Hilton Head Island, S.C. — Ford’s Shell Ring Park will open this Friday, Oct. 16, with a grand opening celebration at 273 Squire Pope Road. Beaufort County, the Town of Hilton Head Island and the Hilton Head Chapter of the Archeological Society of South Carolina are hosting the event.
No parking is available on site. A shuttle will run beginning at 9 a.m. from 133 Squire Pope Road, and attendees are encouraged to carpool. A docent-led tour after the ceremony will explain the significance of shell rings and the history of the site.
Shell rings are deposits of discarded shell created by Indigenous people in coastal areas during the Late Archaic Period. The rings are made of thousands of oysters, clams, mussels and animal bones. Ford’s Shell Ring was the first discovered instance of two adjoining shell rings and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The 6.8-acre wooded waterfront lot is named for its last private owner, Henry Ford. The town and county bought the site for $3.95 million in 2003 to protect two 4,000-year-old shell rings from development, and Beaufort County Council voted unanimously in 2020 to build a passive park around them.
Park improvements include accessible parking, earth trails, split rail fencing and interpretive signage about the history of the site. The rings are protected under town codes that make it illegal to damage or disturb historic and archaeological sites.
