OVERVIEW

Hardeeville, SC is a small city in Jasper County that is reaping the benefits of the area's growth and positioning itself through recent annexations to promote commercial and industrial development. Often referred to as the Gateway to the Lowcounty, Hardeeville borders Beaufort County and the Town of Bluffton, and enjoys easy access to I-95, the Savannah Hilton Head International Airport and the Charleston-Savannah Railway with a future container port on the Savannah River in Jasper County adding to the city's infrastructure for commercial development.

Hardeeville sponsors festivals throughout the year to foster a strong community and a small-town feel, and it's most popular continues to be the annual Celebrate Hardeeville Festival held in October. Its new City Hall & Community Campus built as a replica of its former historic school complex reflects the community's respect for tradition and pride in its local history. As another example of investment in the local community, the Hardeeville Recreation Park was designed to provide recreation and community services by offering a playing field, basket ball courts, baseball field, fishing pond and playgrounds.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

The history of Hardeeville began in 1730's when a group of Swiss Huguenots founded the city of Purrysburg. Alas, the city couldn't compete with nearby Savannah, and the town was soon abandoned. Modern Hardeeville began in the 1800's when Isaac Hardee and his family settled here from North Carolina. The city was known for a time as Hardee Station and served as a prominent stop on the Charleston & Savannah Railroad line. A full-size replica of a steam engine sits today on Main St as a tribute to its railway past. Eventually the railroad declined as the town grew and Station was dropped from the name in favor of Hardeeville.

ACTIVITIES AND TOURISM

Hardeeville Recreational Park offers an impressive facility for its local community. Patriots Stadium is home to the Hardeeville Patriots Youth Football Team, and its recently renovated stadium also hosts flag football leagues and soccer leagues. The Richard Gray Baseball Complex and the multi-purpose field offer two fields built to college baseball size making them attractive to regional or national tournaments, and they also host the Hardeeville Baseball Association and serve as a practice field for the Hardeeville Patriots and soccer leagues. The Recreational Park also includes two outdoor basketball courts, playgrounds and three ponds that are home to bass, bream, catfish, and grass carps.

The nearby Savannah National Wildlife Refuge consists of 29,000 acres of freshwater marshes, tidal rivers and creeks, and offers a variety of birdlife due to its location on the Atlantic Flyway including migrating ducks and songbirds at different times of the year.

Hardeeville also benefits from its easy access to Hilton Head Island, Beaufort and Bluffton, SC and Savannah, GA. The beaches and resort activities of Hilton Head Island are thirty miles away, and Savannah's River Street and historic districts are less than twenty miles away. Its local residents enjoy small town feeling and affordable quality of life that Hardeeville offers while still having access to the area's cultural and recreational opportunities.