Beaufort City Map Poster

About Beaufort

The city is named after Flemish-born John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville. It was originally known as Beaufort Courthouse, and the name was changed to Beaufort in 1784 at the suggestion of British colonial governor Lord Charles Greville Montagu. The city's nickname of "Beau" came from a friendly rivalry between it and Charleston. In an effort to differentiate itself from its southern neighbor, residents adopted the nickname "Beau". According to local tradition, Francis Marion (the "Swamp Fox") hid out in the Lowcountry among his supporters during one of his escapes attempting to elude capture by British forces during their occupation following victory over American patriots at Yorktown; however this story has been disputed by historians who point out that there were no Tories living on Port Royal Island or anywhere else within Marion's sphere of operations at that time period (1780s).