Harbor Island is a small residential

barrier island Barrier islands are a Coast#Landforms, coastal landform, a type of dune, dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of an ...

located 14 miles (22 km) east of Beaufort,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. It is one of the Carolina

Sea Islands The Sea Islands are a chain of over a hundred tidal and barrier islands on the Atlantic Ocean coast of the Southeastern United States, between the mouths of the Santee and St. Johns rivers along South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The la ...

. Most of the island is

tidal marsh A tidal marsh (also known as a type of "tidal wetland") is a marsh found along rivers, coasts and estuaries which floods and drains by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean.

, though approximately of upland acreage exists on the northeastern portions. The residential portion of the island was listed as a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

in the 2020 census, with a population of 209. The island is served by U.S. Route 21 (US 21), the only vehicular access route to the island and other nearby islands.

History

The island was uninhabited and used primarily as hunting grounds until the 1930s, when US 21 was constructed to connect Saint Helena Island with Hunting Island. Development on Harbor Island remained scarce until The Fripp Company, developers of

Fripp Island Fripp Island is a 6.546 sq mi (16.954 km2) barrier island and census-designated place (CDP) located along the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the lowcountry part of South Carolina. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 United States ce ...

, purchased most of the land on the island and developed a gated residential and resort community. Small-scale commercial development exists along US 21. In November 2018, the South Carolina Environmental Law Project filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Harbor Island Owners Association, asking the Beaufort County Circuit Court to order the state to remove seven houses that, through rapid erosion, had ended up in the water on the beach below the mean high water mark."Beached Houses Is What You Get"
"South Carolina Environmental Law Project" - Accessed February 28, 2019 The state was released from the action in 2018, leaving the homeowners and the association as parties to the suit. The original Harbor River Bridge, a swing-span bridge built in 1939, was narrow and structurally deficient and was replaced with a modern fixed-span bridge to ensure safer and reliable access. The new bridge opened to traffic on April 25, 2021."Harbor River Bridge"
"South Carolina Department of Transportation" - Accessed March 28, 2021

Nature

Harbor Island is a certified Community Wildlife Habitat by the

National Wildlife Federation The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is the largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization in the United States, with over six million members and supporters, and 51 state and territorial affiliated organizations (i ...

Birds

Harbor Island is part of the Beaufort Barrier Islands

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

Sea Turtles

Harbor Island has a Sea Turtle Nest Protection Program permitted by the

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is a South Carolina state agency charged with regulating hunting, fishing, boating, duck stamp orders, and the conservation efforts of the state government. It is directed by seven-mem ...

and run by volunteers.

Demographics

The residential portion of the island was listed as a

in 2020. Per the 2020 census, the population was 209.

2020 census

References

External links

Harbor Island Owners Association

Harbor Island's Sea Turtle Nesting Program

Beaufort Barrier Islands Important Bird Area

Community Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation
{{Authority control Islands of Beaufort County, South Carolina Islands of South Carolina Hilton Head Island–Beaufort micropolitan area South Carolina Sea Islands