“Charleston County and the city of Charleston, its county seat, are the most historic locations in the state.” Situated in the Lowcountry, the county serves as a popular vacation destination but also relies on the business that results from its port. The area in general serves as a large cultural and economic hub for the state.
Charleston County was founded as Charleston District in 1769, and the district became smaller after some of its lands were used to create Colleton and Berkeley counties. The county and its seat were named after King Charles II.
The city and county are saturated with Revolutionary War and Civil War history. Three signers of the United States Constitution and two famous abolitionists resided in Charleston County, and the Civil War began when soldiers fired shots from the county’s Fort Sumter.
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For the second lecture in this four-part series of Conversations on South Carolina: The State and the New Nation, 1783-1828. Dr. Larry Watson discusses slavery in South Carolina. Professor Watson is...
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Charleston's Municipal Airport, on the grounds of the old colonial French Botanical Gardens, had its start in 1929 under the administration of Mayor Thomas P. Stoney. By 1945, the air age was well...
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A hydroplane lands in the Charleston harbor around 1940. Courtesy of the Charleston Museum, Charleston, South Carolina.
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Aerial view of the Cooper River Bridge, named after Mayor John P. Grace, who was instrumental in having it built in 1929. Originally a toll bridge operated by the private Cooper River Bridge Company...
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Truck drivers wait in line to leave their containerized cargo at the Wando Welch Terminal Facilities of the South Carolina State Ports Authority in Charleston. In 1988, Charleston handled nearly 5...
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The Sullivan's Island mule trolley was photographed on its last trip in July of 1898. Photograph by Lieutenant E.H. Schultz, Engineer Corps. Courtesy of the Charleston Museum, Charleston, South...
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Mr. Martin Elbert (Bert) Terry was a section foreman, supervising repairs of the Charleston and Western Carolina Railroad in the early 20th century in the Hampton area. Courtesy of Mildred B. Rivers.
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The first locomotive built in the United States for actual service on a railroad was the "Best Friend of Charleston." It was built at the West Point Foundry Shops in New York City for the South...
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The Nansemond ferry boat crosses the Cooper River in the 1930s, even though the Cooper River Toll Bridge provided an alternative way into Charleston for automobile traffic. Photo by M.B. Paine...
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The lock house on the Santee Canal, painted by Charles Fraser around 1820. South Carolina has an extensive river system whose major navigable rivers served as important transportation networks for...
