Bluffton is "a state of mind," as the town's slogan goes, and has been since its inception. "It's a community that really was started historically as a second-home community before the Civil War, where people would come in the summer to get away from the cities," notes Roberts Vaux, a local attorney and entrepreneur. Because of the heat and bugs that accompanied the summer months, residents of the area saw Bluffton with its breezy bluffs as a perfect respite.

It's also here, under what¹s known as the Secession Oak, that the fires for the South to secede from the North got a little stoking. The tree may already have been two centuries old in 1844 when as many as 500 people met beneath its canopy. According to the Bluffton Historical Preservation Society (in its volume, No. II: A Longer Short History of Bluffton, South Carolina and Its Environs), those people had come to hear their congressman, Robert Barnwell Rhett, "who had been so vociferously agitating since the 1820s forŠSecession." And so began "The Bluffton Movement," which "led to South Carolina's withdrawal from the Union on Dec. 20, 1860-the first state to secede." The oak is on the left-hand side of Verdier Cove Road at Highway 46, just outside the town limits on the Pritchardville side.

With The Bluffton Movement in mind, Union forces eventually would burn most of Bluffton during the War Between the States. However, some homes were spared, including one that now serves as the Heyward House Historic Center. Built as a summer home for a local plantation owner, the house was constructed about 1840 and is one of a handful of antebellum homes remaining in the coastal town. Now under the supervision of the Bluffton Historical Preservation Society, the house contains period furnishings and a tour also includes the original slave cabin in the back, according to Robert S. Jones Jr., curator. The structures can be seen during docent-guided tours from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. However, those hours were subject to change and you may want to call (843) 757-MAYE or visit Heyward House before you go.

Another must-see stop gratefully spared during the war is the Church of the Cross, which is at the foot of Calhoun Street and offers a sweeping view of the May River. This gem of antebellum architecture remains in use and is in particularly high demand for weddings.

For the past 60 years, Bluffton has enjoyed a reputation as an artists' colony as well. Those artists, mostly clustered in the older, downtown area, boast skills that range from woodcarving to pottery to painting in acrylics and watercolors. They include Jacob Preston, a world-class potter whose studio is on Church Street and is open from 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, from early May through Thanksgiving. Preston has been known not to be there but leaving the shop open anyway so visitors can browse and drop their money in a can. While visiting the eclectic artists' area of Bluffton, also consider stops at such boutiques or antique stores and shops as The Store, Eggs'n'Tricities, Bluffton Antiques and Gifts, Bluffton Lights & Sights, Calhoun Street Art Gallery, Calibogue House Furniture, and Stock Farm Antiques.

Everybody loves a festival, and the perfect match just may be the Bluffton Village Festival, also known as Mayfest, on the second Saturday of May (call 843-757-3855 for more information).