History

Originally called “Charles Town” after King Charles II of England, Charleston was founded in 1670 at Albemarle Point, which is now a state park. Ten years later the settlement moved to Oyster Point, which is now the site of the Battery and White Point Gardens. Amazingly, the city became America’s fifth largest only 20 years later. At first the population was made up mostly of English settlers, but later on many French Protestants, called Huguenots, settled in Charleston as well as several Irish immigrants. In the early days of Charles Town, it was threatened by murderous pirates, most notably the famous pirate Blackbeard.