Fripp Island, South Carolina

Fripp Island is a 6.546 sq mi (16.954 km²) barrier island located along the Atlantic coast of the lowcountry part of South Carolina. It is approximately 21 miles from Beaufort, 96 miles south of Charleston, and 65 miles north of Savannah, Georgia. Some of the neighboring islands include Hunting Island, St. Helena Island, and Lady's Island. The island mostly serves as a residential vacation resort, but several hundred residents make it their permanent home. It is also the most seaward of the South Carolina Sea Islands. Fripp is renowned for its resort amenities and natural conservation.HistoryAlthough it has had several names over its history, the island is presently named after Captain Johannes Fripp, a British sailor charged with protecting the Carolina colony from Spanish attacks. Local folklore and dedicated history have long suspected Fripp to be the location where Edward Teach, the pirate known as Blackbeard, had stowed away some of his treasures and bounty.Due to its relatively remote location, the island was utilized primarily as a private hunting range for most of its history. In the mid-20th century, completion of bridges connecting Beaufort with nearby Hunting Island State Park, investors looked to develop a residential resort community on Fripp. Upon securing bonds and establishing a public service district, a bridge was built in 1961 that connected Fripp with Hunting Island, U.S. Highway 21, and nearby Beaufort and began to stimulate residential development. Within 10 years, developers had built the Ocean Point Golf Links, a Racquet Club for tennis, a marina and a variety of homes and condominium units that would serve as the benchmark for development for the next thirty years.