Beaufort
For decades, a weathered but optimistic face with coal-black wide eyes set in circles has greeted Beaufort residents walking along the sidewalk on Boundary Street, in front of a Thai restaurant and sushi bar.
On Monday morning, rush-hour traffic rushed past the face like it wasn’t there. The drivers may not have even known that the landmark piece of art, carved by a legendary Beaufort figure near the base of the palmetto tree, even exists.
But many longtime Beaufortonians know about this hidden gem — and the unusual man who created it.
One of Beaufort’s hidden pieces of art is on a palm tree on Boundary Street. Karl Puckett kapucket@islandpacket.com
On Friday, the city announced on Facebook that it is removing the tree with the face before it declines naturally or is taken down by a storm.
However, the city added, the funky art will be saved and placed in new home at Morrall Park at the corner of Craven and Carteret streets, preserving the countenance for future generations.
Well-known local artist Hugh Patrick Knox Corry — known to many simply as “Driftwood” — carved the strange face many years ago, City Manager Scott Marshall said.
Marc Sviland, a local artist and woodworker, will mount the carving before it is permanently installed at its new location at Morrall Park, Marshall said.
“I think this public art like this, we should have it stand out as much as we can,” Sviland told the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet. “He was a local character, local color, and I think it’s important to preserve those things.”
The piece carved by Driftwood is “pretty unique,” Sviland says. “It’s like a little Lowcountry totem,” he said.
The project reflects the city’s commitment to preserving not only Beaufort’s historic places, “but also the unique stories, personalities and artwork that contribute to our community’s character,” Marshall said in his weekly Monday report to residents.
Driftwood lived in a shack on the side of U.S. 21 on Harbor Island. He fashioned driftwood and horseshoe crab shells into art, according to previous Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet reporting.
Driftwood’s home on U.S. 21 on Harbor Island, where he sold driftwood art from the mid-1950s to mid-1970s. Lucille Hasell Culp Courtesy the Beaufort County Library
His legend grew large in 20-or-so years around town, from about the early 1950s to the early 1970s. Driftwood died in 1981 in a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Atlanta.
Gibbes McDowell of Beaufort wrote a book about him, “Driftwood Unmasked: The Legend and the Man.”
“Driftwood” was an eccentric who lived by his own rules, Mayor Phil Cromer said on Facebook. Beaufort has always welcomed those who see the world a little differently, and is better for it, Cromer added.
“He was such a unique character among a bevy of interesting characters we have in our little area,” Cromer said.
Beaufort legend “Driftwood,” now known to be Hugh Patrick Knox Corry. Lucille Hasell Culp Courtesy of Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library
Fortunately, said Cromer, Driftwood left residents a piece of art on a palmetto tree to remember him by.
On Tuesday, July 28, beginning at 6 a.m., crews will begin to removing the palmetto tree.
The removal will affect traffic, with the eastbound lane on Boundary Street being reduced to one lane during the work.
The unique art is on Beaufort’s Boundary Street. Karl Puckett kapuckett@islandpacket.com
This story was originally published July 27, 2026 at 11:53 AM.
The Island Packet
Karl Puckett covers the city of Beaufort, town of Port Royal and other communities north of the Broad River for The Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet. The Minnesota native also has worked at newspapers in his home state, Alaska, Wisconsin and Montana.