Old Town Bluffton (Historic District)

From Old Town Bluffton Inn

By Walk

Begins at our front door

Details

Address

The district surrounds our front door at 1321 May River Road, roughly bounded by the May River, Huger Cove, and Bridge Street, Bluffton, SC 29910.

Photo by @casaderice via @explorebluffton

A square mile of clapboard cottages and live oaks on a bluff above the May River, with most of its history still standing and still lived in. This is the walkable heart of the Lowcountry, and it's why people fall for Bluffton rather than simply passing through. It begins at Old Town Bluffton Inn's front door.

Walk south from the Inn and the town quietly changes centuries. The pavement narrows, the oaks close overhead, and shopfronts give way to cottages on brick piers with deep porches built to catch a river breeze. You will hear wind chimes, a screen door, somebody's dog, and underneath it all the tide working at the bluff a few streets down. Old Town is the original settlement, roughly one square mile laid out in the early 1800s as a summer retreat for planters escaping the heat and the fever inland. It has been a good many things since. A hotbed of secession talk under the oaks in 1844. A town burned by Union troops on June 4, 1863, when ten homes and two churches were all that came through it. A working oyster port. An artists' colony. What holds it together is that people never stopped living here, so it reads as a neighborhood rather than an exhibit. The district was listed on the National Register in 1996, and the town protects the original square mile on top of that, which is why it still looks the way it does.

Courtesy of @explorebluffton

Nearly all of it is free and self-guided. Calhoun Street is the spine, running from May River Road down to the water, carrying galleries, boutiques, and restaurants among the old houses. At the bottom stands the Church of the Cross, consecrated in July 1857, a Gothic Revival building of unfinished heart pine designed by Charleston architect E. B. White, with rose-colored glass the builders sent to England. Federal troops spared it. It is one of the most photographed buildings in the Lowcountry, and the grounds above the water are open to anyone who wants to sit a while. A few streets over on Boundary Street, the Heyward House was built around 1841 by enslaved craftsmen and still has its original slave cabin behind it. It has long served as the town's welcome center and house museum, with guided house tours for a modest fee and guided walking tours of the district by appointment, though the foundation that owns it has announced plans to sell, so it is worth a look at historicbluffton.org before you build an afternoon around it. West along the water at Oyster Factory Park, the Garvin-Garvey Freedman's Cottage carries the other half of the story: a home built in the 1870s by a man born into slavery, standing where Bluffton's oyster business still works. And every Thursday, the Farmers Market of Bluffton fills Martin Family Park on Boundary Street, year-round, 12 PM to 4 PM from September through May and 10 AM to 2 PM in June, July, and August.

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Old Town Bluffton Inn

Amenities

High Speed Wifi
L'Occitane en Provence
Hair Dryers
Steamer/Iron Combo
Bath Robes and Slippers*
In-Room Safe
55in Standard TV
Alarm Clock with Outlets
White Noise Machine

*Upon Request

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Photo by @sully_the_sassy_aussie via @explorebluffton

Why Visit

Our Inn-sider answer to "what should we actually do while we are here" starts by pointing out the window. This is the reason to come to Bluffton rather than anywhere else on this stretch of coast, and it is the rare attraction that asks nothing of you but comfortable shoes. Free, open every day of the year, and it starts at our front door.

Ten homes and two churches survived the burning of Bluffton in June 1863, and most are still on their original lots, lived in and cared for, in a district on the National Register since 1996
The Church of the Cross, consecrated in 1857 in unfinished heart pine on the bluff at the foot of Calhoun Street, with the May River behind it and the grounds open to anyone, no ticket required
Twenty-plus restaurants, a dozen galleries and boutiques, and a Thursday farmers market sitting inside the same square mile as the history, so a morning of old houses turns into lunch without getting back in the car
A working waterfront rather than a restored one, with the Bluffton Oyster Company still shucking at Oyster Factory Park and the 1870s Garvin-Garvey Freedman's Cottage a few steps away
Free to wander and easy to do properly in a single afternoon. Ask at the front desk for Danielle's Stroll, our own hand-drawn map of Old Town, or follow Calhoun Street down to the water and see what turns up
Staying with us puts you inside the district instead of driving into it. Heyward House is 9 minutes on foot, Church of the Cross is about 11, and our wine bar is waiting in the parlor when you have walked enough

Message from the Harrisons

Old Town Bluffton is almost like a medicine. When you're here, everything slows down. If you arrived off a rough flight or a long travel day, Old Town has a magical way of melting that away. The rhythms here take you down a notch and let you relax.

