Meet Our Guides

Steve Bailey, a licensed and registered tour guide and native Charlestonian, offers a two-hour walking tour of America’s most historic city. Steve’s tour remains within the walls and buildings of the only English walled city in North America.

The sailing ship, Carolina, first arrived in April of 1670 to settle Charles Towne, and Steve traces his ancestry to her. From the “Four Corners of Law” to the four corners of the original wall, explore historic Charleston with someone who was born and raised here!

Dennis is a native of SC, finishing his BA at Charleston Southern and his Masters in New Orleans. Following that he spent 24 years in ministry. During that time he was active in community theatre and was in demand as a speaker/historical interpreter.

In 2010 he left church work and moved to St Augustine working at a historic sight. He came back to Charleston in 2013 and began work as a tour guide. His passion is knowing the story. He and his wife Laura live on Johns Island and enjoy working on their log cabin near Clemson SC.

Mark R. Jones is an eighth-generation native of South Carolina, with family roots in the lowcountry and Pee Dee regions. As the son of a Methodist minister Mark can claim the entire state of South Carolina as home. 

After studying at Francis Marion College, and the University of South Carolina, with an emphasis on history, and rum consumption, Jones was professionally qualified to do absolutely nothing, so in 2002 he became a certified Charleston tour guide and has given more than 20,000 tours. His tours tend to focus on the day-to-day life of Charleston’s citizens, concentrating on the social and political upheaval during the American Revolution, the Confederacy, and the Roaring 20s.

In the past twelve years Mark has published eight non-fiction books about Charleston history and appeared in dozens of TV shows and radio shows, including Investigation Discovery Channel, MSNBC, and NPR. He is a popular speaker across South Carolina and can usually be found on the streets of Charleston five days a week conducting tours. 

Amy has called Charleston her home since 1988 and has been a licensed tour guide since 2004. She was an art major during her college years and a ballroom dance instructor for 13 years. For 10 years Amy shared her love of Charleston with guests while perched atop a horse drawn carriage and is thrilled to be able to show them even more of the Holy City with her walking tours.

When not showing visitors why Charleston is the “coolest city in America,” she can be found digging in her garden. It is her love of gardening that inspires her to volunteer as a Garden Docent for the Historic Charleston Foundation’s “Spring Tours of Homes & Gardens.”

Native Charlestonian Evans Byrd has been a licensed tour guide for nearly 20 years. Evans grew up in the Ashley River Historic Corridor near old St Andrews Church, the oldest church building in South Carolina. His family has been part of the Carolinas since the mid 1700’s.

Descended from Methodist “Circuit Riders”, his family played a role in the religious foundation in South and North Carolina. Evans is passionate about imparting his knowledge of the “Holy City”. Don’t miss his “Holy City Church Tour” which has been perfected after 3 years of intense research and organization!

Jim Gresham is a 1985 graduate from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. As a former student of History, Jim has a keen appreciation of walking in the footsteps of Pirates and Patriots and reflecting on the prosperity and adversity witnessed over the course of centuries.

Jim became a Licensed and Certified Tour Guide in 2015 following successful careers in the International Steamship and Printing & Publishing industries and holds a deep passion for the City’s rich maritime history as well as the beauty of the harbor, estuaries and coastal environment. Holding a USCG Master’s License, when not exploring the City, Jim can be found exploring the miles of tidal creeks and rivers that surround our beautiful city.

Al comes from a lineage deeply rooted in the Lowcountry of South Carolina, making him a sixth-generation native. His academic journey led him to earn a BA in Journalism from the University of South Carolina. After dedicating over three decades to the real estate industry, primarily selling new homes, Al transitioned into retirement and pivoted towards another of his passions: sharing the rich history and stunning architecture of Charleston. His tours are heavy in historical and architectural insight.

His deep-seated love for the area’s past is not just a professional interest but a personal connection, given his upbringing on a farm in the Lowcountry that he still owns and spends time at. Outside his life as a tour guide, Al enjoys fishing and hunting.

Colonel John Laurence Hutto was born and raised in the South Carolina Low Country. He attended The Citadel and graduated in 1987 after receiving a U.S. Army commission in the Field Artillery. During his 27 year Army career, he held numerous command and staff positions and deployed on multiple combat missions in the Middle East. His active duty service provided his family and him the opportunity to live across the nation and throughout the world.

Colonel Hutto’s family has been in the Charleston area long before the American Revolution. He has a deep understanding of the history and culture that surrounds the founding of the city of Charleston and its story of survival. 

In 2019, he became a certified tour guide in Charleston and found a new passion in sharing the history of one of America’s most storied cities.

