Gullah Museum of Hilton Head Island: William Simmons House

This is the William Simmons House. It is on Gumtree Road on Hilton Head Island. It will be part of the Gullah Museum of Hilton Head Island.

Gullah Museum of Hilton Head Island: William Simmons House

Many people grew up in small houses like this. Some of them are being restored. This one will be part of the Gullah Museum of Hilton Head Island. It will recreate what life was like on Hilton Head Island before the bridge.

William Simmons House

“This house, built in 1930, is typical in materials and methods of construction of those built on the S.C. Sea Islands from the end of the Civil War to the mid-20^th century. It was built on land bought after 1865 by William Simmons (ca. 1835-1922). Simmons, born a slave, had served in the U.S. Army during the war, enlisting in the 21^st U.S. Colored Infantry as Ira Sherman.

“William Simmons’s granddaughter Georgianna Jones Bryan (1900-1989) built this house in 1930 for her brother, William “Duey” Simmons (1901-1966). It illustrates everyday life and the persistence of Gullah culture in an African-American farm community until after a bridge was built from the mainland in 1956. It was renovated in 2010-11 as the Gullah Museum of Hilton Head Island.”

The Gullah Museum of Hilton Head Island project began in 2003 with the goal of preserving and reviving Gullah history. It is a 501(C)3 organization focused on Gullah customs, traditions, language, stories, songs and structures on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. This is the first structure, “The Little House.” A documentary was made about it; Hilton Head Island Back in the Day: Through the Eyes of the Gullah Elders.

This is the video trailer for the documentary Hilton Head Island Back In the Day, Through the Eyes of the Gullah Elders.