Moultrie Playground facts for kids

Moultrie Playground is a fun public park located in Charleston, South Carolina. It's a great spot for kids and families to play and relax.

Park History

Moultrie Playground is built on what used to be mud flats. These were soggy areas of land near the Ashley River. People thought about making a playground here as early as 1912.

After a successful playground opened at Mitchell Elementary School, there was interest in building another one. This new park would be for children living in the lower part of the city. In 1922, the city started a big project to fill in the mud flats. The park officially opened its doors in 1930. A famous person named Charles D. Ravenel even got his nickname "Pug" here as a kid! He ran into a pole while playing at Moultrie Playground.

How the Park Changed

Moultrie Playground used to be much larger than it is today. Some of its land was sold by the city. This land was then used to build the Sergeant Jasper Apartments.

At first, the company building the apartments wanted to build them right on the playground. But they later changed their plans. They decided to build on new land that was created by filling in more mud flats next to the park. As part of this deal, an even bigger area of mud flats was filled in. This new land was then used to expand the playground.

There was some discussion about selling this filled-in land. A special group that managed the land did not want to sell it. However, the city council eventually gained the power to approve the sale. In July 1949, the city council decided to sell about 7.4 acres of the filled-in land. This land was sold to the Sergeant Jasper company to build a tall, 14-story apartment building.

Making the Park Better

Over the years, Moultrie Playground has received many upgrades to make it even better. In 1975, new lights were added to the park. This helped make the park safer for everyone, especially after dark.

In 1977, there were big plans for a major update to the park. These plans included building new tennis courts and improving the baseball fields. They also wanted to add new dugouts, fix the bleachers, and put up fences around the baseball diamond. New restrooms and a fenced-in playground area were also planned. The city also wanted to improve parking and add areas for older people to play games like shuffleboard.

More recently, in 2008 and 2009, a group called the Charleston Parks Conservancy started planning new improvements. In 2010, more detailed plans were shared. These plans involved swapping some land with the apartment building owner. The park would get new playgrounds and tennis courts on different land.