Harbor Island sits between St. Helena and Hunting Island, with St. Helena Sound and the Atlantic in front of it, the Harbor River along its western side and Johnson Creek running toward Hunting Island. US 21, Sea Island Parkway, crosses the Harbor River from St. Helena, and Harbor Drive turns off it into the community.
That one crossing carries a good deal. It is the only road connection from the mainland to Harbor, Hunting and Fripp islands. The bridge itself is new: SCDOT replaced the old swing drawbridge and opened its successor in April 2021, so you now drive straight across. Back on the St. Helena side, SCDOT’s assessment documented Gay Fish Company as a working commercial fishing dock, unloading, processing and shipping.
The island on the far side of the bridge is quieter, with beach along its edge and a nature trail running through it. The Census counted 209 residents here in 2020 against 480 housing units, and 304 of those homes were held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use. That is 63 percent of everything on the island, with only 105 occupied as somebody’s usual residence.
The community was laid out in 1980, with its provisional plan filed that August and the owners’ association bylaws the following month. Beaufort County School District serves the island, and Hunting Island State Park with its lighthouse lies on the next island along, a short drive further out.
Sourced: population and housing units, U.S. Census Bureau 2020 count. Island geography and the sole-connection point, Beaufort County development plan and SCDOT. Bridge replacement and opening, SCDOT. Development dates, the owners’ association’s own recorded documents. Gay Fish Company, SCDOT Harbor River bridge environmental assessment. Seasonal use, 2020 Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics file, table H5, vacancy status. Occupied housing, the same file, table H3, occupancy status.