The Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor is a federal National Heritage Area in the Southeast.
It represents the significant story of the Gullah-Geechee people and their cultural traditions. The intent of the designation is to help us to preserve, interpret and reflect on the traditions, sites and resources of the Gullah-Geechee people. Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, and the federal Commission established to oversee it, were designated through the National Heritage Areas Act of 2006.
The Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor was the result of more than 15 years of research of a Gullah-Geechee descendant Derek Hankerson, Kristopher Smith, Diane Miller and others. They established the Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, spanning the sea islands of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida — from Pender County, North Carolina, to St. Johns County, Florida.
Gullah-Geechee are direct descendants of West African slaves brought into the United States around the 1700s.
They were forced to work in rice paddies, cotton fields and indigo plantations along the South Carolina-Georgia seaboard where the warm and moist climate conditions helped them to preserve many African traditions . After the abolition of slavery, Gullah-Geechee people settled in remote villages around the coastal swath, where, thanks to their relative isolation, they formed strong communal ties and a unique culture that has endured for centuries.
The corridor is specifically focused on 79 Atlantic barrier islands within the designated area adjoining areas within 30 miles of the coastline. The following are the stops on the Corridor, state to state, north to south.
NORTH CAROLINA:
- Bellamy Mansion Museum, Wilmington
- Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson, Winnabow
- Poplar Grove Plantation, Wilmington
- Moores Creek National Battlefield, Currie
SOUTH CAROLINA:
- Angel Oak, Johns Island
- Avery Research Center, Charleston
- Caw Caw Interpretive Center, Ravenel
- Phillip Simmons House and Museum, Charleston
- McLeod Plantation, James Island
- Magnolia Plantation and Gardens, Charleston
- Drayton Hall, Charleston
- Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens, Charleston
- Charles Pinckney National Historic Site, Mt Pleasant
- The Rice Museum, Georgetown
- Brookgreen Gardens, Myrtle Beach
- Penn Center, St. Helena Island
- Mitchelville, Hilton Head Island
- Aiken-Rhett House, Charleston
- Gullah Museum of Hilton Head Island
- Gullah Museum, Georgetown
- Hobcaw Barony, Georgetown
GEORGIA:
- Geechee Kunda Museum, Riceboro
- Cumberland Island National Seashore
- Cumberland Island history
- Dorchester Academy Boys’ Dormitory, Midway
- Sapelo Island
- Harris Neck
FLORIDA:
- Fort Mose NHL, St. Augustine
- Kingsley Plantation, Duval County
- Lincolnville Historic District, St. Augustine
- Lincolnville Museum, St. Augustine
- Red Bank Plantation House, Jacksonville
Source: Wikipedia
