Choose Charleston

      The relationship between the colonists and England deteriorated quickly. As a result, Charleston’s roll in the American Revolution was particularly important.

     Protesting the Tea Act of 1773, this personified the concept of taxation without representation; Charlestonians confiscated tea and stored it in the Exchange and Custom House. Soon after, representatives from the colony came to the Exchange to elect delegates to the Continental Congress. The Continental Congress was responsible for drafting the Declaration of Independence and on the steps of the Exchange declared independence from the crown.

     On June 28, 1776 General Henry Clinton with around 2000 men tried to seize Charleston. Ultimately, it was a failed attempt as the Continental Army, specifically the 2nd South Carolina regiment fought off the attacks with success. The fleet fired cannon balls, but the explosives failed to penetrate Fort Moultrie’s thick palmetto log walls. Clinton returned in 1780 with14,000 soldiers and poised for success. American General Benjamin Lincoln had to surrender his 5,400 troops after a long night’s battle. This night would be known the “Siege of Charleston”, which was the greatest American defeat of the war. Eventually, Clinton decided to return to New York. This presented an opportunity to Charles Cornwallis to lead his 8000 Redcoats to rally loyalist and demand oaths of allegiance to the King. The British would retain control of the city until 1782. As the British left in1783, the city’s name was officially Charleston.

Want to know more about the history of Charleston, South Carolina?  If you are in the area, I strongly suggest visitng the Charleston Museum.  If you are just looking for information on the web, then read our other posts under “History” or visit Charleston History.

              In 1663, Charles II had his eight faithful friends, known as the Lords Proprietor.  After seven years of planning, the Lords finally arranged the settlement, which was named Charles Town. Charles Town was established in 1670 on the banks of the beautiful Ashley River. One of the Lord’s Proprietors, Anthony Ashley-Cooper picked the location on the promise that Charles Town would become a “great porte town”.  As the settlement grew in population, the need to move to new location forced a move to the peninsula that Charleston is currently located. 

              Not everyone was thrilled with the success of the young settlement. France and Spain attacked Charles Town routinely as they contested claim of the land.  In addition to France and Spain, Native American’s also resisted the growing community which took over the land the Native American’s once hunted and lived. In fear, Charles Town colonists put up a huge wall around the entire colony to survive the attacks from sea (Pirates) and land. The modern day Charleston features only two buildings left from the protected colony, the Pink House which was a tavern that hosted community gatherings, and the Powder Magazine, a building that stored the city’s gunpowder.

 In 16800, the Grand Modell, laid out a plan to build a “regular town” and build Charleston into the future.  Deciding the need for a Civic Square, land was set aside where Meeting and Broad Streets met which later become known as the Four Corners of Law.  St. Michael’s Episcopal Church was built on the corner in 1752 and is known as Charleston’s oldest and most famous church.  In addition to the church, the capitol of the colony was built in 1753. It was said that provincial court met on the first floor, while Royal Governor’s Council and the Commons House of Assembly met on the second floor. 

If you would like to go deeper into Charleston’s history, then visit Charleston History. Planning a vacaton to Charleston? Then I would suggest going to the Charleston Musuem!

Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. announced yesterday that he will seek a ninth term in the coming election.

I did not personally attend the announcement at Ackerman Park so I can only assume that the gathered crowd kind of looked at him, then at one another, shrugged, and said, “Uh, yeah, Joe… um, well, you ARE the mayor of Charleston.”

Or rather, “…you are THE mayor of Charleston.”

After 32 consecutive years of having him in office, it gets kind of difficult to imagine anyone else doing the job.

It’s the big two-double-oh for the City Market, one of the top destinations in town for tourists.

To say that Market Street has a storied past is an understatement.

Longtime Charlestonians recall the days when wandering into the Market was a rather dicey proposition. When the chain supermarkets first hit the area, the former go-to place for fresh food withered and went wild with weeds, so to speak. Lots of flies and buzzards circling in the skies are some of the visuals with which oral historians pepper their tales of those days.

Luckily, King Joe and like-minded preservationists were coming into power back then. The Market did an about face in step with the rest of the slightly North of Broad Street area.

Today, it is vibrant and bustling with activity. Everything from artisan sweetgrass baskets to art prints, kitschy t-shirts, candy, and keepsakes are sold in the Market these days.

Market Street is also a good jumping-off point for just about anything else you might choose to do while touring the peninsula.

Wild Wing Cafe and Tristan are just two of the many eateries on Market Street. Charleston Legends and Lore Ghost Theatre is a short walk down Church Street from the Market. The Shops at Charleston Place are just across Meeting Street, FIG and Jestine’s Kitchen are within walking distance, as is King Street shopping.

Wind and water have, over time, washed much of Morris Island away. Once it had been stripped bare of vegetation during the Civil War, the sea island had no defense left against erosion.

If we, as a people, really did learn from the past, there might be a hint and a half for us in that.

Morris Island, as we all know, is where the Battle of Battery Wagner took place on July 18, 1863. The 54th Massachusetts regiment led that assault (this was the famous battle depicted in the 1989 movie Glory starring Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, and Matthew Broderick).

The memory of the soldiers who fought and died there should be sufficient reason for us to protect and preserve what is left of the island. But between over-ambitious developers and the constant action of the currents, it has been an uphill battle.

The Morris Island Lighthouse in particular is in special need of care. There was a time when a combination of structural damage and lost sand nearly put paid to the 130-plus year old monument.

