Timeline of Charleston, South Carolina facts for kids

Charleston, South Carolina, has a long and interesting history. This timeline will take you through some of the most important moments in the city's past, from its early days as a settlement to modern times. You'll learn about how Charleston grew, faced challenges, and became the vibrant city it is today.

Charleston's Early Days (1600s-1700s)

• 1680 – English settlers, mostly from Barbados, moved their town to the spot where Charleston is now.
• 1681 – St. Philip's Episcopal Church was started.
• 1699 – A big hurricane and a sickness hit the town.
• 1708 – Most people in the colony were African slaves. Black people were the majority in the city and state until the early 1900s.
• 1719 – The town's name changed from "Charles Town" to "Charlestown" around this time.
• 1729 – The St. Andrew's Society was founded.
• 1732 – The South Carolina Gazette newspaper began publishing.
• 1734 – The South Carolina Jockey Club was formed for horse racing.
• 1736 – The Dock Street Theatre opened its doors.
• 1739 – The Stono Rebellion, a slave uprising, happened near Charleston.
• 1740 – A large fire struck the city.
• 1748 – The Charleston Library Society was created.
• 1750 – The Congregation Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (a Jewish synagogue) was founded.
• 1752 – A hurricane hit in September.
• 1761 – St. Michael's Church was built.
• 1765 – People in Charleston protested against the British Stamp Act 1765.
• 1766 – The St. Cecilia Society was formed.
• 1769 – The town became part of Charleston District.
• 1770 – The College of Charleston was founded. About 11,000 people lived here.
• 1773 – The Museum was started by the Charleston Library Society.
• 1774 – The Charleston Tea Party protest took place.
• 1780 – The Siege of Charleston happened during the American Revolutionary War.
• 1782 – On December 14, British soldiers left the city.
• 1783 – The town was officially named "Charleston." It also got its city charter.
• 1786 – The state capital moved from Charleston to Columbia.
• 1788 – Charleston became part of the new US state of South Carolina.
• 1790 – The College of Charleston opened. The population was 16,359.
• 1792 – The Charleston Orphan Asylum was founded.
• 1793 – The Charleston Theatre was founded.
• 1799 – A Yellow fever outbreak occurred.
• 1800 – The Santee Canal was built. The population reached 18,824. Charleston had the largest Jewish population in the US.

Charleston in the 1800s

Growth and Change (1800s-1850s)

• 1803 – The Courier newspaper began publishing.
• 1810 – Castle Pinckney was built. The population was 24,711.
• 1816 – The Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded.
• 1819 – The Charleston Mercury newspaper started.
• 1820 – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston was created. The population was 24,780.
• 1822 – A planned slave rebellion led by Denmark Vesey was stopped.
• 1823 – The Medical College of South Carolina was started.
• 1824 – The Charleston Museum opened.
• 1830 – The population grew to 30,289.
• 1832/33 – The Nullification crisis, a big political debate, was centered in Charleston.
• 1833 – The Charleston-Hamburg railroad began running trains.
• 1840 – The population was 29,261.
• 1841 – Market Hall was built.
• 1843 – The South Carolina Military Academy opened.
• 1844 – The Huguenot Church was built.
• 1850 – Magnolia Cemetery was built. Roper Hospital was established. The population was 42,985.
• 1852 – A museum was founded by the College of Charleston.
• 1854 – The Cathedral of Saint John and Saint Finbar was consecrated. A hurricane and sickness hit again.
• 1855 – The South Carolina Historical Society was founded.
• 1856 – Ryan's Mart, a slave market, was established.
• 1858 – The Carolina Art Association was established.

