The site you are on is called The Corners. Historically The Corners Community on St. Helena Island has long served as a community gathering place for the people of the island. The Corners is located at the heart of St. Helena. There are five National Register of Historic Places sites in the Corners area.
- The Green - The Green is an open plot of land and is historically significant as the long-established site of community meetings, celebrations and other gatherings. The Green was the site of the first Darrah Hall, an auditorium and community center built circa 1885 by Penn School. After the 1893 hurricane many homeless refugees crowded into the building seeking shelter. They built fires inside the halls. One of those fires spread and destroyed the hall. Since that time, the Green continued to serve as a community gathering place. Emancipation Day, celebrating the adoption of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, is held each year on January 1 here. It is now known as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Park. The Green was listed in the National Register on October 6, 1998.
- The Knights of Wise Men Lodge - located on the west side of MLK Drive directly behind The Green. The Knights of Wise Men Lodge served as a meeting place for Pilgrims Lodge No. 1, Frogmore, South Carolina, that was organized in 1870 as an African-American fraternal organization. Its mission was to establish a common treasury to provide members with financial and farming assistance in times of sickness and death. It also served as a burial aid society, assisting families with funeral costs. The Lodge was one of more than 30 benevolent societies formed on St. Helena Island between 1870 and 1930. The original lodge hall was a frame structure built in the late 19th century that burned in 1940. In 1942, the lodge was replaced with the present building designed by lodge brothers and built by local masons. On holidays, when St. Helena residents and thousands of others would gather at The Green, the Lodge Hall was used as both a dance hall and jail. The Knights of Wise Men Lodge was listed on the National Register on March 6, 1996.
- The Corner Store and Office (MacDonald, Wilkins & Co. Store / Mark D. Batchelder Office) - located on the north side of U.S. 21 directly across from the Green. The store is significant as an example of late 19th century commercial architecture and for its economic and social importance to residents of St. Helena Island. The store was built circa 1877 by James Ross MacDonald, a businessman from Rhode Island who moved to St. Helena in an effort to improve his health. MacDonald's store sold provisions to islanders, most of whom were African-Americans. The Corner Store became one of the major centers of commercial and social activity on the island. The Frogmore Post Office was also located in the store. The adjacent office, circa 1905, served as an office for Mark D. Batchelder, a junior partner of MacDonald, Wilkins & Co., that operated the store and shipped Sea Island cotton. The Corner Store and Office was listed in the National Register on October 6, 1988.
- The Dr. York Bailey House - the two-story greenframe house located on the north side of U.S. 21 past Gullah Grub Restaurant. It is a private residence. The York W. Bailey House is significant as an intact and good example of vernacular American Foursquare house form, popular in the early 20th century. It is also significant for its association with Dr. York W. Bailey, a prominent native of the island who was St. Helena's first black doctor and one resident physician for more than 50 years. The hose was built circa 1915 for Bailey who ordered it from a mailorder catalog. He was born on St. Helena in 1881, graduated from Penn School and Hampton Institute, and studied medicine at Howard University, returning to the island in 1906. He lived in the house until his death in 1971. His career was frequently cited as an exampled of the success of Penn School in educating the black of St. Helena. The York W. Bailey Cultural Center and Museum at Penn Center is name for him. The home was listed on the National Register on October 6, 1988.
- The Corner Packing Shed - located on the north side of U.S. 21 behind Gullah Grub Restaurant. This building is significant both for its association with truck farming and as an intact and unusual example of early 20th century vernacular architecture. It was built ca. 1930 as a vegetable packing shed for use by truck framers. Truck farming became the dominant form of agriculture on the island after the boll weevil doomed Sea Island cotton as a viable crop. It was greatly aided by increased accessibility of St. Helena Island after the opening of the bridge from Beaufort to Lady's Island in 1927. It is the only known extant property associated with the early days of truck farming on St. Helena. The building itself is a long, open frame building with a metal gable roof. The roof shelters an enclosed attic storage space. Loading docks, sheltered by shed roofs, extend along each side of the rectangular building. An enclosed office area is at one end of the building. The shed was listed on the National Register on October 6, 1988.
