After a final push, 300 donors have given at least $300 to build a historical monument to commemorate Beaufort's first three centuries.
In honor of the 300th anniversary in 2011, residents organized a Beaufort 300 fundraiser to pay for the monument. As of Friday, 301 sponsors had contributed a total of $95,223, according to city clerk Ivette Burgess.
The group aimed to raise $90,000.
Based on the ideas of Beaufort 300 participants Kevin Cuppia and Jim Schroeder, the monument will include about 14 blocks. Each will have a slanted bronze face engraved with either historical information or the names of some of the sponsors. Local historian Larry Rowland is writing the text.
Sponsors' names might also be engraved on bricks around the blocks, depending on the amount of history text included. The blocks will be placed between a circle of palmetto trees in the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. Flags from each of the seven counties that have claimed Beaufort might be included, too.
"We weren't sure what to expect," Cuppia said in a news release. "It was the recession; everyone was worried about finances. But we also knew that people in Beaufort appreciated her history and would want to be a part of it. It's wonderful to be able to say we were right, that more than 300 people and businesses decided to invest in these markers for the tricentennial."
Follow reporter Erin Moody at twitter.com/EyeonBeaufort.
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