Where to Experience Hilton Head Island History and Gullah Culture

"Also an important site for Gullah culture, Mitchelville is said to have been the first free village in the U.S. following the Emancipation Proclamation. When enslaved West Africans in the Sea Islands were freed under the proclamation, many ventured to Hilton Head Island, specifically to a Union army outpost. That’s when Mitchelville was founded, as “the first site where people born into slavery became free in the United States of America.” Because of its significance, Hilton Head Island takes great care to preserve the Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park." - Travel + Leisure Editors