The Simmons Family Kept Their Land, and Spanish Wells Road Kept Its Oaks
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
Before a bridge connected Hilton Head to the mainland, Charlie Simmons Sr. ran boats and trucks between the island, Daufuskie and Savannah. They carried residents, farm goods, schoolchildren, workers and supplies. The Open Land Trust says he was known as "Mr. Transportation." This fall two of his descendants, as The Island Packet reported, took a step to keep the family's land along Spanish Wells Road looking the way it does now.
Palmer Simmons and his sister, Charlesetta Aiken, put 8.64 acres of family land under a permanent conservation easement. The land runs from the road to the marshes of Old House Creek and includes mature live oaks, open land and a family cemetery. The family still owns it. The Town of Hilton Head Island and Beaufort County paid for the development rights, and that deal is now the cheapest protection the island has bought this year.
The Town's October 28 announcement says the Simmons Tract is at 584 Spanish Wells Road near Old House Creek. The transaction closed October 14, 2026. The easement removes the potential for 59 residential units or 45,420 square feet of commercial space. The Town also says it protects habitat and open space along the Spanish Wells/Jonesville corridor and "helps maintain the character of the historic Spanish Wells area."
Three details shape what this means for the road:
The tract stretches from a public road to a tidal marsh, which is the kind of parcel that tends to become a small subdivision. Now its development potential is permanently retired, and the family still lives on the land.
"We know now that it will be here forever. The property will maintain its graciousness through the years to be enjoyed by family and friends." Palmer Simmons, quoted by the Open Land Trust
The Simmons easement was announced together with a much more visible purchase. The Town and County bought the 9.5-acre former Adventure Hilton Head site at 33 Broad Creek Marina Way, which runs from Marshland Road to Broad Creek. The Island Packet summed up the pair as about $1 million an acre. That average hides a large difference between the two deals.
| Simmons Tract, 584 Spanish Wells Road | Broad Creek Marina Way | |
|---|---|---|
| Acres | 8.64 | 9.5 |
| What was bought | Conservation easement | The land itself |
| Price | $2.8 million | $15.4 million |
| Approximate cost per acre | About $324,000 | About $1.62 million |
| Homes removed from future potential | 59 | 152 |
| Approximate cost per home removed | About $47,000 | About $101,000 |
| Who owns it now | The Simmons family | The Town |
Per acre, the Spanish Wells Road deal cost about a fifth of the Broad Creek purchase. Buying an easement pays only for development rights. The family keeps the land, the oaks and the cemetery, and the taxpayer-funded side never takes on the costs of owning property.
Broad Creek shows those costs. The Town now has to fence and stabilize the site and remove the old go-kart track and zip line. That work will be competitively bid, and completion is expected by the end of 2027. The Simmons Tract needs none of that work, because a family is already looking after it.
The money for both deals came from local sources. The Town paid its $1.4 million share of the Simmons easement from its Real Estate Transfer Fee. The County paid its matching $1.4 million from the Green Space Program. Beaufort County voters approved that one-cent Green Space sales tax in November 2022. It raised $100 million countywide and was the first program of its kind in South Carolina.
The Simmons Tract sits within a stretch of the island with deep Gullah roots. The Town's historic neighborhood profile for Spanish Wells traces the community's name to wells dug along Broad Creek and lists Calibogue Sound and Old House Creek among the waters around it. Local Life describes Old House Creek as a tidal creek that runs east from Calibogue Sound along the north edge of the old Spanish Wells and Muddy Creek plantations, separating them from Honey Horn. Locally it has also been called Muddy Creek and Sandy Creek. The marsh at the back of the Simmons land belongs to that creek.
Toward the sound, the Heritage Library lists the Spanish Wells Cemetery overlooking Calibogue Sound, with 4 Korber Court as the nearest map address. The Simmons family cemetery, also in the Spanish Wells area, is now on permanently protected land.
To the north, the Town has been buying in the Jonesville Historic Neighborhood for several years. It bought the 12-acre Jonesville Stables property in 2023 with real estate transfer fee money. In November 2025 it sought equestrian operators to revitalize the 27-stall barn, paddocks and pond for riding lessons, boarding and community programs. A separate 6.55-acre Jonesville Road tract was acquired in 2025.
Since 2024, the Green Space Program and the Town have protected five Hilton Head properties totaling 53.04 acres:
Two of the five, Jonesville Road and the Simmons Tract, are in the Spanish Wells/Jonesville corridor. The Simmons Tract is the only one that stays in a family's hands.
The Town's proposals for the road focus on the other end of the daily drive, where Spanish Wells Road meets Wild Horse Road at William Hilton Parkway.
On September 15, 2026, Town Council voted unanimously to adopt the William Hilton Parkway Gateway Corridor Master Plan. It covers U.S. 278 from the foot of the Jenkins Island bridge through the Stoney Historic Neighborhood to the Spanish Wells Road and Wild Horse Road intersection. Two of its five near-term priorities involve Spanish Wells Road:
The plan also lists a longer-term option for the same intersection: a two-lane bridge with a pathway and new roundabouts. All of these figures are planning-level estimates in 2025 dollars, and the Town says each one will be refined through engineering, environmental review and design. Adopting the plan does not authorize construction or commit funding. Each project has to go back to Council before it is built.
The turn lanes, signals and pathway crossings at the top of the road are proposals that still need Council approval and funding. The live oaks, open land and Old House Creek marsh at 584 Spanish Wells Road are permanently protected from development, and the Simmons family still owns them.
If you live along Spanish Wells Road and are wondering how the Simmons easement or the Wild Horse Road plans might affect your own property over time, Tyler Stone is glad to walk through it with you over coffee, with the Town's documents on the table. Contact Tyler.
Whether you’re buying your first home, selling a luxury property, or investing in Hilton Head Island real estate, Tyler Stone provides expert guidance, local knowledge, and a client-focused approach. From the initial consultation to closing, he ensures a smooth, stress-free experience tailored to your unique goals.