Vince and Danielle Harrison

Best Time To Visit

Old Town is a year-round attraction, because the streets never close and the walk is good in every month. Spring is the showpiece, roughly March into May, when the azaleas go off and Mayfest brings music and vendors down Calhoun Street. Summer is hot and humid by mid-morning, so locals take the district early and late and let the middle of the day belong to the porch, and the Sunset Parties down by the river are the reward for waiting. Fall is the best of it. The humidity lets go, the light turns gold, and the Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival takes over Old Town in October. Winter is our quiet secret, mild in the fifties and sixties, the oaks still green, the shops unhurried, and the holiday lights strung through the historic streets in December.

Best Light

The first two hours after sunrise and the last hour before sunset. Morning gives you the moss lit from behind and the streets to yourself. Evening puts the sun over the May River behind the Church of the Cross, which is the shot everyone comes for.

Weather

Comfortable from October through May. June through September is genuinely hot and humid, so start by nine or wait until five, carry water, and use the porches and galleries as shade. Afternoon thunderstorms in summer blow through quickly rather than settling in.

Crowds

Thursdays are the busiest by a distance, because the farmers market pulls the whole town in, and festival weekends in spring and October fill the streets. Weekday mornings year-round are the quietest, and that is when Old Town feels most like itself.

For Photographers

The Church of the Cross at the foot of Calhoun Street, the dock at Wright Family Park, the shrimp boats at Oyster Factory Park, and the oak canopy along Bridge Street and Boundary Street. Please remember that most of the historic homes are private residences, so photograph them from the street rather than the yard.

Hours and Admission

Walking the district is free and open at all hours. The interiors are not. Heyward House is open Monday through Saturday and charges a modest fee for guided house tours, with district walking tours by appointment; its future is currently in transition, so check historicbluffton.org or call ahead. The Church of the Cross is open around services and often at other times, though it is sometimes locked. Shops and galleries generally run late morning to late afternoon, with some closed Sundays and Mondays.

Danielle's Stroll

Coffee first

8:30 AM

Breakfast is on at the Inn, and Corner Perk is a minute out the door if you want a second cup to go. Take it slowly. Nothing you are walking to opens before ten.

The Welcome Center

9:30 AM

Take a map of Danielle's Stroll from the front desk, then head down Boundary Street to the Heyward House and take the house tour if the timing suits. It is the shortest route to understanding why the rest of the morning looks the way it does.

Calhoun Street

10:30 AM

Follow Calhoun down toward the river, in and out of the galleries as you go. Society of Bluffton Artists, Maye River, and Red Piano are all on the way. Finish at the Church of the Cross and give yourself ten minutes on the bluff.

Lunch

12:00 PM

Everything is within a few blocks. The Cottage, Captain Woody's, and Bluffton BBQ are all a short walk away, though note that Bluffton BBQ is only open Wednesday through Saturday.

Down to the Waterfront

2:00 PM

Walk west to Oyster Factory Park, where the Bluffton Oyster Company has been at it for generations, and stop at the Garvin-Garvey Freedman's Cottage next door. This is the part of the story most visitors miss entirely.

Wine at the Inn

4:30 PM

Our complimentary afternoon wine, a chair in the parlor or out on the balcony, and Camo doing his rounds. You have walked the better part of a century and a half by now.

FAQ

The Church of the Cross, consecrated in 1857 in unfinished heart pine at the foot of Calhoun Street, sits on the bluff with the May River behind it. The Heyward House, built around 1841, serves as the town's welcome center and house museum. At Oyster Factory Park, the 1870s Garvin-Garvey Freedman's Cottage stands beside the still-working Bluffton Oyster Company. Ten homes and two churches survived the burning of Bluffton in June 1863, and most remain on their original lots.

Yes. The district begins at our front door at 1321 May River Road, and the oldest streets are about a 10-minute walk south. The Heyward House is 9 minutes on foot, and the Church of the Cross is about 11 minutes, so staying with us puts you inside the district rather than driving into it. The whole walking route is under two miles.

Old Town Bluffton is a year-round attraction since the streets never close. Spring, roughly March through May, brings the azaleas and Mayfest. Fall is the standout, when the humidity lets go, the light turns gold, and the Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival takes over in October. Summer is hot and humid by mid-morning, best enjoyed early or late, and winter stays mild with holiday lights strung through the streets in December.

Most of Old Town is self-guided, so no booking is required to wander. The exceptions are the Heyward House, which offers guided house tours during daytime hours Monday through Saturday and district walking tours by appointment, and its future is currently in transition, so it is worth checking historicbluffton.org or calling ahead. Ask at our front desk for Danielle's Stroll, a hand-drawn map of Old Town, or simply follow Calhoun Street down to the water.