Hilton Head Island is the city where the webcam is currently located, located on the island of the same name in Beaufort County, South Carolina, USA. It is located about153 kilometerssouth of Charleston. As of 2017, it has the 10th largest population in the state.
The island known today as Hilton Head has been inhabited by Native Americans since the eighth millennium BC. In 1521, a Spanish expedition led by Francisco Cordillo entered the island and met local residents.
In 1663, Captain William Hilton explored the island and gave his name to the headland at the entrance to Port Royal Bay, which eventually led to the entire island being named Hilton Head. On eighteenth-century maps the island was briefly designated as “Trench” in honor of Alexander Trench, who was responsible for its sale on behalf of the island’s owner, Baron John Bailey.
The island saw hostilities during the Revolutionary War, with much of the conflict centered around the nearby town of Beaufort. On the island itself, loyalists and British Navy privateers set fire to several houses. During the War of 1812 British troops landed on the island again, causing many houses to be burned.