Brett's

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.

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