It was amazing how much history we don’t know! This is St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. During the Revolutionary War, its steeple was used as a target for British ship gunners, and the lead roof was melted to make bullets!
The inside of the church is simple, but beautiful. Notice the pew “boxes” - they are about 3 feet tall.
We walked along the elevated walkway which overlooks Charleston Harbor and looked out to the island where Fort Sumter is located. You might recall, the first shot of the Civil War was fired at the fort by the Confederates on April 12, 1861. We were thrilled to watch several dolphins in the harbor, very close to shore.
The white house below is at 2 Meeting Street. It was built by George W. Williams, a wealthy banker, around 1892 as a wedding present for his daughter. Not to be outdone, the groom’s parents sent the newly married couple on a 2-year tour of Europe for their honeymoon!
The house below belonged to “Dad Williams,” the same banker that built the house above. The brick house is 24,000 square feet, the city’s largest building constructed as a single-family residence. It has 35 rooms, each with a fireplace!
The big yellow building is the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon. Since Charles Towne was a port and royal colony, this large exchange and customs house was completed in 1771 to manage trade activities. The yellow “don’t tread on me” flag flying out front was designed in Charles Towne by Col. Christopher Gadsen.
Along Elliot Street is an area known as Rainbow Row. The colorful stucco houses are said to be the longest cluster of intact Georgian houses in the US. They were built between 1723-1740 by merchants who had their shops on the first floor and lived in the upper stories. Once slums, they received the nickname in the 1930s when the facades were painted in pastel shades!
We stopped at the Circular Congregational Church, their sign states they are a progressive and inclusive community since 1681. The building was interesting from the outside, but we couldn’t go inside. The cemetery located at the church had several interesting gravestones – two had a very similar surname as ours, just one letter off in the spelling. I took a picture and am going to check it out in the family genealogy!
The building on the left in the picture below is the German Fire Company Engine House which was used between 1851-1888. The Fire Department was created after fire swept through the area in 1838, damaging St. Philip’s Church and many other structures. The shorter building to its right is the Old Slave Mart. This is where slaves were displayed and sold after a city ordinance in the mid-1800s prohibited the sale of slaves in front of the Exchange Building because of the disturbance it caused on East Bay Street.
It seems like I was taking pictures of almost every house we passed, because several of them had historic markers describing when they were built or who lived there. There is much to see here, and once again, not enough time!
We came back to the RV and took Penny for a long walk through the county park to their dog park. She LOVED swimming in the lake – going after a tennis ball, until another dog took it away from her.
She got her revenge, however. The other dog had a big stick, and she decided if he was taking her ball, she was going to have the stick. She swam out in the lake after it several times, then decided to take it home with us!
She is one tuckered pup now, snoozing away until morning, I’m sure! Tomorrow we are off to Charlotte, North Carolina.
The big yellow building is the Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon. Since Charles Towne was a port and royal colony, this large exchange and customs house was completed in 1771 to manage trade activities. The yellow “don’t tread on me” flag flying out front was designed in Charles Towne by Col. Christopher Gadsen.
Along Elliot Street is an area known as Rainbow Row. The colorful stucco houses are said to be the longest cluster of intact Georgian houses in the US. They were built between 1723-1740 by merchants who had their shops on the first floor and lived in the upper stories. Once slums, they received the nickname in the 1930s when the facades were painted in pastel shades!
We stopped at the Circular Congregational Church, their sign states they are a progressive and inclusive community since 1681. The building was interesting from the outside, but we couldn’t go inside. The cemetery located at the church had several interesting gravestones – two had a very similar surname as ours, just one letter off in the spelling. I took a picture and am going to check it out in the family genealogy!
The building on the left in the picture below is the German Fire Company Engine House which was used between 1851-1888. The Fire Department was created after fire swept through the area in 1838, damaging St. Philip’s Church and many other structures. The shorter building to its right is the Old Slave Mart. This is where slaves were displayed and sold after a city ordinance in the mid-1800s prohibited the sale of slaves in front of the Exchange Building because of the disturbance it caused on East Bay Street.
It seems like I was taking pictures of almost every house we passed, because several of them had historic markers describing when they were built or who lived there. There is much to see here, and once again, not enough time!
We came back to the RV and took Penny for a long walk through the county park to their dog park. She LOVED swimming in the lake – going after a tennis ball, until another dog took it away from her.
She got her revenge, however. The other dog had a big stick, and she decided if he was taking her ball, she was going to have the stick. She swam out in the lake after it several times, then decided to take it home with us!
She is one tuckered pup now, snoozing away until morning, I’m sure! Tomorrow we are off to Charlotte, North Carolina.
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