Beaufort’s Robert Smalls house sells for $1.7 million. Here’s who’s buying the historic site
The National Trust for Historic Preservation has completed the purchase of one of Beaufort’s most historic and well known properties — the Robert Smalls House — for $1.7 million.
Together with local partners, organizations, and the Beaufort community, the National Trust said Monday that it hopes to use its historic preservation expertise to ensure that Smalls’ life and legacy remains a source of inspiration and education.
Smalls was born into slavery in 1839 and grew up in the house at 511 Prince St. owned by his enslaver, Henry McKee. Smalls became famous during the Civil War when, working as a maritime pilot for the South, he hijacked the Planter, a Confederate munitions vessel, and turned it over to Union forces. He was later elected to Congress and eventually bought the same house where he was enslaved and lived there for 51 years until his death in 1915.
The house remained in his family until it was sold by his descendants in the 1950s. In 1974, the house was designated a National Historic Landmark and in 2022 was listed on the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network, a series of sites with ties to the period following the Civil War managed by the National Park Service out of Beaufort.
Billy Keyserling, the former mayor of Beaufort, and his brother Paul, purchased the home in August 2021 for $1.7 million. Their aim was to create greater understanding and appreciation for Smalls’ exceptional story by giving the public occasional access to the southern plantation house, which was built in 1843. Their intent all along was to turn over ownership to The National Trust, a not-for-profit that works to save the nation’s historic places, once that group raised enough money to buy the property.
“The National Trust thanks the Keyserlings for preserving this important home and for championing the life, story, and legacy of Robert Smalls,” Jay Clemens, the group’s interim president and CEO, said in a statement.
Neighbors and the Historic Beaufort Foundation, the city’s leading historic preservation group, filed legal actions regarding the property once the Keyserlings bought it and announced plans to include it on public walking tours by the National Park Service through the city’s historic neighborhoods.
One lawsuit was brought by neighbors who are worried that if the property is opened up to the public it would increase traffic in the Point Neighborhood and degrade its residential character. They’ve raised concerns about tour buses and other commercial endeavors tied to the house. Another challenge was brought by the Historic Beaufort Foundation, a preservation group that holds a historic preservation easement on the property. That easement requires that the house always be used as a residential home.
In its announcement that it had purchased the property, The National Trust said it would work with the Historic Beaufort Foundation to maintain the home’s architectural integrity, resolve issues related to making the property publicly accessible and continue its use as a private residence. The Historic Beaufort Foundation has held the historic preservation easement on the Smalls House for more than 21 years.
Keyserling told the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet Monday that the house will not be turned into a museum, gift shop, bed and breakfast or commercial property. Tours will be limited to walking tours given by the National Park Service, he added.
“Hopefully the National Trust will do a better job working with Historic Beaufort Foundation than I was able to accomplish,” Keyserling said. “I’m hoping it’s a new start and things will be smoother and we’ll move forward.”
The $1.7 million the Keyserlings received for the property is what they paid for it, Billy Keyserling said.
To complete the purchase, the National Trust’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund received support from several donors including corporations, foundations and individuals, the National Trust said.