Just as with anything else that we value, there is no one-time-fix or permanent remedy for Morris Island and its lighthouse. Preserving the past requires the efforts of both the present and the future.

Are we up to the challenge?

Pretty much everyone who attended grade school in the greater Charleston area remembers loading up on the field trip bus for an outing at Charles Towne Landing.

It’s where a shipload of English settlers shook out their sea legs and set up camp way back when in 1670: the birthplace of the Carolinas and the first attempt at the establishment of what would become Charles Towne and eventually modern Charleston. History aplenty can be found here, both the established kind and the still-being-discovered kind. Archaeological digs proceed here alongside walking tours and educational programs.

Major renovations have given Charles Towne Landing a whole new look. Those with an interest in learning the inside scoop on the significance of the sights along the History Trail may rent MP3 players at the visitor’s center.

Considering the abundance of English-style gardens, magnolias, and live oaks in the park, it is no surprise that the place is popular for weddings, especially among those with strong family ties to Charleston.

The Animal Forest, a small natural habitat zoo inside of Charles Towne Landing, is a nice place to take a stroll and see a few otters, shore birds, bison, bears, and maybe a puma or two.

Just watch out for the alligators. They like to nibble on your ankles when you sit at the edge of the pond cooling your feet in the water.

This Saturday, June 23, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Animal Forest at Charleston Towne Landing State Historic Site will host Enrichment Day. There will be live demonstrations, games, and activities to show how adding various sights, sounds, scents, tastes, and textures to the habitats of the animals can encourage healthy playing and other natural behaviors.

4-3 may not be a landslide decision, but it did the job.

The 12,500 acres that a recent Dorchester County Council proposal had suggested dropping from the Ashley River Historic Overlay District will remain protected from high-volume development.

Preserving historic areas and vital wetlands from unchecked development has no one-time fix, though. Like keeping blackspot off susceptible roses in the rainy season or keeping a garden well-weeded, it requires constant vigilance, keen foresight, and the willingness to work.

Ashley River Road is well known as not only a national scenic highway but also as home to historic treasures such as Drayton Hall, Magnolia Plantation, and Middleton Place.

 Top that off with the road’s position along the ecologically vital Ashley River and the necessity of maintaining a greenbelt for the area and one might think that this would be the last place anyone would dream of gouging out acres of old growth oaks and replacing them with new subdivisions.

Of course, as we all know, the battle to preserve Ashley River Road just goes on and on.

How bad is it already? Try to drive from Summerville to Charleston, or even just from Bees Ferry Road to the peninsula, during rush hour. The cars and trucks are lined up, bumper to bumper, for miles. How much worse will it be if developers are allowed to add even more high density subdivisions along the road?

A few sighs of relief came when the Ashley River Historic Overlay District was created, but now there is a proposal to reduce the size of that district.

Those who wish to make their opinion known on this should attend the meeting: Monday, June 18, at 7 p.m. County Council, St. George.

Charleston has long been nicknamed “The Holy City.” Steeples are the preeminent feature of our skyline and no matter where you stand on the peninsula, a church is within ready walking distance.

Also contributing to the nickname is the fact that older parts of the city retain a continental flavor. I’ve heard more than once of well-traveled folks choosing Charleston as a place to settle at the end of their wanderings because the ambiance is about as close to European as one is likely to find in the United States (New Orleans is sometimes cited as another option).

Plus, we’re polite as all get out.

Except, maybe, when we’re driving.

No walking tour of the historic district would be complete without pausing to appreciate several grand examples of our churches, including St. Philip’s, St. Michael’s, Circular Congregational, Congregation Beth Elohim, First (Scots) Presbyterian, and the Unitarian Church.

Burial grounds maintained by many of the churches offer walking paths where visitors may respectfully appreciate the local history of mortuary art. Students of History, Religion, or American Studies will find much to contemplate in the statuary and symbolism - from cherubs to death’s heads - to be found on grave markers from different eras.

I first met Trey and Traci Smith a couple of years ago while covering the autumn Halloween scene for Charleston City Paper. Trey and Traci know how to scare up a good show. They ought to - for the past sixteen years, they have masterminded frightfully good carnivals, haunted houses, and hayrides, both in Nashville and the South Carolina Lowcountry.

So when I heard that they were opening a brand new ghost show downtown, I made it a point to catch a preview (those familiar with my blog Wicked Winter know my penchant for ghost stories, legends, and myths).

People can now catch Trey and Traci’s eerie twists on local lore and legend all year long. No more need to wait until October to discover what chills and thrills they’ve been brewing. Charleston Legends & Lore Ghost Theater (161 Church Street, across from Tommy Condon’s Restaurant) features shows on the hour and half hour Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 12 noon to 8 p.m.

The show itself is 22 minutes of harrowing history, told by a series of ghosts. A young boy who succumbed to fever soon after arriving in Charles Towne sets the stage, revealing details about the earliest days of Lowcountry colonization even as his revenant rattles about across the stage and staircase.

An early patriot executed for defying the British, a confederate soldier from the Time of Northern Aggression, Blackbeard the Pirate, a kindly lady speaking Gullah, and an ominous boo-hag all make their lingering presences known to the audience.

It’s actually a pretty exciting way to learn a few facts about the wicked, wanton history of Charleston from the early (pre-Riley) days of pirates, plagues, and peril.

The show is for all ages. Younger kids might get a bit weirded out by some of the objects moving about on the stage (Trey is very, very good at his craft) but the scariest stuff has been held in reserve.

But don’t fret, fright fans: Trey has plans for the scariest stuff later on, closer to Halloween.