will cover the significance of shell rings and the history of the site.
Shell rings are deposits of discarded shell left by Indigenous People in coastal areas and barrier islands during the Late Archaic Period. They are made of thousands of oysters, clams, mussels and animal bones, and unlike shell middens they form concentric shapes rather than scattered heaps.
Ford’s Shell Ring was the first discovered instance of two adjoining shell rings and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
