St. Helena is home to Beaufort County’s largest concentration of Gullah/Geechee people and landowners. The Cultural Protection Overlay protects this community from gentrification by restricting gated communities, resorts, and golf courses. On many Sea Islands including Hilton Head Island, these developments have harmed Gullah/Geechee land ownership, and Gullah/Geechee culture.
The National Park Service highlights how golf resort communities can impact Gullah/Geechee culture in the Low Country Gullah Culture Special Resource Study and Final Environmental Impact Statement, which led to the federal designation of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor.