The Lowcountry's history contains some great stories. Here are a few wild moments from the olden days of the Holy City.
In 1886 magnitude 7 earthquake devastated the city of Charleston.
60 people died and the most of the buildings in the city suffered damage. It also destroyed railroad tracks and telegraph lines. One account claims that it wasn’t until the next day that a courier made it to Summerville and back and “brought back the cheering message that the world was not utterly destroyed”.
Blackbeard's Siege of Charles Town
In 1718 Blackbeard blockaded Charleston’s harbor for six days.
His pirates pillaged ships and held the people onboard hostage. When he captured a high-ranking official he made a demand: he wanted medicine within two days, or he’d kill all the hostages. The people agreed to the demand and sent the captain a chest filled with medical supplies. And Blackbeard was good to his word releasing the hostages but keeping all their loot.
The Great fire of 1861
Just a few weeks after South Carolina seceded from the Union, Charleston caught fire.
Around 9 pm on December 11, 1861, a fire started somewhere near East Bay and Hasell streets. Soon after 11 pm winds spread it six blocks to the south and the fire would continue to burn until 600 houses, all the public buildings, the market, and several churches were destroyed. Fire fighters blew up 14 houses along Queen street to try and stop the fire. Pictures from after the civil still show large parts of the city yet to be rebuilt from this fire.
The Hurricane that saved Charles Town
In August 1686 three Spanish ships had already destroyed Stuart’s Town (near Beaufort) and were heading up the coast to Charles Town.
But then a storm came off the Atlantic and grounded two of the ships and forced the other ship to turn back. The Hurricane destroyed most of the wooden buildings in Charleston. But it kept the town safe from pillaging and was named “The Spanish Repulse Hurricane”. That makes it the first named storm to hit the colonial coast, and the first recorded hurricane to hit Charleston.
These are just a few of the hundreds of weird and interesting stories throughout the history of Charleston.