Charles Town

We reached Charleston.  A city steeped in history.  Where people refer to the Civil War as an "act of aggression from the North".  Where women don't sweat, they glisten!  Just a charming place.

Commonly referred to today as "The Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon".

Trading of rice, indigo, and slavery resulted in a thriving economy that built colonial Charles Town.  This powerful growth in trade led directly to the construction of the Royal Exchange and Custom House which was completed in 1771.  "But the site, design, and construction of the building also symbolized the self-image of Charles Town’s elite. And it was one of the first examples of local urban planning. The site chosen for the new Exchange at the foot of Broad Street was a symboic point in the life of the city. It was the center of the waterfront, where streams of inland and maritime traffic long had converged, and the intersection of its first import thoroughfares."

The Exchange is made up of 3 floors.  The cellar level was used to store goods.  

During the American Revolution the British used the cellar as a "provost dungeon".  At one point there were over 70 prisoners living in deplorable conditions with no access to bathrooms.  It was after the Revolution that the city legislature changed the city's name from Charles Town to Charleston.

               

 

A courtyard in the city which reminded us of Cortona a town in Tuscany, Italy.

For only $1.5 million you can buy this historic beauty.

Love the sign!

 

Moon over Charleston.

 

Night lights of the Honey Fitz that stayed at the same marina.  Met Captain Mark of the Honey Fitz over laundry.  He invited us to take a tour of the yacht the next morning but due to the favorable tides heading up to Georgetown, SC (tides in your favor equals lower diesel costs) we had to leave much earlier than we had anticipated.  Hope to catch up with him in New York over the 4th of July.  

                                       

Phillip Simmons (1912 - 2009) was a renowned ironworker who came into his own creating ornamental wrought iron for gates, fences, balconies, and window grills. This walkway gate was Phillip Simmons first. There are over five hundred decorative pieces across the city of Charleston.  Upon his death white ribbons adorned most of those pieces in honor of his memory.

                               

Right in the heart of historical Charleston on Market street they opened up a It'Sugar store.  Those are 1.5 LB boxes of Hot Tamales and Mike & Ike.  I think I done died and gone to heaven!