Unknown stories of Bluffton

Uncovering A historic small town’s lesser-known past.

Stories by Barry Kaufman

As a town, Bluffton can be somewhat hard to pigeonhole. For years, the narrative was that it was a sleepy little artists’ enclave, blessed with adjectives like “funky” and “quirky.” The fact that the town’s former newspaper was called the “Bluffton Eccentric” certainly bears that out. 

But Bluffton has evolved beyond that quaint idiosyncrasy to encompass so many things – it is a town of rich history, of a refined sense of Southern grandeur coexisting with a rustic blue-collar ethic. In short, it is a complex living town. And any town of such complexity is going to have more than its share of secret stories.

Bluffton’s Varn & Platt Canning Co.

(Click on the stories below to read more)

Untold History

Rosie: How Bluffton reshaped child-labor laws

Burnt Church Road: The Mystery Revealed

The spy who (possibly) named the May River

Eulogy for the Secession Oak

Myths & Misconceptions

General Sherman didn’t burn Bluffton

The Rate wasn’t built for virtue

Old Town isn’t even Old Town

Palmetto Bluff

The Wilsons and Palmetto Bluff

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