The Corners
The site you are on is called The Corners. Historically The Corners Community on St. Helena Island has long served as a community gathering place for the people of the island. The Corners is located at the heart of St. Helena. There are five National Register of Historic Places sites in the Corners area.
- The Green - The Green is an open plot of land and is historically significant as the long-established site of community meetings, celebrations and other gatherings. The Green was the site of the first Darrah Hall, an auditorium and community center built circa 1885 by Penn School. After the 1893 hurricane many homeless refugees crowded into the building seeking shelter. They built fires inside the halls. One of those fires spread and destroyed the hall. Since that time, the Green continued to serve as a community gathering place. Emancipation Day, celebrating the adoption of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, is held each year on January 1 here. It is now known as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Park. The Green was listed in the National Register on October 6, 1998.
- The Knights of Wise Men Lodge - located on the west side of MLK Drive directly behind The Green. The Knights of Wise Men Lodge served as a meeting place for Pilgrims Lodge No. 1, Frogmore, South Carolina, that was organized in 1870 as an African-American fraternal organization. Its mission was to establish a common treasury to provide members with financial and farming assistance in times of sickness and death. It also served as a burial aid society, assisting families with funeral costs. The Lodge was one of more than 30 benevolent societies formed on St. Helena Island between 1870 and 1930. The original lodge hall was a frame structure built in the late 19th century that burned in 1940. In 1942, the lodge was replaced with the present building designed by lodge brothers and built by local masons. On holidays, when St. Helena residents and thousands of others would gather at The Green, the Lodge Hall was used as both a dance hall and jail. The Knights of Wise Men Lodge was listed on the National Register on March 6, 1996.
- The Corner Store and Office (MacDonald, Wilkins & Co. Store / Mark D. Batchelder Office) - located on the north side of U.S. 21 directly across from the Green. The store is significant as an example of late 19th century commercial architecture and for its economic and social importance to residents of St. Helena Island. The store was built circa 1877 by James Ross MacDonald, a businessman from Rhode Island who moved to St. Helena in an effort to improve his health. MacDonald's store sold provisions to islanders, most of whom were African-Americans. The Corner Store became one of the major centers of commercial and social activity on the island. The Frogmore Post Office was also located in the store. The adjacent office, circa 1905, served as an office for Mark D. Batchelder, a junior partner of MacDonald, Wilkins & Co., that operated the store and shipped Sea Island cotton. The Corner Store and Office was listed in the National Register on October 6, 1988.
- The Dr. York Bailey House - the two-story greenframe house located on the north side of U.S. 21 past Gullah Grub Restaurant. It is a private residence. The York W. Bailey House is significant as an intact and good example of vernacular American Foursquare house form, popular in the early 20th century. It is also significant for its association with Dr. York W. Bailey, a prominent native of the island who was St. Helena's first black doctor and one resident physician for more than 50 years. The hose was built circa 1915 for Bailey who ordered it from a mailorder catalog. He was born on St. Helena in 1881, graduated from Penn School and Hampton Institute, and studied medicine at Howard University, returning to the island in 1906. He lived in the house until his death in 1971. His career was frequently cited as an exampled of the success of Penn School in educating the black of St. Helena. The York W. Bailey Cultural Center and Museum at Penn Center is name for him. The home was listed on the National Register on October 6, 1988.
- The Corner Packing Shed - located on the north side of U.S. 21 behind Gullah Grub Restaurant. This building is significant both for its association with truck farming and as an intact and unusual example of early 20th century vernacular architecture. It was built ca. 1930 as a vegetable packing shed for use by truck framers. Truck farming became the dominant form of agriculture on the island after the boll weevil doomed Sea Island cotton as a viable crop. It was greatly aided by increased accessibility of St. Helena Island after the opening of the bridge from Beaufort to Lady's Island in 1927. It is the only known extant property associated with the early days of truck farming on St. Helena. The building itself is a long, open frame building with a metal gable roof. The roof shelters an enclosed attic storage space. Loading docks, sheltered by shed roofs, extend along each side of the rectangular building. An enclosed office area is at one end of the building. The shed was listed on the National Register on October 6, 1988.