Charlesbrief

Colony of Carolina_the Beginning

A fleet of three ships set sail from England in August 1669, designation_the
New World, to a place described as the Colony of Carolina. After a couple of
stops and a few hardships along the way only one out of the three lowered its
anchor off the Carolina coastline.
The 'Carolina' landed at Bull's Run on March 15, 1670. The first settlers
established their town at Albemarle Point, which was located on the west bank
of the Ashley River. They chose to name the settlement Charles Towne, in honor
of King George, II of England.
In 1679, the Lord Proprietors had decreed that Oyster Point, a peninsula
defined by the Ashley and Cooper Rivers was a better site for the settlement
than Albemarle Point. Built on the Cooper side of the peninsula, Charles
Towne was laid out in a regular grid pattern. Since the site was exposed to
attacks from the sea, a wall was placed around the settlement complete with
moat and drawbridges. In 1718 the walls were torn down and the grid
pattern continued across the peninsula. However, fortification remained on the
Cooper River side of town and on the neck between the two rivers.
Charles Towne (which in 1783 was changed to 'Charleston'), was on its way
to becoming one of the most important landmarks in American history and to
becoming the oldest English city south of Virginia.

Parishes of Charleston County...

Parishes were established to help govern the surrounding areas. South Carolina
was given nine of the eleven names of parishes that was established in Barbados.
The Church Act of 1706 created 10 parishes in South Carolina and by 1775
there were 21 parishes. Charleston (District) County claimed 12 of 20 (some of
which was later split off)_ St. Philip/St. Michael, St. Andrew, St. James Santee,
St. John Colleton, Christ Church, St. Paul, St. John Berkeley, St. Stephen,
St. James Goose Creek, St. Thomas/St.Denis, St. Bartholomew and
St. David. The Election Act of 1716, made the parishes, instead of the
counties, the election districts of of the colony. By doing this, they made the
Commons House more representatives and made it easier for the voters to
participate (prior to this act, all elections were held in Charleston).
In 1769, by an act of the General Assembly, the Province was divided into
seven Judicial districts. Beaufort, Charleston, Camden, Cheraws, Georgetown,
Orangeburg and Ninety Six districts were laid out. The Parishes ceased to
being the dividers of sections in the mid 1800's. Charleston District stayed the
same from 1769 until portions were split off first in 1800 to form Colleton
County and then again in 1882 to form Berkeley County.

Political and Social standings...

It was considered one of the top four political, social and economic
leaders in Colonial America and remained so until after the Civil War.
Charleston served as the State Capital from the first settlement in 1670 until
1790 when the seat was then moved to Columbia, SC...Charleston County produced
some of the best lawyers, statesmen, governors and Revoluntionary War officers
in Colonial History and times.
Charleston County was known for its wealth. From its planters, that first made
their fortunes in producing and exporting rice, then indigio and finally cotton,
to its merchants, that made Charleston one of the busiest ports along the Atlantic
seaboard. However, there is one darkside of this wonderful paradise...slavery!
Charleston County was the main port of transporting and selling of slaves
from Virginia to Alanta. But_before we pass judgement we have to get a
better understanding of the times and of the thoughts.

Lifestyles and the Famous...

There was more than one millionaire living the elite life that Charleston County
was definitely able to offer, even as early as the first part of the 1700's.
By 1774, Charleston County was the wealthiest colony in the United States.
It was known that even the modest planter, with slaves only ranging in the
teens, producing cotton could easily make in the 20k-40k (equal to todays income)
No other colony came close to matching the wealth of our SC ancestors.
Needless to say, with all the wealth, we today, can see examples of the
by-products that it enabled them to produce through the beautiful homes and
plantations that still grace Charleston County.
Charleston County was also home to families that produced offspring that grew
to become some of the most important, famous men in our history. Four of those
men were signers of the Declaration of Independence_Arthur Middleton,
Thomas Lynch, Jr., Thomas Heyward, Jr. and Edward Rutledge. Thomas
Lynch, Sr. was suppose to be the fifth delegate to sign but had a stroke
on his way there to Philadelphia and was paralyzed. On the englossed copy
of the Declaration, there was a space left among the South Carolina delegates
for him to sign, but unfortunely he never recovered and died enroute back
home to Charleston County. Another set of very important political
gentlemen from Charleston County were three of such that were signers of
the United States Constitution_Charles Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney,
and John Rutledge. There was also the famous 1800's architect_Robert Mills,
two writers, DuBose Heyward and Archibald Rutledge and many more.

Washington's Visit...

In 1791 George Washington visited Charleston County during
his tour of the Southern States. He stayed with Thomas Heyward, Jr.
in his home located at 87 Church Street, Charleston and Charles Pinckney
invited him to his Sneed Farm Estate in Mount Pleasant, SC for breakfast,
which Washington gladly accepted both offers. George Washington wasn't the
first in his family to visit Charleston. His cousin, William Washington, came
for a earlier visit and decided to stay and call the area home.

Famous Forts...

Charleston County is known for two forts that played a major role in
both of the wars on American soil...Fort Moultrie, located on Sullivans
Island was a palmetto log fort that withstood and defeated the British attack
in June 1766, during the Revoluntionary War. It is said that is how
the Palmetto Tree got its proper place upon the South Carolina Flag and
the official tree to represent the state. The second fort, Fort Sumter,
where in April 1861 Federal Troops were fired upon by Confederate
Forces, which is referred to as the first shots of the Civil War.
Read more about these Forts and their roles in both wars on the
Military Page of this site.

Old Parishes included...

Present day Charleston County includes the old parishes of St. Philip,
St. Michael, Christ Church, St. Andrew, St. John Colleton, and part of
St. James Santee.

Cities, Towns and Places...

Present day Charleston County includes...
Adams Run, Awendaw, Bull Island, Cape Island, Cape Romain, Capers Island,
Charleston(county seat), Dewees Island, Edisto Island, Folly Beach(Island), Goat
Island, Hollywood, Isle of Palms, James Island, Johns Island, Kiawah Island,
Ladson, Lincolnville, McCellanville, Meggett, Morris Island, Mount Pleasant, Murphy
Island, North Charleston, Osborn, Parkers Ferry, Rantowles, Ravenel, Rockville,
Seabrook Island, Sewee, Slann Island, Sullivan's Island, Wadmalaw Island,
Whithall Terrace and Yonges Island

This page was last revised on 02/24/02