Pat Conroy lived and wrote in the Beaufort area. His books and four films made from them put the Lowcountry on the map, and many of the places are open to visit.
Pat Conroy (1945–2016) went to high school in Beaufort, taught for a year on Daufuskie Island and spent much of his writing life in the Beaufort area, and the Lowcountry runs through his books. Beaufort is about 40 miles from Hilton Head, an hour’s drive. Below are the places to see, and a guide to each novel and the film it became.
601 Bladen Street, Beaufort
A three-gallery museum on his life and work, with his father’s flight jacket, the desk he wrote at on Fripp Island, and books for sale. It is the best first stop. Check the center’s hours before you go.
About 40 miles, an hour from central Hilton Head.
Conroy’s family was stationed at Beaufort’s Marine air station when he was in high school, and the town is the Lowcountry of his books. Homes he lived in are private, so the walk is a view from the street. Beaufort Tours runs a “Pat Conroy’s Beaufort” van tour with the Literary Center that visits his high school, his former home, sites from The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini, and his grave; check its schedule.
About 40 miles, an hour.
In 1969 Conroy taught Gullah children on Daufuskie Island and wrote The Water Is Wide about it. Our page on The Water Is Wide and Conroy’s year on Daufuskie covers the book and the island, which you reach by boat.
By ferry from Hilton Head.
Conroy died on March 4, 2016, and is buried on St. Helena Island near the Penn Center. It is a cemetery, so visit quietly. The island is also where Daughters of the Dust was filmed, and our Gullah Geechee culture page covers what to see there.
About 40 miles, an hour.
Four of his books became films. The Water Is Wide (1972) became Conrack in 1974. The Great Santini (1976), about a Marine pilot father based on Conroy’s own, became the 1979 film shot in Beaufort: see where The Great Santini was filmed. The Prince of Tides (1986), set in the Lowcountry, became the 1991 film: see The Prince of Tides locations. The Lords of Discipline (1980), set at a military college, was filmed in 1983.
His other books include The Boo (1970), Beach Music (1995), South of Broad (2009), set in Charleston, and the memoirs My Losing Season and The Death of Santini. The Lords of Discipline is set at The Citadel in Charleston. Beach Music and South of Broad range beyond Beaufort, so they are books to read for the region more than places to visit here. The Big Chill, which is not a Conroy story, was shot in the same Point house as The Great Santini: see The Big Chill filming locations.
Start at the Literary Center, walk the Point and Bay Street, and have lunch downtown. Add St. Helena Island if you have the afternoon. All the film sites are on movies filmed in Beaufort, SC, and the Beaufort day trip page has the town itself.
Movies filmed in Beaufort, SC and the Lowcountry: Forrest Gump, The Great Santini, The Prince of Tides and more, plus a day trip from Hilton Head.
Where The Great Santini was filmed in Beaufort, SC: the Meechum house on the Point, the air station, Pat Conroy's Beaufort and the drive from Hilton Head.
The Prince of Tides cast and who played whom, plus where the 1991 film was shot in Beaufort, SC, on Fripp and St. Helena, and the drive from Hilton Head.
The Water Is Wide book and Pat Conroy's year on Daufuskie Island: where he taught, the Conrack movie, and how to visit the Mary Field School today.
Hilton Head to Beaufort is under an hour: the drive, the waterfront, carriage tours, Penn Center, Old Sheldon Church and Hunting Island.
He went to high school in Beaufort, South Carolina, taught for a year on Daufuskie Island, and lived and wrote in the Beaufort area for much of his career. The homes are private; the Pat Conroy Literary Center in Beaufort is the place to learn about him.
A museum at 601 Bladen Street in Beaufort on his life and work, with his father’s flight jacket, his Fripp Island writing desk and books for sale. Check its hours before you go.
The Water Is Wide (the film Conrack), The Great Santini, The Lords of Discipline and The Prince of Tides. The Great Santini and The Prince of Tides were filmed in the Beaufort area.
On St. Helena Island near Beaufort, close to the Penn Center. He died on March 4, 2016.
About 40 miles, roughly an hour’s drive from central Hilton Head with no traffic.
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