page_title: Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Mount Pleasant, South Carolina / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Exploring the waterway marshes. Mount Pleasant, Charleston County, South Carolina.
context_page_description: Mount Pleasant is a large suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. It is the fourth largest municipality and largest town in South Carolina, and for several years was one of the state's fastest-growing areas, doubling in population between 1990 and 2000. The population was 67,843 at the 2010 census. The estimated population in 2019 was 91,684.
  At the foot of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge is Patriots Point, a naval and maritime museum, home to the World War II aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, which is now a museum ship. The Ravenel Bridge, an eight-lane highway that was completed in 2005, spans the Cooper River and links Mount Pleasant with the city of Charleston.
context_section_description: The site of Mount Pleasant was originally occupied by the Sewee people, an Algonquian language-speaking tribe. The first white settlers arrived from England on July 6, 1680, under the leadership of Captain Florentia O'Sullivan. Captain O'Sullivan had been granted 2,340 acres (950 ha), which included not only the island that bears his name, but also the land that was to become Mount Pleasant. On the earliest map of the time this area was called "North Point".
  In 1696, 51 new settlers arrived. Each family was allotted several hundred acres in the area that became known as Christ Church parish. In 1706 the Province of Carolina withstood several attacks by the Spanish and the French from their settlements to the south and were victorious in defeating French invaders in an area known as "Abcaw".
  The area of "Abcaw" was Hobcaw Plantation, located between Shem Creek and the Wando River. Later, it was also known as Shipyard Plantation. Its deep water and abundance of good timber made it ideal for the development of a prosperous shipbuilding enterprise. Lands adjacent to Hobcaw Point were owned at different times by several different families, many of which maintained ferries which served Mount Pleasant. By 1721, 107 families were living in Christ Church parish, including 400 whites and 637 slaves. As the area was developed for plantations, enslaved Africans and African Americans made up the chief labor force of the slave society. They and the following freedmen comprised a majority of the population through the 19th and early 20th centuries.
  In 1754, Charles Pinckney acquired a 715-acre plantation, cultivating the commodity crops of rice and indigo. It became known as Snee Farm near here. His son Charles retained the plantation until 1817. It was operated as a plantation through the 19th century.
  On September 24, 1860, a public meeting was held in Mount Pleasant; it resulted in the first secession resolution passed in the state. The secession convention met in Charleston on December 20, 1860. With the advent of the Civil War, Battery Guerry and an adjacent floating battery between Mount Pleasant and Sullivan's Island were instrumental in defense of the city. They were also bases for attacks on Fort Sumter. The city was defended by a line of fortifications from Elliot's Creek at Boone Hall to Copahee Sound. Mount Pleasant was the secret training ground for the nine-man crew of the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley, H.L. Hunley. This small vessel was launched from Breach Inlet in 1864 to attack and sink the USS Housatonic.
  The original plank-and-barrel footbridge, later known as the Pitt Street Bridge at the foot of the Old Village area in Mount Pleasant, was used by the crew of the H.L. Hunley to cross to Breach Inlet to test the submarine. In 1899 the original wooden plank bridge was replaced by a trolley bridge.
  A generation later, in 1929 a steel drawbridge was built for vehicle access between Sullivan's Island and Mount Pleasant. The Pitt Street bridge was dismantled in 1945, but the remains can still be seen in the Intracoastal Waterway. The area has been maintained since then as the Pickett Bridge Recreation Area. It was named for Charleston doctor Otis Pickett.
  The "Old Village" is Mount Pleasant's oldest neighborhood; the oldest home, 111 Hibben Street (the Hibben House) was constructed in 1755 by Jacob Motte, a descendant of French Huguenots who had immigrated to South Carolina.
  In the early 21st century, the Old Village is centered on the Pitt Street Shops at the northwestern end of the street. Among them is the Pitt Street Pharmacy, which was featured on the Food Network. It has operated at this location for more than 60 years.
  As a result of emancipation after the Civil War, the numerous slaves were freed. Continuing their numerical dominance of the population, in 1875 African Americans made up 73% of the population in Charleston County.
  Some of the freedmen developed Scanlonville, one of the first African-American communities to be formed after the Civil War in the Charleston area. It continues today as a neighborho
caption: Exploring the marshes
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