“Captain Bob” Hellebush is a former high school and college teacher, as well as the retired CEO of a multi-state investment firm. His broad knowledge of history, business, science, and philosophy will provide you an intruiging mix of information and conversation that is sure to make your journey a memorable one.

Paul is from Atlanta, Georgia but lived his thirty-three-year professional life and raised three children in Phoenix, Arizona. Paul and his wife began visiting Charleston in 2010 when one of their children attended the College of Charleston. She graduated and they stayed, making Charleston their permanent home in 2020. Upon moving to Charleston, and returning to the South, Paul was reminded of how much he loves the South. He has immersed himself in the Holy City and the area’s history, recent and colonial and everything in between.

Paul graduated from Georgetown University in 1985 and received a law degree from the University of Georgia in 1988. After a short career as a lawyer and a longer career as a small business entrepreneur, Paul took up writing. He has published two novels since arriving in Charleston, both based in Charleston in the 1970s, and is working on his next book.

Paul is fascinated by the lives of the men and women who lived and died in Charleston from the time of the country’s birth through its darkest days and he loves showing off his adopted hometown. 

“All my life, history has been a hobby for me. So, to be able to apply that hobby to my profession as a teacher for 33 years has made my working life a real blessing for which I am most grateful. To be able to continue sharing stories with people during my retirement is even more rewarding.

To be able to share my blessings and interests with others in a place like Charleston, South Carolina is a true history nerd’s ultimate dream come true! I was a teacher of U.S. History for 33 years. My wife, Donna, and I spent our honeymoon in the Holy City a few years back, and afterwards frequently spoke of our desire to end up here some day, and in 2010 it happened!

After retiring from my chosen profession, however, my enthusiasm to continue learning more history and sharing it with others, did not retire with me. I now have the opportunity to walk the streets of the nation’s number one tourist destination sharing what I’ve learned with other “buffs”, and that is truly rewarding.”

Hurricane Hugo arrived six months after Daniel became a licensed tour guide in the City of Charleston. Charleston’s history is one of religious, cultural and personal freedom. Daniel’s family history mirrors that—his roots are in the Alsace-Lorraine, France, Germany, England, Ireland and even Tsarist Russia.

His paternal Grandmother’s inn was nationalized in 1917 by the Bolsheviks. The family members not executed walked from Siberia to Germany, finally booking passage to Ellis Island in time for the roaring twenties. It is fitting that Daniel’s favorite beverage is the White Russian! Daniel has travelled extensively—he has lived in 1988 post-coup Fiji, worked on sailboats in Newport, RI and Annapolis, interned for Economist Art Laffer and surfed in Peru.

Most recently, Daniel left a career in Washington, DC to be a larger part of his daughter’s life. Daniel looks forward to bringing Charleston’s History alive and relevant to you today!

As a seventh generation Charlestonian, M. Bruce Burris takes great pride in talking to guests about growing up and living in Charleston, South Carolina. Born and raised in the historic district of the city, he has witnessed the sleepy town grow into a hotspot for both national and international travelers. Bruce earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in economics from North Carolina State University. For 19 years, he then served as Vice President of International Purchasing and as a Director for Burris Chemical Incorporated. After the sale of Burris Chemical, Bruce started a Charleston-based maritime freight and storage company where he remained Managing Principal until it sold in 2011. Burris continues to reside in downtown Charleston and enjoys reading literature about Charleston’s notable history while being an active part of its growing future. When not exploring Charleston, he spends his time playing golf on a variety of the area’s amazing courses, windsurfing, and bird watching.

Duggar Baucom is a native of Charlotte, NC and has spent the last decade in Charleston. He has lived his entire life in the South with stops in NC, SC, Virginia, Tennessee and Louisiana. Baucom has a BA in History from UNC-Charlotte and was a college basketball coach for 27 years. During his coaching career he coached 2 NBA players and 19 others who went on and played professional basketball internationally. Baucom is the all-time winningest coach at VMI, Virginia Military Institute, and the only coach to lead Tusculum University to a Regular Season and Conference Tournament Championship.  He concluded his coaching career with a seven-year stint at The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina. Duggar has also been a corporate professional speaker on the topics of Leadership, Teamwork and Goal Setting.

Baucom recently worked for the City of Charleston in their Tourism and Livability Division.  Over the last two and a half years the Historic District has been his office.  Spending time each day on the Peninsula enhanced his love and curiosity of the city’s 350-year history. He now enjoys sharing his knowledge of Charleston and its charm with guests of the city.

When not walking the streets of Charleston, Duggar enjoys spending time with Amber, their four boys and his three grandsons who were all born and reside in Charleston. His interests include reading, listening to podcasts, and learning all he can about the Holy City and its complex past and compelling future.