Visitors can now explore the history of Fort Fremont Sunday afternoons from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m..  The history center is also open Fridays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.  Friends of Fort Fremont volunteers are available to answer questions, explain the role Fort Fremont played during the Spanish-American War, and to lead guided tours.

The Fort Fremont Preserve is located at 1124 Land’s End Road, St. Helena Island (map) and is open daily from dawn to dusk to the public free of charge. The preserve and fort were purchased by Beaufort County through the Rural and Critical Lands Preservation Program in 2004 and 2010. The park encompasses 18-acres of mixed hardwood forest facing the Port Royal Sound.

Beaufort County opened the history center in 2022 to showcase the rich history of the area. Fort Fremont is on the National Register of Historic Places. 

Passive recreation and historic amenities include free public access and parking area, a picnic pavilion, ADA pathways, historic concrete batteries, a history center with scale models of the Fort and interpretive displays, restrooms, and drinking fountains.

The fort represented cutting-edge technology when it was constructed in 1898.  It played a vital role in protecting the U.S. Naval Station at Parris Island with its dry dock and coaling station critical to the Atlantic naval fleet during the Spanish-American War.  The Battleship USS Maine made one its last stops for provisions here enroute to Havana, Cuba, where the sinking of the Maine ignited the start of the war with Spain.

Port Royal Sound with its deep natural harbor played a strategic military role in the history of the area since the Spanish arrived in the 16^th century.  Three hundred and fifty years later, Fort Fremont marked the final chapter of coastal fortifications on Port Royal Sound.  It is a snapshot in time when the United States became a formidable world power.

More information as well as a self-guided walking tour app is available at www.fortfremont.org.

For a complete list of Beaufort County Passive Parks, click here.