Popular professor to present history of Port Royal

Professor Stephen Bacon strives to make history come alive in the classroom, whether that means wearing costumes, acting out gruesome battles or telling stories not found in textbooks.

The same will hold true Nov. 6, when Bacon plans to don Civil War-era attire and lecture on the history of Port Royal as part of a fundraiser for the Historic Port Royal Foundation.

“Port Royal was one of the founding stepping stones of the entire region. It was the anchor, if nothing else, between Savannah and Charleston,” Bacon said. “I have some good stories, but I’m not going to let my secrets out yet.”

Bacon, of Sun City Hilton Head, has taught for more than 22 years and offers courses at the University of South Carolina Beaufort and the Technical College of the Lowcountry.

A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Bacon also taught in the Air Force and considers military history his specialty. Historic Port Royal Foundation member John Ellerbe said he has taken classes at USCB’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and has seen Bacon at work in the classroom. The last lecture Ellerbe caught focused on the Revolutionary War in the Lowcountry.

“He had a packed house, and everybody was hanging on every word,” Ellerbe said. “It’s exciting to have someone of Professor Bacon’s caliber speaking at our event.”

Bacon said he will give a general history of Port Royal, beginning when the area was first colonized and touching on the Revolutionary War and then the Civil War. Along the way he’ll also talk about neighboring Beaufort and Parris Island, he said.

“I try and get the audience into it by telling them bits of history they don’t know,” Bacon said. “I’m a storyteller, bottom line.”

IF YOU GO
What: Speech by professor Stephen Bacon, “History of Port Royal: Where it all Began”

When: 6:30 p.m. Nov. 6

Where: Union Church, 1004 11th St., Port Royal

Tickets: $10, can be purchased at Port Royal Town Hall, Union Church or by calling John Ellerbe at 843-522-9923