Historic Charleston
09 July 2018 | Charleston, South Carolina
George Stonecliffe
As we wait out the weather of Tropical Storm Chris, we took in a day in Charleston. The horse carriage ride took us through historic parts of Charleston including many historic homes. However, there is little architecture before the Civil War, as the city was bombarded for over 500 days by Fort Sumter once the Fort was taken back by the Union army/navy. In addition there was a Great Fire, and also an earthquake (7.5) that affected the city after much of the rebuilding took place. We visited the John Calhoun mansion assuming that it meant the US Senator in the early 1800s that fought for secession, States Rights, and slavery. (He was the great orator that Henry Clay and Daniel Webster debated with on the US Senate floor.) But the house was actually built by Williams, a business tycoon, and then later sold to the grandson of John Calhoun. Regardless, the house was incredible with antiques and treasures from all over the world! Walking the historic area was enhanced by private gardens, city parks, and flowering trees. The big surprise was that the highest point in the city is 144 inches (12 feet). Three days ago in a huge thunderstorm, there were two feet of standing water on the city streets, an event that occurs several times each year!!! The city is on a peninsula between two tidal rivers, and this storm happened at high tide. The water had no place to go! In one of the graveyards, we saw the graves of two of the US Founding Fathers: Pickney and Rutledge. Quite a moving moment!