Beaufort got a national monument in 2017. They’re going back 150 years to celebrate

An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the date of the event as Jan. 18. It has been corrected to reflect the actual date, Jan. 12.

The public will soon get a taste of how Beaufort County lived during the Civil War and in the decades that followed.

Praise dances, tours and educational programs are planned Jan. 12, 2018, to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Reconstruction Era National Monument. Participants can visit downtown sites integral to the period and join programs at Penn Center on St. Helena Island, the Camp Saxton site at Beaufort Naval Hospital in Port Royal and at the old Beaufort firehouse on Craven Street.

Activities will start with music and a presentation including National Park Service officials and the U.S. Congressional delegation at 10 a.m. at the Arsenal on Craven Street. The event will include the unveiling of a new work by Beaufort native and Gullah artist Sonja Griffin Evans.

From noon to 4 p.m., here are the activities planned at each of the monument sites, according to a park service news release:

▪  Darrah Hall at Penn Center – Talks, junior youth praise dance and Reconstruction programs

▪  Brick Baptist Church – Praise dances, spirituals and educational programs

▪  Camp Saxton via Fort Fredrick site – Fort tours and activities relating to the first reading of the Emancipation Proclamation at Camp Saxton on Jan. 1, 1863

▪  Old Beaufort Firehouse – The park service and local officials will offer educational information about Reconstruction and Lowcountry history

This story was originally published December 22, 2017 at 10:53 AM with the headline "Beaufort got a national monument in 2017. They’re going back 150 years to celebrate."