Old Village Tour

By 1872, several settlements which had developed along Charleston Harbor, were incorporated as the Town of Mount Pleasant. The earliest hamlet was Greenwich Village (1766), followed by the Hibben Ferry Tract (1770), Mount Pleasant Plantation (1808), Hilliardsville (1847), and Lucasville (1853). The Old Village was bounded by Shem Creek, Simmons Street, Cove Inlet and the Harbor. This tour explores several of the historical sites located within these original settlements.

Jasper Green and Sergeant William Jasper (c. 1750-1779)

Jasper Green, a grassy field, became part of Moultrie High School’s campus and was named for Sergeant William Jasper. Jasper Green was home to the Moultrie High School Generals, now the Moultrie Middle School Patriots. The Green continues to be used…

Moultrie Schools & General William Moultrie

General William Moultrie High School, originally on Pitt Street, relocated here in 1944. In 1973, students moved into the new Wando High School on Whipple Road. The old high school became Moultrie Middle School. This facility was demolished in 2007…

King's Highway

In the 1700s, the King’s Highway began in Virginia and wound down the coast through the Carolinas. The section of road that passed through Mount Pleasant became one of the first coastal roadways serving as a colonial post road for the delivery of…

Coleman Boulevard

In 1958, the section of U.S. 17 that passed through Mount Pleasant, also known as Old Georgetown Road, was named in honor of Mayor Francis F. Coleman (1946-1960). During his term in office, the road was widened, town limits extended, and the…

Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church

Erected in 1854 and originally a Congregational Church affiliated with Old Wappetaw Church, founded about 1699. Served as a Confederate hospital during the Civil War, then briefly housed the Laing School for freedmen during Reconstruction. Was…

The Ferry Tract

In 1779, Andrew Hibben bought land on the south side of Shem Creek from Jacob Motte, which became known as the Ferry Tract. Until the opening of the Grace Memorial Bridge in August 1929, ferries connected Mount Pleasant to Charleston. Hibben’s Ferry…

Haddrell's Point

Haddrell’s Point extended along the waterfront from Shem Creek to Cove Inlet and was named for George Haddrell, an early settler. The land bordering Shem Creek became home to important industries including factories, canneries, and rice and saw…

Hibben House and British Occupation

A 1777 map shows a house on this property owned by Jacob Motte, Charleston City Treasurer. His 67 acre plantation called Mount Pleasant provided the name for the present town. James Hibben purchased the land in 1803. The home now known as the Hibben…

The Whilden House

Elias Whilden, planter and mayor (1857-1858), built his home c. 1840. Five sons fought for the Confederacy, including John Marshall Whilden. John was Captain of the Citadel cadets who fired on the steamer, The Star of the West. This action on…

54th Massachusetts Regiment

The Whilden House served as Union headquarters after the fall of Mount Pleasant in February 1865. Among the occupying troops was the first black volunteer 54th Mass. regiment. Under the command of Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, this unit was made famous…

Mount Pleasant Home for Destitute Children

At this site in 1881, Abby Munro, a Quaker from Philadelphia, established a home for orphans, neglected, and destitute children. Funds to purchase and operate the home were solicited locally and from friends in the North. It was incorporated in 1883…

Pitt Street Merchants

By the middle of the 20th Century, the residents of the old village shopped on Pitt Street. This area included grocery, hardware, department stores, a dress shop, doctors’ offices, the pharmacy, barber shop, post office, and Mount Pleasant Academy. A…

Darby Building

This building was constructed in 1884 as the Berkeley County Courthouse. Mount Pleasant served as the Berkeley County seat from 1883 to 1895, when the town rejoined Charleston County. The old courthouse, named in 1991 for former Mayor G. Magrath…

War of 1812 Encampment

On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war against Great Britain. One of the first units to be mustered into the service was the Third Regiment of South Carolina Militia, which was stationed at Haddrell’s Point, west of here, to aid in the…

Patjens Post Office

In 1899, the Patjens family built this small office adjacent to their store on Church Street, to serve as the post office in Mount Pleasant. The Patjens family served as postmasters until 1917. Patjens Post Office has been owned and maintained by the…

Ferry Service

A ferry service connected Mount Pleasant to Charleston from the wharf at the end of Ferry Street (c. 1847) until the completion of the Cooper River Bridge. Passengers traveled by trolley from Ferry Street east on Pitt Street, across Cove Inlet to…

Ronkin's Long Room

The crew of the Confederate submarine, H.L. Hunley, commanded by Lt. George Dixon, was temporarily quartered at Ronkin’s Long Room, 205 Ferry Street, in early 1864. The building, previously known as Shell Hall, summer home of Charles Pinckney, was…

Alhambra Hall

In 1847, Charles Jugnot and Oliver Hillard, owners of Mount Pleasant Ferry Company, developed a picnic ground in a grove of live oaks, called Hort’s Grove. They built the first Alhambra as a summer retreat and dance hall overlooking Charleston…

Pierates Cruze

The Pierates Cruze property, once part of the Hilliardsville tract, was a private residence and garden. The property changed hands several times before it was purchased and named by the Osgood family in 1928. The Osgoods transformed the grounds into…

The Old Village

By 1872, several settlements which had developed along Charleston Harbor, were incorporated as the Town of Mount Pleasant. The earliest hamlet was Greenwich Village (1766), followed by the Hibben Ferry Tract (1770), Mount Pleasant Plantation (1808),…

Storm of the Century

At midnight on September 21, 1989, Hurricane Hugo, a category four storm, blew into Charleston County. Winds in excess of 140 mph, a massive 20 foot storm surge, and extraordinarily high tides ravaged the area. Hugo cut a swath 50 miles wide and 200…

Friendship AME Church

This church, founded during Reconstruction, has been at the same site since 1890. The first sanctuary serving this congregation was located on Hibben Street and built on a lot leased by the Town of Mount Pleasant in 1877. After moving here and…

Laing School

Laing School located here from 1868 to 1953 was founded in 1866 by Cornelia Hancock, a Quaker who had served as a nurse with the Union Army during the Civil War. First housed in Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church, Laing Industrial School was named…

St. Andrew's Church

Reverend Andrew Fowler was elected rector of Christ Church in 1828. He bought a village home on Whilden Street where he held services for 40 people from June to Advent to avoid the malaria-plagued sickly season. Services were held at Christ Church…

Etiwan Masonic Lodge

On November 18, 1859, a Warrant of Constitution was granted to Etiwan Lodge No. 95 by the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Ancient Free Masons of South Carolina. The lodge organized under dispensation on February 19 and held their first meeting in Town…