Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Mount Pleasant was originally settled by the
Sewee Indians. The English were the first white settlers to arrive
in Mt. Pleasant on July 6, 1680, led by Captain Florentia
O’Sullivan.
"North Point" was the name given on the earliest map for the land
and islands that became the city of Mt. Pleasant. 2,340 acres were
granted to Captain O’Sullivan, from which Sullivan’s Island gets its
name.
Christ Church Parish was the area first settled
in 1696 when fifty-one new settlers arrived. Each new settler’s
family was allotted several hundred acres. The Province of Carolina
was established in 1670 and settlers fought off attacks by first the
Spanish, and later the French. The settlers were victorious in
defeating the Spaniards and the later French invaders known as "The
Abcaw"
"Abcaw" became Hobcaw Plantation, located between the Wando River
and Shem Creek. In the 1700’s, it became known as Shipyard
Plantation. Shipyard Plantation had deep water availability and
pristine forest which supplied good timber for creating a prosperous
shipbuilding operation. Different families owned the lands that were
adjacent to Hobcaw Point and operated several ferries which served
the Mount Pleasant area.
In 1670, Andrew Hibben obtained a ferry charter
and bought land from Jacob Motte on Shem Creek on the south side.
He promptly named it Hibben’s ferry, which for the first time
connected Haddrell’s Point in Mount Pleasant with the city of
Charleston.
The first military engagements in Mount Pleasant were against the
British in the Revolutionary War. Charleston surrendered to the
British commander Cornwallis on November 12, 1775 when Cornwallis
with 2500 British Troopers crossed the Cooper River and set up its
headquarters at Haddrell’s Point. The home of Jacob Motte, which
latter became the Hibben House, was used as the British
headquarters.
Greenwich was the first new settlement in Mt. Pleasant. It was
adjacent to Jacob Motte’s "Mount Pleasant" estate and was the home
plot of 100 acres belonging to Jonathon Scott. James Hibben (son of
Andrew Hibben), who also owned the waterfront property adjacent to
Motte’s, purchased "Mount Pleasant" in 1803 and divided it into 35
large lots. The village of Greenwich, established December 20, 1837,
was merged with Mount Pleasant and incorporated by an act of the
Assembly. The town limits of Mt. Pleasant were expanded in 1858 to
include Hilliardsville, an area acquired in 1847 by Charles Jugnot
and Oliver Hilliard for a scenic picnic and recreation area,
included a grove of live oaks called Hort’s Grove, also known as
Alhambra Park. In 1872, Lucasville settlement on Shem Creek was
merged with the city of Mount Pleasant.
A public meeting was held in Mount Pleasant on
September 24, 1860 that produced the first secession resolution of
South Carolina. On December 20, 1869, the secession convention met
in Charleston with the representatives from seven other southern
states to form the Confederate States of America.
Battery Gary and an adjacent floating battery
between Mount Pleasant and Sullivan’s Island were used in defending
Mt. Pleasant against attacks on Fort Sumter. A series of
fortifications were established from Elliot’s Creek at Boone Hall to
the Copahee Sound area. The first Confederate submarine’s secret
training ground fort the nine-man crew of the CSS Hunley was in Mt.
Pleasant. In 1864, the CSS Hunley launched an attack from Breach
Inlet and sank the Federal warship Housitanic.
Charleston County was divided and Mount Pleasant was placed in
Berkeley County and named the county seat in 1883. Approximately six
years later, it was decided that Moncks Corner would be the county
seat, so Mount Pleasant reverted to its former boundaries in
Charleston County.
Mount Pleasant was populated by 783 residents. The town was known as
a pleasure and health resort for the planters of Christ Church
parish and people of Charleston with its four miles of streets,
which were paved with sea shells. Accommodations rented for ten to
twenty dollars per month. A sawmill, brick factory and truck farming
were Mt. Pleasant’s major enterprises. German residents owned nine
stores which supplied the locals with goods. The Mt. Pleasant steam
ferry provided transportation to Charleston until the first Cooper
River Bridge was erected in 1929.
Mount Pleasant is a tribute to the explorers and settlers which
discovered and prospered there. Today it is a model town, not only
in the South, but throughout the nation. Right across the new Cooper
River Bridge, Mt. Pleasant offers a quaint, small-town feel, while
moving into the new millennium. Its diverse population has generated
continued growth and prosperity. Mt. Pleasant is a gateway to Isle
of Palms and Sullivan’s Island. With the United States Naval Carrier
"Yorktown" docked on its shore, Mt. Pleasant offers history from the
Spaniards who discovered it, to the French and English who wanted to
conquer it, to the Civil War which settled it.
A scenic gateway to the northern islands,
inlets and beaches of the greater Charleston area, Mt. Pleasant is
an enjoyable place to call home, with an excellent living
environment and employment opportunities. Whether for a visit,
vacation, or a lifetime, you’ll remember Mt. Pleasant. Check out
personally what Mt. Pleasant has to offer you: terrific history,
great accommodations, exquisite fine dining, fantastic sporting
facilities, tourist activities and attractions, convenient shopping
and much, much more. |