2014 Media Kit
The Lafayette Soiree | Fast Facts Press Contact – Erika Conefry, 201.906.3743, econefry@outlook.com
Historic Beaufort Foundation
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Historic Beaufort Foundation (HBF) supports the preservation, protection, and presentation of sites and artifacts of historic, architectural, and cultural interest throughout Beaufort County, South Carolina. HBF is a Local Partner of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Historicbeaufort.org
Event Details
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WHEN April 5, 2014 6:30 pm WHERE 705 Washington St. Beaufort, SC TICKETS $125 per person Call 843.379.3331 or Historicbeaufort.org WEB facebook.com/TheSoireeHBF HISTORIC HOME Elizabeth Barnwell Gough House Listed, National Register for Historic Places
Media Invitation
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Media outlets are encouraged to explore the history around this enduring annual event honoring the Marquis de Lafayette’s visit to Beaufort, South Carolina (and this particular historic home) through advance interviews with Historic Beaufort leadership, the homeowners, or the event committee. Media is invited to be our guest at the event with intentions of post event coverage. Two people per outlet; three with a camera.
Arrange through press contact.
Press Release Historic Beaufort Foundation’s Lafayette Soiree Staged to be the Outdoor Party of the Year Feb. 28, 2104 - Beaufort , South Carolina – On April 5, at 6:30 pm, the grounds of Alison and Mark Guilloud’s historic (c. 1789) downtown home will be transformed into a lively 18th Century French Market for Historic Beaufort Foundation’s annual Lafayette Soiree. This year’s theme, April in Paris, pays homage to the home of US and French military hero Marquis de Lafayette who visited Beaufort in 1825 to speak at the Verdier House and then be honored at a ball celebrating his triumphant accomplishments in support of the US. Thematic seasonal fare is being supplied by noteworthy downtown Beaufort restaurants. Onsite chefs will be Gary Lang and Beth Shaw from Breakwater Restaurant & Bar, Lantz Price from Saltus River Grill, and Rick Stone from Beaufort Bread Company. The Old Bull Tavern is also participating. The Soiree will include both live and silent auctions and conclude with dancing, featuring renowned Atlanta band the CEO Show Band.
2014 Lafayette Soiree co-chairs are Will and Paula Verity, Laura Dukes, Lanier Laney, and Terry Sweeny.
The Guilloud’s home, the Elizabeth Barnwell Gough House, was built by people who heavily influenced Beaufort. Elizabeth’s grandfather, Col. John "Tuscarora Jack" Barnwell, is most responsible for the founding of Beaufort. Her father, Nathaniel, was the largest indigo planter in the Beaufort District. And her brothers, John and Robert, were Revolutionary War heroes—ultimately founding Beaufort College (site of University of South Carolina Beaufort). Tickets, $125 per person, are available by calling the Foundation at 843-379-3331 or via the website at historicbeaufort.org. Funds raised by the event support the Foundation’s mission of preserving, protecting, and presenting sites and artifacts of historic, architectural, and cultural interest throughout Beaufort County. For event information, consult the Soiree’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TheSoireeHBF or contact Erika Conefry at 201-906-3743. For details on the home or the historical significance of Lafayette’s visit, contact Maxine Lutz, Executive Director, Historic Beaufort Foundation.
2013 Lafayette Soiree Setting – French Style Garden at the Lewis Reeves Sams House
Elizabeth Barnwell Gough House History The house as it is today, under care of new owners Mark & Alison Guilloud.
The Elizabeth Barnwell Gough House (c. 1789) is one of three Beaufort, South Carolina, homes (Tabby Manse and the Verdier House are the other two) based on the Miles Brewton House in Charleston and at a distant remove, the Palladian villas of the Venetian mainland. The “T”-shaped house was built entirely of tabby, a concrete-like mixture of oyster shells, sand, and lime. It illustrates aspects of both Adam and the emerging Federal style.
Older photo of the home as seen in a Library of Congress historical site survey.
In the 1930s, with the Great Depression in effect, the mahogany paneling was removed from the southeast parlor and installed in a house in California. By the 1970s, with ceilings collapsed and walls unsound, the house was restored by Colin and Jane Bruce Brooker who were also able to retrieve and restore the paneling. The house was built in the 1780s for Elizabeth Barnwell Gough, the granddaughter of “Tuscarora” Jack Barnwell, and grandmother to Robert Barnwell Rhett and Edmund Rhett, the authors of the Secession Movement.
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It’s within the Beaufort Historic District, which is a National Historic Landmark District.
Lafayette’s History in Beaufort & The Soiree The Lafayette Soiree is named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette (MarieJoseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette) who visited Beaufort on March 18, 1825, during his triumphal tour of America. He was received by a 13 gun salute and spoke to the citizens of Beaufort from the portico of the Verdier House, located at 801 Bay St. in Beaufort, South Carolina. He then spent the night at a ball held in his honor.
The overall reason for his visit? From July 1824 to September 1825, Lafayette, the last surviving French General of the Revolutionary War, made a tour of the 24 states in the United States. At many stops on this tour he was received by the populace with a hero's welcome—many honors and monuments were presented to commemorate and memorialize his visit.
The Marquis de Lafayette led troops alongside George Washington in the American Revolution over 40 years earlier. He fought in several crucial battles including the Battle of Brandywine in Pennsylvania, and the Siege of Yorktown in Virginia. Since that time the Marquis lived in France and pursued a political career championing the ideals of liberty that the fledgling US republic represented. After the Marquis left the French legislature in 1824, President James Monroe invited him to tour the United States, both to instill the "spirit of 1776" in the next generation of Americans and to celebrate the nation's 50th anniversary. Verdier House (c. 1804)
2013 Lafayette Soiree at the Lewis Reeves Sams House
Contacts Historic Beaufort Foundation
Sponsorship Inquiries
Event Press Inquiries
Maxine Lutz, Executive Director
Lanier Laney
Erika Conefry
For information about the Elizabeth Barnwell Gough house or the mission and projects of HBF.
843.441.3314 mobile lanierlaney@gmail.com
For media pass arrangements, pre event interviews with the homeowners, HBF leadership, or Soiree committee creative lead.
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843.379.3331 mlutz@historicbeaufort.org Historicbeaufort.org
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Tickets
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By phone - 843.379.3331 Online – historicbeaufort.org
Thank you to committed Historic Beaufort Foundation sponsor
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201.906.3743 mobile econefry@outlook.com
facebook.com/TheSoireeHBF