Charleston for History Lovers

By Jay Bemis on 01/18/2016, updated on 07/14/2017

Fireworks during Spoleto Festival USA make Middleton Place, an 18th-century plantation, come aglow. (©Julia Lynn Photography/Courtesy Spoleto Festival USA)

"Yesterday's history, tomorrow's a mystery" is a common self-help mantra that indicates it's best to forget the past, but it's an antithetical formula for the visitor to Charleston. From the cobblestone streets that still line the lower peninsula to centuries-old seawalls that line Battery Row, Charleston is a city where history begs to be explored. And her attractions span a wide timeline: An expansive oak tree that some estimate to be 1,500 years old; plantations and public gardens started in the 1600s; forts that were part of the Revolutionary War in the late 1700s, the Civil War in the 1860s and World War II in the 1940s.

To experience the timeline in one visit, perhaps a trip to The Charleston Museum is in order. Or, concentrate on certain timeline eras, such as the H.L. Hunley submarine to relive the Civil War years, or Middleton Place where re-enactors frequently portray what plantation life was like in the early 1800s.

Visitors will find history at the forefront of interest when they come to the Holy City, and they'll find attractions that help unravel any mystery that may lie within them. The chief question they may be left asking is: "Tomorrow, what shall we explore?"

Charleston for History Lovers By Jay Bemis on 01/18/2016, updated on 07/14/2017

A model of the H.L. Hunley submarine sits near the museum's front entrance. (©Jay Bemis/MVP Photo)

Charleston

The Charleston Museum

Eight special exhibits in 2016 will augment the museum's nine permanent displays, including two complementing city events: "Hunters Habit: A Collection of Hunting Firearms and Accoutrements," coinciding with February's SE Wildlife Expo, and "George Gershwin’s Charleston" in May, just in for a Spoleto presentation of "Porgy and Bess."

(©Where)

Charleston

Charleston's Four Corners of the Law

Don’t miss the Corners' 1869 post office building, which is elaborately detailed and is the oldest continuously operating post office in the Carolinas. Inside a special room in the post office is a little museum that's a must for anyone who has wondered how 18th- and 19th-century mail was handled.

The Washington Light Infantry along the Mile route; its collections include uniforms, weapons, flags and other items from the Civil War till today. (MVP Photo)

Charleston

Museum Mile

A major convenience of the Museum Mile is that visitors can take the tours at their own pace as they explore the numerous other sights that the Lowcountry has to offer. (During Museum Mile Month in January, tickets must be purchased at visitors centers in Charleston, North Charleston and Mount Pleasant.)

(Courtesy History of Charleston Walking Tour)

Charleston

History of Charleston Walking Tour

As descendants of the Middleton family that long has been a part of Charleston history (Arthur Middleton was a signer of the Declaration of Independence), Anne Middleton Herron and Martha Middleton Wallace give a real sense of the city's history. End their tours with refreshments in the same garden that Prince Charles visited in 1990.

A Strolls guide leads a tour on the peninsula. (Courtesy Charleston Strolls)

Charleston

Charleston Strolls/Walk With History Tour

One can't go wrong with this tour, either: Charleston Strolls was voted the city's best tour company for six years running (2009-2014) by the Charleston City Paper; The New York Times, meanwhile, calls the tour company "a well-recommended staple." These tours go to areas of the lower peninsula in which carriages and buses aren't allowed.

The steeple of St. Philip's Church is prominent along the city's skyline. (©Zack Daniel)

Charleston

St. Philip's Church

The current church building and its two predecessors have fallen victim to a number of fires and hurricanes over the years, in addition to sustaining damage by Union troops during the Civil War. By far the most costly disaster was Hurricane Hugo in 1989, which resulted in $4.5 million worth of needed restoration costs.

(©Where)

Charleston

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

Founded more than three centuries, Magnolia keeps an eye pointed on the future: Both with plants and youth. It's part of the National Sentinel Plant Network, which learns to detect and report pests and diseases. For youth, it organizes scout merit badge programs, camping and field trips, and classroom outreach programs.

