Buckingham - Bluffton Real Estate Listings

Buckingham Community

Fording Island a.k.a. Buckingham
This small island, usually referred to as 'Buckingham', is connected to the mainland by a built-up roadway. It's the nearest developed land mass before Hilton Head Island. There is a small county-owned boat launch and parking lot here, from which ferries used to cross the waterway between Hilton Head Island and the mainland prior to the construction in 1956 of the turnbridge which opened Hilton Head Island to vehicular traffic. The turnbridge was replaced by fixed-span bridges in 1982.It is surrounded on most of its perimeter by marshes, but there is a deepwater creek that flows on its eastern side, allowing boats with deep hulls access at mid- to high tides. Homes on Buckingham range from ancient fishcamp trailers to elegant waterfront estates on large lots. As the property has become increasingly valuable, small houses have been torn down and large new ones have been constructed in their place. There are also several undeveloped lots, mostly on the interior sand-surfaced roads.Buckingham is primarily a residential area, but a convenience store/gas station stands at its entrance and there is a large building planned as a restaurant that is under construction at the northeastern edge, by the boat launch. This latter project has caused a lot of contention in the neighborhood, which did not have a POA to protect its interests from commercial encroachment. There are no community amenities other than the public boat launch.