There are so many things to love about Daufuskie, so many things that make it unique.

That it's a real island is probably the first thing that will register. No bridges to cross, the only way that one gains entrance is by boat - just as it's been throughout the thousands of years that people have inhabited the island. The ferry ride through the Intracoastal is lovely and comfortable and lasts just about long enough to slow down your city pulse. It's an excellent transition zone.

And the island's rather unpopulated by anyone's standards. There are only a few hundred year round residents and unless you go looking for them, you probably won't even see them.

During the Revolutionary War, Daufuskie was a Tory stronghold. And the Daufuskie Island Tories attacked the Hilton Head Patriots.

During the Civil War, the island was occupied by Union forces. Captain John Monroe took up residence in the Melrose Mansion and conducted tours.

And during World War II, the U.S. Coast Guard set up shop to help defend the Eastern Seaboard.

Natives were massacred by the English on Bloody Point in 1715. Bloody Point. I defy you to amble down that way, sit under an moss-draped Oak, gaze across the marsh and keep those images out of your head.

The Bloody Point Lighthouse (privately owned, so no trespassing) was built in 1883 to guide ships into the Savannah port.

Attend a service at the First Union African Baptist Church, the original of which was built in 1881. Until recently there was still a Praise House on site.

Daufuskie Island is a place where the history is palpable.

Sea Island cotton, lumber, Indigo, and oysters have all played a part in the local economy and so have plantations, Boll Weevils, pollution, the Depression, storms, and, developers and tourists. And, as is usually the case, the relationship between old and new can be tenuous.

Big pieces of the island still feel wild. There are gators in the ponds and in the mornings and evenings, there are deer wandering all over the place. There are massive Southern Oaks standing on the island that have been witness to hundreds of years of changes. We've seen wild turkeys and Wood Storks and there are Eagle's nests built in the trees on the beach.

We love the island and we hope that you will, too.