Events and Exhibits
Edisto Island Lecture Series Begins
Herb Frazier to Present “Gullah Roots – Exploring the West African Connection”
On Monday, April 8th, 2024, the Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society will kick off its 2024 Lecture Series with a presentation by journalist Herb Frazier.
The lecture will begin at 5:00 p.m. and will be held at the historic Old First Baptist Church (1644 Hwy. 174, adjacent to the New First Missionary Baptist Church).
The Lecture Series is free and open to the public.
Frazier’s lecture is entitled “Gullah Roots – Exploring the West African Connection.” His lecture will look at the historical and cultural ties that bind West Africa and the Gullah Geechee people of coastal South Carolina and Georgia.
Frazier is a former member of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission and the author of four books. He is senior projects editor at the Charleston City Paper, former marketing director of Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, and was an editor and reporter for five daily newspapers in the South, including the Post and Courier.
In addition to local and regional reporting, Frazier has also done international reporting in West Germany, Bosnia, Rwanda, Japan and Sierra Leone, among other locations. His most recent book is “Sleeping with the Ancestors: How I Followed the Footprint of Slavery. His forthcoming book, “Crossing the Sea on a Sacred Song,” is the story of an African funeral song that links a Georgia family with a woman in Sierra Leone.
Frazier’s lecture will serve to enhance the Edisto Island Museum’s new Gullah Geechee exhibit, which also focuses heavily on the African root of this rich culture.
The Edisto Island Museum is located at 2381 Chisolm Plantation Road
Open from 12:00 until 5:00 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Herb Frazier
Sidney Gauthreaux Art Exhibit
Our next art exhibit is opening on Tuesday, February 13th. The exhibit will feature the work of local artist, Sidney Gauthreaux and will last until September 7th.
Sid grew up in New Orleans and received his MS and Ph. D degrees from Louisiana State University and did a post-doctorate at the Institute of Ecology at the University of Georgia. He joined the faculty at Clemson University in 1970 where he taught courses in animal behavior, ornithology, and behavioral ecology. His research specialty is in the area of detecting, monitoring, and quantifying the numbers of migrating birds in the atmosphere with weather radar. He retired from Clemson in 2006.
Throughout his career, he has continued his interest in drawing and painting portraits of birds. Most of his work is with watercolor, but he occasionally uses acrylics and oils.
After his retirement, Sid and his wife, Carroll Belser, moved to Edisto Island where they live at Sunny Side Plantation on Store Creek.
The 2024 Edisto & Beyond Tour will be held October 26, 2024
Oak Island Plantation - 1830
Middleton Plantation - 1701
The Grove Plantation 1828
The Thorne House 1875
Oak Lawn Plantation - 1730s
Trinity Church - 1880
Old First Baptist Church - 1818
Christ Church - 1835
The Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island - 1830
Zion Reformed Episcopal Church - 1874
Tickets will be $75 per person with a member discount price of $70 each for two. Member initial maximum purchase is four tickets per Membership.
Members will be informed via email throughout the spring as plans progress.
As always, tickets will be available to EIHPS members only when they go on sale.
In the last two years we have sold out before tickets were made available to the public, so we do recommend purchasing an EIHPS membership to ensure your opportunity to purchase tickets!
View Memberships Here