Civil War and Recovery (1860s-1890s)

• 1860 – In April, the 1860 Democratic National Convention was held in the city. Many people wanted South Carolina to leave the Union. The population was 40,522.
• 1861 – On January 9, Citadel cadets fired on the Union ship Star of the West. In April, the Battle of Fort Sumter began the Civil War. The population was 48,409.
• 1862 – On May 13, Robert Smalls took control of the Confederate ship CSS Planter in Charleston Harbor.
• 1863 – From July to September, the Siege of Charleston Harbor took place.
• 1865 – Union troops took over the city. The Fort Sumter Flag was raised again over Fort Sumter. The Avery Normal Institute was established.
• 1867 – Porter Military Academy was formed.
• 1870 – Magnolia Gardens opened. The population was 48,956.
• 1879 – The United States Custom House was built.
• 1880 – The population was 49,984.
• 1886 – On August 31, a very strong earthquake shook South Carolina. About sixty people died, and there was a lot of damage.
• 1890 – The population was 54,955.
• 1893 – A hurricane hit in August.
• 1900 – The population was 55,807.

Charleston in the 1900s

• 1901/2 – The South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition opened.
• 1906 – Hampton Park was created.
• 1907 – Union Station was built. The Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist opened.
• 1909 – Ashley Hall school was established.
• 1910 – The population was 58,833.
• 1913 – The Charleston Library Society building was built.
• 1917 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Charleston branch was started.
• 1919 – The Charleston riot of 1919 occurred.
• 1920 – The Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings was founded.
• 1929 – The John P. Grace Memorial Bridge opened.
• 1930 – The Charleston County Library was established. WCSC radio began broadcasting.
• 1937 – The Dock Street Theatre reopened.
• 1938 – A tornado hit on September 20.
• 1940 – A hurricane hit in August.
• 1945 – The 1945–1946 Charleston Cigar Factory strike happened, where the song We Shall Overcome was sung.
• 1947 – The Historic Charleston Foundation was established.
• 1953 – WCSC-TV (television) began broadcasting.
• 1959 – J. Palmer Gaillard Jr. became mayor.
• 1960 – On April 1, students from Burke High School held a sit-in protest at the Kress Lunch Counter.
• 1964 – Porter-Gaud School was formed.
• 1966 – The New Cooper River Bridge opened.
• 1968 – The College of Charleston became a public college.
• 1969 – The Charleston Hospital Strike began on March 20.
• 1970 – Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site was established.
• 1972 – The city of North Charleston was created next to Charleston.
• 1973 – Trident Technical College was established.
• 1975 – Joseph P. Riley Jr. became mayor.
• 1977 – The Spoleto Festival USA began.
• 1980 – The Charleston Royals baseball team was founded. The population was 69,510.
• 1981 – Citadel Mall opened.
• 1983 – The Lowcountry Food Bank was founded.
• 1985 – The College of Charleston's Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture was established.
• 1989 – Hurricane Hugo caused a lot of damage.
• 1990 – Waterfront Park was created.
• 1993 – The North Charleston Coliseum opened. The Charleston Battery soccer team was founded.
• 1995 – The sunken Civil War submarine Hunley was found again offshore.
• 1997 – The Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority was formed. The Charleston City Paper began publishing. Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park stadium opened.
• 2000 – The South Carolina Aquarium opened. The Hunley submarine was raised from the seabed and placed in a museum.

Charleston in the 2000s

• 2003 – The Charleston School of Law was established.
• 2004 – The Charleston Comedy Festival began.
• 2005 – On July 16, the new Cooper River Bridge opened.
• 2007 – The Old Slave Mart museum opened. The Sofa Super Store fire occurred.
• 2008 – TD Arena and Meeting Street Academy opened.
• 2010 – The population was 120,083.
• 2015 – On June 17, nine people were killed in a shooting at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. On November 17, John Tecklenburg was elected mayor.
• 2019 – In January, the "Dutch Dialogues" began, where the city worked with experts from the Netherlands to plan for rising sea levels. In November, John Tecklenburg was reelected mayor.

Images for kids

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  Sketches made in Charleston, South Carolina by artist Eyre Crowe in March 1853