Old Town Bluffton, SC: Things to Do, Restaurants and History

• Where: on the May River bluff
• Main street: Calhoun Street, ending at the town dock
• Historic district: on the National Register
• Best on: foot, parking once

Old Town Bluffton is the original town, on a bluff above the May River in Bluffton, South Carolina, about 20 minutes from Hilton Head Island. Locals also call it downtown Bluffton or old Bluffton SC, and its official name is the Bluffton Historic District; visitors searching for downtown Bluffton, South Carolina, are looking for this part of town. It began in the early 1800s as a summer retreat for planter families, who came for the river breezes, and it is still a village of shaded streets, live oaks and century-old cottages. Calhoun Street is the main street, and it runs down to the river and the town dock. Most of what you came for is within a few blocks of it.

Calhoun Street

Calhoun Street is the walk. Old cottages along it now hold galleries, gift shops and restaurants, and the Old Town Bluffton Inn is a few doors from the water. At the river end, the May River has the public dock, where dolphin and history cruises, kayak tours and fishing trips start. The Town’s Welcome Center is at 111 Calhoun Street at Wright Family Park; check with the Town for its hours.

Park at Wright Family Park, which has about 70 spaces on Green Street, and walk from there. Everything below is on foot.

History and Museums

Old Town is the best place to see the Lowcountry’s past on the mainland. The Heyward House, built around 1841, is a museum and the starting point for guided walking and golf-cart tours of the district. The Church of the Cross, with its wooden Gothic Revival front, was built in the 1850s and survived the burning of the town in 1863; see the history of Bluffton for the story. The Garvin-Garvey House, built around 1870 by a freed man, is toured on Tuesdays and Thursdays through the Heyward House. A self-guided historic walking tour brochure covers the district.

Galleries, Shops and the Theatre

Old Town has one of the area’s best clusters of galleries and studios, led by the Society of Bluffton Artists gallery on Church Street. For an evening out, the May River Theatre stages community productions at Town Hall. For shops, see Bluffton shopping.

Where to Eat in Old Town

More than a dozen restaurants are inside the district: seafood on the Promenade, a coastal kitchen on Calhoun Street, a Gullah kitchen on May River Road, and the oyster company on Wharf Street at the water. The Old Town restaurants page lists them street by street, and Bluffton dining covers the rest of town.

Getting There

Old Town is about 20 minutes from the Hilton Head bridge by way of US 278 and Bluffton Road, and it is a natural half-day from the island. For the rest of town, see the Bluffton guide.