Abraham, an enslaved “Negro” man belonging to an Indian trader named Samuel Benn, was an obscure witness to the escalating tensions between Anglo-American forces in South Carolina and the Cherokee people who lived far to the west of their...
Today I’d like to introduce you to Abraham the Unstoppable, the true adventure story of an enslaved man of African descent who won his freedom during the Anglo-Cherokee War of 1759–61. First we’ll explore the background of that unfamiliar war and...
I’d like to share a story that evokes the duality of Charleston’s colorful and painful history. Many of the stories we tell ourselves and visitors about our community’s history have a bright side and a not-so-bright side, and both aspects deserve...
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) is hosting its first library card design contest, and library lovers age 18 and older are encouraged to submit an original design for a future limited edition library card. A library...
CHARLESTON, SC - Due to the winter weather and unsafe driving conditions, all Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) branches and book drops will remain closed Saturday, Jan. 6. All library programs are canceled, and meeting rooms will be closed for...
Today’s program is Part 2 of a brief history of one of Charleston’s most iconic landmarks, generally called “the Battery.” In last week’s program, we discussed a series of building campaigns between the 1720s and the 1850s in which our local...
In Charleston parlance, “the Battery” is the common name for what is actually a pair of man-made seawalls that define the southern tip of the Charleston peninsula. The so-called “High Battery” measures just over 1,400 feet long and was built in the...
Philadelphia Alley is not the shortest or narrowest thoroughfare in the city of Charleston, but it is sufficiently small to escape the attention of many residents and tourists. For those who have stumbled into its entrances on Queen and Cumberland...
CHARLESTON, S.C. — While CCPL's Summer Reading programs ended July 31, participants can still log in to view and print a record of the books they read or listened to this summer.
Click here to access your Summer Reading account.
Thanks to...
In our last episode, we talked about history of the Charleston park called Marion Square from the early 1700s through the American Civil War, so let’s resume the narrative with the Confederate evacuation of Charleston in February of 1865.
On the...