(Courtesy Middleton Place)

Charleston

Middleton Place

The plantation's stableyards are a must-see for kids. Here, a weaver, a cooper, carpenter, potter and blacksmith demonstrate skills practiced by artisan slaves, while interpretive guides discuss slavery and plantation life from early plantation days through emancipation, reconstruction and the first half of the 20th century.

(Courtesy Boone Hall)

Charleston

Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens

Black history is commemorated year-round at Boone Hall, where eight cabins built between 1790 and 1810 are themed with relics, including "Praise House," "Their Life & Family" and "Lineage and Heritage of Sweetgrass Baskets." A production in the Gullah Theater, meanwhile, focuses on that early Lowcountry culture adapted by slaves.

(©Ron Rocz/Charleston International Antiques Show)

Charleston

The Battery & White Point Gardens

Step yourself up to the Battery walls and imagine yourself as one of the hundreds of citizens who stood here, or sat on nearby rooftops, to cheer on the battery bombardment of Fort Sumter out in Charleston harbor on April 12, 1861. The first shots of the Civil War were fired, and the federal government surrendered the fort the next day.

Rainbow Row in Charleston, South Carolina, is one of the most photographed sites in the city. (Courtesy Shutterstock)

Charleston

Rainbow Row

Many myths surround these 13 houses, including that the bright colors helped drunken sailors remember which houses were theirs. In reality, Judge Lionel Legge and wife, Dorothy, bought a section of them in 1931; she chose the pastel colors; and, neighbors followed suit. Arguably, it's now one of the most photographed sites in Charleston.

(Courtesy Fort Sumter Tours)

Charleston

Fort Sumter Tours

For the most spectacular views of Charleston harbor, take a Fort Sumter Tours sunset cruise, which is offered Friday nights late March through October (also Tuesdays, early June through early August). See the city from the top of the fort; the tours include beer and cocktails for purchase, plus hors d'ouvres on the return trip.

(©Jay Bemis/MVP Photo)

Charleston

Fort Moultrie

Around the fort at lunchtime or the early-dinner hour? Stoke your Sullivan's Island visit a bit more with a quirky look at a former Moultrie-based soldier and then-budding scribe, Edgar Allen Poe, at Poe's Tavern. Along with kitschy souvenirs sporting a Poe mug, Poe's serves up such tasty bar bites as Edgar's Nachos and The Raven Burger.

(©Nagel Photography/Shutterstock)

Charleston

Angel Oak

Kudos for these tree huggers: The oak's existence was threatened by condo development a few years ago, but a well-organized effort—which included the Lowcountry Land Trust, the city of Charleston and the nearby beach islands of Seabrook and Kiawah—raised funds, bought 34 acres around the tree and is turning them into Angel Oak Park.

Conservators work to preserve the H.L. Hunley submarine (Courtesy Friends of the Hunley)

Charleston

The H.L. Hunley

Scientists have cleaned more than a half-ton of encrustations from the submarine's exterior and are now cleaning encrustations from the interior. That work has revealed that the sub's torpedo indeed exploded when rammed into the Union ship Housatonic; it's still uncertain, though, whether that blast actually caused the Hunley to sink.

This Douglas EA-3B Skywarrior is among more than two dozen airplanes on display aboard the USS Yorktown. (Courtesy Patriots Point)

Charleston

Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum

Buttress your visit aboard the Yorktown by renting a personal audio player from which you'll hear exclusive stories about the ship and her former crews, including first-hand accounts from World War II veterans. Tour at your own pace with the players and select only what you want to hear from 3 1/2 hours of available content.

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Charleston for History Lovers

The Charleston Museum

Charleston's Four Corners of the Law

Museum Mile

History of Charleston Walking Tour

Charleston Strolls/Walk With History Tour

St. Philip's Church

Magnolia Plantation & Gardens

Middleton Place

Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens

The Battery & White Point Gardens

Rainbow Row

Fort Sumter Tours

Fort Moultrie

Angel Oak

The H.L. Hunley

Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum

Map of Charleston for History Lovers

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United States

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Map of Charleston for History Lovers

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