Hilton Head Island, South Carolina

seasonal occupation by Native Americans thousands of years ago, and continued with European exploration and the Sea Island cot- ton trade. It became an important base of op- erations for the Union blockade of the South- ern ports during the Civil War. Once the island fell to Union troops, hundreds of ex-slaves flocked to Hilton Head Island, which is still home to many of whom are descendants of freed slaves known as the Gullah (or Geechee), who have managed to hold on to much of their ethnic and cultural identity.