Preserving the City's Past

Some historic treasures are harder to find than others. Charleston's Powder Magazine, tucked away on Cumberland Street, is one of the few structures still standing that reminds us of Charleston's era as a walled city. Charleston was a walled fortress city between the years of 1690 and 1720, a period of constant danger from hostile French and Spanish invaders, Native American tribes, and pirates. In fact, the "Holy City" was one of only three walled cities in North America and the only English walled city.

This National Historic Landmark, owned and operated by The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of South Carolina, was completed in 1713, and is one of only two surviving fortified structures of its kind in the thirteen original colonies. This remnant of the fortification that once surrounded the great city fuels our curiosity about what lies below the surface along the path of the great wall. In fact, it's not unusual to see members of Charleston's Walled City Task Force engaging in archaeological exploration of sites along the path in order to unearth bits of our past—the details that add texture and life to the rich canvas that is Charleston's history.

Charleston is literally filled with historical architectural wonders. Fortunately, area citizens recognized early-on the significance of preserving many of these buildings. Charleston is home to the Preservation Society of Charleston, the oldest non-profit community and membership preservation organization in the nation. Formed in 1920, this organization is dedication to preserving Charleston's rich architectural and cultural heritage.

Like the Powder Magazine, many of the area's historically significant buildings have been carefully restored. But Charleston also has a number of historic ruins, some intentionally preserved in their current states, while others await the funding and the skilled hands to stabilize and restore them. A façade of an old warehouse, fragments of slave quarters, and imprints of ancient church edifices are among the ruins that dot the city and surrounding area. All are rich in spirits eager to whisper their secrets into the ears of Charleston's most passionate preservationists.

Fort Sumter
One of Charleston's most notable ruins lies just off shore on a shoal in Charleston Harbor. Construction began in 1829, but the still-incomplete fort came to fame more than 30 years later as the place where the Civil War began. By the time the sun broke the horizon on the morning of April 12, 1861, locals had already gathered on rooftops near the Battery at the tip of the great antebellum city to watch and cheer their heroes…and their independence. For 34 hours, the Confederate troops stationed at Fort Johnson bombarded the federally-held Fort Sumter, driving Lincoln's army from the South's most precious shipping channel. By the time Union troops took back Fort Sumter in 1865, the fort's 50-feet-tall and eight-feet-thick walls had been reduced to rubble.

Today, Fort Sumter National Monument is administered by the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior. The ruins are accessible only by tour boat. Fort Sumter Tours provides the only commercial boat transportation to the island, with two convenient locations from which visitors can depart—Liberty Square in downtown Charleston; or in Mt. Pleasant at the Patriots Point Maritime Museum, the world's largest naval and maritime museum.

Castle Pinckney
Fort Sumter's neighbor to the north is Castle Pinckney, a secondary defensive fort in Charleston Harbor that was used as a fort, prison and artillery position during the American Civil War. The fort was constructed of brick and mortar prior to the War of 1812 and was the last of several fortifications constructed on Shutes Folly, a large, marshy island in Charleston Harbor.

Castle Pinckney saw no action in the war of 1812 and was un-garrisoned for many years thereafter, falling into disrepair. The fort was re-garrisoned during the Nullification Crisis of 1832 when conflict over tariffs resulted in President Jackson preparing to collect them with military force, if necessary. After that brief period of activity, the fort fell into disuse again and was primarily a storehouse for powder and other military supplies.

On December 27, 1860, one week after South Carolina seceded from the Union, the State of South Carolina forced Sergeant Manning Pinckney to surrender Castle Pinckney and join U. S. Army Major Robert Anderson, who had relocated the federal garrison to Fort Sumter two days before. This makes Castle Pinckney the first federal fort taken over by the Confederacy. The change of command was orderly, but represented the first time the Southern government received the surrender of a federal military position.

Today, the island site is restricted, and the fort ruins only viewable by boat.

Old Sheldon Church Ruins
Sheldon Church has lain in ruin for more than 120 years. Its gable roof, pediment, windows, and interior have disappeared, but the classic simplicity of its design still remains. One of the first Greek Revival structures built in the United States, Prince William's Parish Church, erected 1745-55, was once one of the most impressive churches in the Province. During the Revolution, the Patriots are believed to have stored gun powder in it. In 1779, when the British General Augustine Prevost invaded the Lowcountry, the church was burned by a detachment that, according to tradition, was commanded by the flamboyant local Tory, Andrew Deveaux. Rebuilt in 1826, the church was again burned by General William Tecumseh Sherman's men in 1865. Nevertheless, the ruins are a picturesque site from which visitors can visualize the grandeur of the pre-Revolutionary church.

Today, the red-brick ruins of Sheldon Church, located off U.S. 17 on Old Sheldon Church Road in Beaufort County, are owned by St. Helena's Episcopal Church, which conducts occasional weddings on the premises. Access to the site is free and open to the public; and well-worth the trip from Charleston.

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