Editing Port Royal, South Carolina (section)

==History==
Port Royal takes its name from the adjacent [[Port Royal Sound]], which was explored and named by Frenchman [[Jean Ribault]] in 1562.  Ribault founded the short-lived settlement of [[Charlesfort]] on Parris Island.  The area later became the site of a [[Spanish colonization of the Americas|Spanish]] and still later [[Scottish colonization of the Americas|Scottish]] colony during the 17th century.

Port Royal was the site of the Naval [[Battle of Port Royal]] during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. Later during the war, it was one of the sites of the [[Port Royal Experiment]], which included most of the [[Sea Islands]] in Union hands. In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation was first read at Christmas under the Proclamation tree in Port Royal.

Due to the benefits of a large and sheltered natural harbor, Port Royal was able to develop port facilities to support the growing [[phosphate]] mining activities after the Civil War.  The [[Port Royal Railroad]] was completed from Port Royal to a junction with the main [[Charleston and Savannah Railway]] in [[Yemassee, South Carolina|Yemassee]], thus establishing a land route for trade and commerce.  Port Royal was the southeastern terminus of the [[Charleston and Western Carolina Railway]], the railroad last had passenger trains to Port Royal in the mid-1950s.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Charleston & Western Carolina Railway|journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=87 |issue=7 |date=December 1954}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Charleston & Western Carolina Railway [freight only]|journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=90 |issue=7 |date=December 1957}}</ref> Development of a community around the previously isolated port site at the end of the Beaufort River and Battery Creek led to the platting of streets and town lots by development interests.  A land rush ensued, and Port Royal was officially incorporated in 1874, 300 years after initial settlement efforts.

The [[Sea Islands Hurricane]] of 1893 destroyed much of the phosphate industry and stunted development, but the port continued to operate throughout the 20th century.  The opening of Parris Island as a Marine Corps recruiting station brought some vitality back to the community, though rapid residential growth did not occur until the later decades of the 20th century.  The port's vitality however began to decline as the State of South Carolina began to focus on dredging [[Charleston, South Carolina|Charleston's]] harbor and expanding port facilities further up the coast.  In an effort to save costs, the State Ports Authority closed the port facility in Port Royal in 2004.  Efforts to redevelop have been ongoing but been hampered by the [[Great Recession]]. Due to annexation, including [[Parris Island]], the population of Port Royal rose from 3,950 in 2000 to 10,678 in 2010, a 170% increase.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.islandpacket.com/2011/03/23/1594433/us-census-beaufort-county-grew.html##ixzz1HXEBl3DP|title= U.S. Census: Beaufort County grew by 34 percent over last decade|first= Kyle|last= Peterson|newspaper= The Island Packet|location= Hilton Head, SC|date= March 23, 2011|access-date= November 7, 2012|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110325062910/http://www.islandpacket.com/2011/03/23/1594433/us-census-beaufort-county-grew.html|archive-date= March 25, 2011|url-status= dead}}</ref>

The [[Camp Saxton Site]], [[Fort Frederick Heritage Preserve]], [[Hasell Point Site]], [[Little Barnwell Island]], [[F.W. Scheper Store]], and [[Union Church of Port Royal]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]].<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>