Historic Black properties are being lost in Beaufort. Businessman has a plan to save them
A $100,000 revolving fund has been established by a Beaufort businessman to assist residents of the Northwest Quadrant keep heirs property and homes in the family. That includes “freedman’s cottages,” built by recently freed slaves who settled that area after the Civil War.
Dick Stewart, a developer and philanthropist, announced the initiative Thursday. The funding, Stewart says, comes as the number of heirs-owned parcels in Beaufort County and in the National Historic District in Beaufort is declining.
“We hope to assist in slowing or stopping this trend,” Stewart said.
Ironically, as heirs property ownership declines, efforts that celebrate the city’s role in the Reconstruction Era — that period from 1861 to 1900 when millions of newly freed African Americans were integrated into society — are increasing. That includes the opening of the headquarters of the Reconstruction Era National Park on Craven Street in Beaufort, the headquarters of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Trail across the street, and Tabernacle Baptist Church’s campaign to honor Harriet Tubman, an escaped slave who was instrumental in helping others gain their freedom through the Underground Railroad.
Those efforts are more reason the time is right to save the historic homes and properties in the Northwest Quadrant, Stewart says.
Heirs’ properties — land shared by heirs of the original owner(s) — typically refers to Gullah landowners. The property is usually passed down without clear titles or wills, which can lead to confusion among heirs when determining who is responsible for taking care of the land and paying its taxes. The properties often end up on tax delinquency lists because no one pays.
Ownership and use of family homes and property, Stewart added, is the best way to create inter-generational wealth.
“We hope this will connect people to families lost through the fog of slavery and time,” said Stewart, and save properties before ownership is lost and the historic structures are torn down.
The fund will be administered through the Stewart Family Office, the company that manages Stewart’s assets and charitable activities. Financial assistance will go to families seeking to retain ownership of their land and buildings, Stewart said.
Assistance won’t be limited to a particular purpose, he said. It could go for paying taxes, or to heirs who are not interested in the property, allowing those who are to take full ownership. Legal and architectural fees and restoration work are other possibilities, Stewart said, but it will depend on individual circumstances.
“What we’d like to do is to hear from families,” Stewart told the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette, “to hear what kind of help they need.”
The Northwest Quadrant was settled almost entirely by African Americans during and following the Civil War. At the time, it was referred to as a “freedman’s village.”
“Even before the end of the war, as slaves fled from unoccupied areas to Hilton Head, St. Helena’s and Lady’s islands, and Beaufort, new settlements were formed, including one adjacent to downtown Beaufort … in an area that extends from the National Cemetery along such streets such as Congress, Union and Hamar,” says the book, “Eve of Emancipation: The Union Occupation of Beaufort and the SeaIslands. “A distinctive one-story-with-front- porch style developed called the ‘freedman’s cottage.’ Many examples still exist there.”
Efforts already are in place to protect heirs property
Penn Center, a nonprofit organization on St. Helena Island in the Gullah Geechee Cultural Corridor committed to education, community development and social justice, is involved. Last year, for example, it announced that it would provide financial assistance to property owners who are at risk of losing their land because of delinquent property taxes.
The Center for Heirs Property Preservation, based in Charleston, is a not-for-profit the protects heirs property.
Stewart said he will work with others that are actively engaged in assisting heirs and families to retain and use their property.
By working with other organizations, Stewart added, he is “reasonably optimistic” that the $100,000 contribution can be multiplied several times, with the hope that the effort will expand outside of Beaufort’s historic district and even Beaufort County, Stewart said.
Mitch Mitchell, a Beaufort City Council member who is involved with the Penn Center’s Land Preservation Assistance program, says the loss of heirs property is a real challenge in the Lowcountry. Typically, a family member is living on the property, but others have left, Mitchell said.
Problems arise when a person living and paying taxes on the property, perhaps a grandmother, dies. If nobody else remains in the area, property can end up being sold at a sheriff’s sale, Mitchell said. But just providing money to assist in paying the taxes doesn’t solve the long-range problem, Mitchell said. The long-range solution, he said, is hiring a lawyer and getting a deed.
Mitchell is interested in learning more details about Stewart’s fund.
“It sounds, on the surface, like a very good thing,” Mitchell said, “and he’s a businessman, so we might be able to learn from him.”
Stewart owns 303 Associates, a development and real estate company with a large hospitality footprint in downtown Beaufort. Among his downtown Beaufort properties are the Beaufort Inn on Port Republic Street, a 12-room cottage with a courtyard on Craven Street and Tabby Place, an event venue on Port Republic. He’s also planning new apartments, parking garage and hotel in downtown Beaufort.
How to apply
Applications for assistance can be sent to Dick Stewart, Stewart Family Office, 2015 Boundary Street, Suite 317, Beaufort, S.C. ,29902 or ds@stewartfo.com.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 11:26 AM.
