Parris Island Museum at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in Beaufort, South Carolina, connects the history of the United States Marine Corps with the deeper past of the Port Royal region. In a 10,000-square-foot facility, it traces the island’s story from Native American civilization through French and Spanish colonial eras into modern times, while also presenting artifacts from the early 19th century to the present. Dedicated on January 8, 1975, by General Robert E. Cushman, Jr., it opened in a building originally constructed in 1951. A renovation completed in spring 2008 preserved its role as a center for the island’s cultural, regional, and military history.