Interesting Facts

Charleston natives are very proud to call the South Carolina coastal area home. It has been said that Charlestonians would rather be dead in Charleston than alive in Columbia or rich in Greenville. And it's no wonder. Local folklore states that when Edgar Allen Poe wrote "Annabel Lee" and referred to the "kingdom by the sea," he was talking about Charleston.
Charleston, a peninsular city, is wedged between the Ashley and Cooper Rivers and the Atlantic Ocean. The skyline of the low-lying city is dotted with some 180 church spires, leading some to refer to it as "the holy city." The steeple and bell tower of St. Michael's Episcopal Church, the oldest in town, dominate the city.
Gullah, one of the purest forms of Creole, originated on the plantations of the SC coast. It's still spoken today, and one of your best chances to hear it is at the Public Market or alongside Route 17, where the flower ladies gather to weave and sell traditional sweetgrass baskets, softly singing Gullah hymns all the while. You can expect to pay a pretty penny for one of these pieces of art, no two of which are alike.
Each spring, Charleston hosts the Spoleto Festival. Lasting just over two weeks, Spoleto features internationally recognized performances of opera, dance, jazz and theater, along with orchestral, chamber, and contemporary music. One of finest celebrations of the arts in the country.
In 1989, Hurricane Hugo hit the coast of SC between Charleston and McClellanville. Although more than $4 billion worth of damage was reported, surprisingly, Charleston's historic district suffered little. Forty miles north, however, the area was not so fortunate. Francis Marion National Forest, a 250,000-acre parcel of swamps, huge oaks, pines and lakes that was an Indian homeland for 10,000 years, was almost leveled by Hugo's fury.
Prior to the Civil War, plantations were scattered throughout South Carolina. When the Union Army came through, however, many were destroyed. Currently, Charleston has four plantations open to public viewing. They lie along rivers, whose waters fed fields of rice, cotton, and indigo. Other plantations survive as private residences.
While Charleston is history-filled, it is also a college town. In the city's early decades, The College of Charleston was a high school. In 1770 the college was founded, making it the oldest municipal college in the nation.
Rainbow Row is one of Charleston's most recognized sights, and its evocative name is visibly evident. Lying along East Bay Street, the series of homes is colored purple, salmon, yellow, terracotta, aqua, and green. These homes were built in the mid- to late- 1700s as merchants' stores and homes. In the 1900s they were restored and converted into private homes, as they are today.
Founded in 1773, the Charleston Museum is considered America's first museum. A wonderful introduction to the Low Country, the museum charts Charleston's early beginnings.
Today, Sullivan's Island is a great place to go for fun in the sun. In earlier days, though, the island wasn't a vacationer's hot spot. Many of the slaves brought to North America entered here and were quarantined before being sold in Charleston's slave marts.