The Pinckney Island National Wildlife Refuge is a 4053acre National Wildlife Refuge located in Beaufort County, South Carolina between the mainland and Hilton Head Island. Named after Major General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, it was established to provide a nature and forest preserve for aesthetic and conservation purposes.The refuge is one of seven refuges administered by the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex in Savannah, Georgia. The complex has a combined staff of 31 with a fiscal year 2005 budget of $3,582,000.HistoryPinckney Island NWR is archaeologically rich, with 115 prehistoric and historic sites identified. Analysis of the prehistoric sites indicate human occupation dating from the Archaic Period (8000-1000 BC), with intensive use during the Mississippian Period (1000-1500 AD). Historic artifacts indicate that small scale, impermanent settlements were made on Pinckney by French and Spanish groups in the 16th and 17th centuries. Permanent settlements did not occur until 1708 when Alexander Mackay, an Indian trader, obtained title to 200acre of present-day Pinckney Island. By 1715, Mackay had acquired the rest of the island, as well as most of the other islands which comprise the present refuge. In 1736, Mackay's widow sold the islands to Charles Pinckney, father of General Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.
