Tourists Shocked To Learn Hilton Head Existed Before 1983 South Beach T-Shirt Shop

Emily Fraser

01 Sep 2025 — 1 min read

Brenda Mullins of Toledo, Ohio, clutching souvenir T-shirts in Harbour Town, moments after learning Hilton Head existed before 1983.

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC — Vacationers visiting Harbour Town this week were stunned to discover Hilton Head Island has a history that predates the 1983 opening of the popular South Beach Marina “Salty Dog” T-shirt shop.

“I honestly thought that’s when they built the island,” said Brenda Mullins of Toledo, Ohio, clutching three new shirts. “Like, the T-shirt store came first, and then they just kind of landscaped around it. I had no idea people actually lived here before then.”

Guides at the Harbour Town Lighthouse museum reported similar confusion. “When we tell folks about the island’s rich Gullah traditions, or the groundbreaking experiment that was Mitchelville, their eyes glaze over until we mention the first T-shirt printing press,” said volunteer docent Patricia Lowrey.

Local historians confirmed Hilton Head has been inhabited for centuries, though most visitors measure its history in cotton-poly blends.

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