Charleston Currents

Image from an 1878 book of the Best Friend of Charleston. Via Wikipedia.

FOCUS: Charleston has rich, eclectic history in past Decembers

Staff reports | Our handy little book about Charleston-area history, the aptly-named 350 Facts About Charleston, includes lots of cool stuff about happenings during the holiday season.

** Book is a perfect holiday stocking stuffer. Order online today or ask your local bookseller.

Here’s an eclectic mix of Charleston’s history and trivia to enjoy:

Nation’s first passenger rail service started on Christmas in 1830

The Best Friend of Charleston was a steam-powered locomotive that powered the nation’s first passenger rail service following an inaugural run on Dec. 25, 1830, on a six-mile route starting in Charleston. Ironically, the Best Friend also became another first — the first locomotive to experience a boiler explosion in an accident on June 17, 1831.

by Charleston Currents · 12/14/2020 · Comments are Disabled · Good news, History, News

From “Magnolia Gardens,”oil on canvas by Alfred Hutty, 1920.

HISTORY: Charleston Renaissance led to Lowcountry cultural boom

By Skyler Baldwin | Between World Wars I and II, the city of Charleston experienced a boom in the arts as writers, architects, artists, musicians and historical preservationists came together to represent and improve the city. This “Charleston Renaissance” period was part of a greater interwar artistic movement known as the Southern Renaissance that swept through the region. Today, it is credited with helping to kickstart the city’s tourism industry.

by Charleston Currents · 10/12/2020 · Comments are Disabled · History, Views

NEW BOOK: Ever wonder where the Atlantic Ocean started?

According to old-time wags and natives who see Charleston as the epicenter of the world, the Atlantic Ocean actually starts in Charleston harbor at the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper rivers. (See Robert Ariail’s cartoon at right that’s the cover of the book.) The late U.S. Sen. Fritz Hollings, born in the Holy City in 1922, often was heard saying, “Every great city has a great river. London has the Thames. New York has the Hudson. Washington has the Potomac. And Charleston, Andrew, Charleston has two great rivers — the Ashley and the Cooper — and that’s where the Atlantic Ocean starts.”

by Charleston Currents · 08/31/2020 · Comments are Disabled · Features, History

NEW BOOK: Learn about the palmetto flag, college’s impact and a big loss

Here are three more factual snippets from the new book, 350 Facts About Charleston.

by Charleston Currents · 08/24/2020 · Comments are Disabled · Features, History

NEW BOOK: More Charleston firsts

Ever wonder why so much of old downtown Charleston is preserved? It’s because the Charleston City Council established the nation’s first historic zoning district on Oct. 13, 1931, when it created the “Old and Historic District” as well as a Board of Architectural Review, which continues to serve as an authority on new projects in an effort to preserve and protect historic neighborhoods. “Today, there are more than 2,000 restored old buildings, many having tiered porches called piazzas lining narrow brick alleys, cobblestone streets and walled courtyard gardens. These architectural treasures dating from the 1600s to the Civil War have been preserved and restored under the leadership of the Preservation Society of Charleston,” according to a 1989 story in The Los Angeles Times.

by Charleston Currents · 08/17/2020 · Comments are Disabled · Features, History

NEW BOOK: Charleston firsts on golf, Black official, fire insurance

With this issue, we begin publishing excerpts from a soon-to-be-published book, 350 Facts About Charleston. As you may know, the Holy City is celebrating the 350th anniversary of its founding this year. The staff at our sister publication, the Charleston City Paper, compiled lots of interesting facts that we think you’ll find entertaining and compelling.

by Charleston Currents · 08/10/2020 · Comments are Disabled · Features, History

HISTORY: Gov. Cole Blease

S.C. Encyclopedia | A state governor and U.S. senator, Coleman Livingston Blease was born near Newberry on Oct. 8, 1868, the son of Henry Horatio Blease and Mary Ann Livingston. From 1884 to 1886, Blease attended Newberry College, and he earned a bachelor of laws degree from Georgetown University in 1889. He was admitted to the South Carolina Bar that same year. In 1890, Blease married Lillie B. Summers, who died in 1914. In 1939, he married Caroline Floyd, but the couple separated a year later. Both marriages were childless.

by Special to Charleston Currents · 07/06/2015 · Comments are Disabled · History

Bostick: Sherman’s march into S.C.

By Doug Bostick | JAN. 12, 2015 — Major General William Tecumseh Sherman captured Savannah on Dec. 21, 1864. In a telegram to President Lincoln, he offered, “I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the City of Savannah …”

by Charleston Currents · 01/12/2015 · Comments are Disabled · Focus, History