Beaufort, South Carolina is a charmingly historic small city in “the Low Country” (aptly called this because it is just about at or below sea level, and when it rains as much as it did when we visited a couple of weeks ago, it almost recedes right into the various bodies of water surrounding it).

While on a family visit to Hilton Head, where our former Yankee relatives have retired, we took a side trip. My husband had seen a television feature about the National Reconstruction Era History Site(s) in and around Beaufort. Turns out the only one really open on a regular basis is the Visitor’s Center, but it was still worth the trip.

I for one learned many things I did not know about Beaufort and its surroundings. For one, that the city was taken over by the Union army early on in the Civil War, and consequently, after the war it had a sort of leg up on helping freedmen (and women) make the transition from enslavement to reach their educational and economic potential.

Sadly, along with these positive forces, there were the negative ones which led to what the National Park Service exhibition calls “unmet promises” which is shorthand for “legal (and also many illegal) ways to keep African American people from advancing.” The exhibit panel that most disturbed me was the Black Code laws which were voted into law in SC in December 1965. This included: “XXXV. All persons of color who make contracts for service or labor, shall be known as servants, and those with whom they contract, shall be known as masters.” Wait, I thought they abolished slavery. I guess not really.

We read all the very informative panels very thoroughly, because about five minutes into our visit, the sky opened up once more and poured more buckets of rain down on the already soaked earth. It subsided enough for us to go exploring around some historic neighborhoods, and to also have lunch at a nice Thai restaurant. We got back to our car just before the next torrential downpour, soaked in history and contemplation.