CHARLESTON (ante), the chief city of South Carolina and capital of Charleston co., stands upon a peninsula formed by the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper rivers, in lat. 32° 45' n., long. 79° 57' w., 7 m. from the Atlantic ocean. The harbor, formed by the junction of the two rivers, and land-locked on three sides, with a depth of water of from 40 to 50 ft., is one of the best on the coast. It is defended at the mouth by four fortresses, fort Moultrie, fort Sumter, castle Pinckney, and fort Ripley. The entrance to the harbor, on account of shifting sand-bars and the uncertain depth of the water, would sometimes be difficult were it not for the floating lights and bell-boats provided by the government. The water on the bar is only 18 ft. deep, but the channel is being deepened by the government. The city covers an area of more than 5 sq. m., has nearly 10 m. of water front, and more than 50 m. of streets. The latter intersect each other mostly at right angles, and some of them are spacious. The ,rouses, instead of being built in blocks, are generally separated from each other by gardens, shade trees, and shrubbery, giving the city a peculiarly picturesque appearance, while greatly increasing its area. Charleston was founded in 1680 by an English colony. Its growth at first was slow, but with the development of the cotton traffic its commercial impor tance was greatly increased. The pop. '60 was 48,409, of which nearly one-half were colored. The war of the rebellion, which begun here in the spring of 1861 in the com pulsory evacuation of Fort Sumter by the U. S. under command of gen. Robert Anderson, and a great fire which occurred a few months later, paralyzed the business and greatly diminished the population of the city. Commerce indeed, between 1860 and 1865. was utterly destroyed. The wharves decayed, the docks were filled up, and the railroads leading into the interior were torn up. It was not until more than a year after the peace that the city was again made a port of entry; but from that time industry and commerce revived and have since steadily increased. The census of 1870 showed a very slight increase of population in comparison with that of 1860, the proportion of colored persons to white being about the same, 22 to 26. The population by the census of 1880 was 49,999; 24,005 being white, and 25,994 being colored. A large wholesale trade is carried on with the interior, an extensive region of country drawing its supplies of merchandise from this souree. The overland trade with St. Louis, Chicago, and other cities of the north-west in flour, bacon, grain, etc., is rapidly increasing. Rice, cotton, lumber, naval stores, and phosphate rock are the principal exports. In the extent of the cotton trade, Charleston ranks next to New York and New Orleans. The manufacture of fertilizers from marl and phosphate rock has been developed since 1868 and is very extensive. Early vegetables, grown in the suburbs, are exported in large quantities to New York, Boston, and other northern cities. The whole amount of coastwise imports is very large and constantly increasing. Manu factures of iron, wood, and phosphate, employ much capital, and afford occupation for upwards of 3,000 people. There are several large mills for removing the husk from rice and preparing it for market. A large portion of the rice raised in South Carolina and Georgia is cleaned at these mills. The valuation of property by the census of 1870 was over $50,000,000. The state assessment for 1872 was less than this by $10,000,000; the city assessment for 1873 was less by more than $20,000,000. In 1870 the number of
dwellings was 6,861; the number of families, 9,098; the number of persons engaged in mechanical occupations, 18,705. There are seven banks of discount, with a capital of inure than $3,000,000, and five savings banks, with deposits amounting to more than $1,000,000. The public squares are few and small, the battery near the water's edge, being the principal public resort. There are 3 daily and 5 weekly newspapers, and about 40 churches, of which 11 are Episcopal, 8 Presbyterian, 5 Roman Catholic, 5 Methodist, 4 Baptist, 3 Lutheran, and 1 Unitarian. The most noted church edifice is St. Michael's (Episcopal), built in 1752. It has a fine chime of bells, and its tower can be seen far out at sea. St. Philip's is the oldest church organization, but its house of worship is not so old as that of St. Michael's. In the graveyard adjoining St. Philip's lie the remains of many noted persons, including Gadsden, Rutledge, Pinckney, and Calhoun. Magnolia cemetery, near the northern boundary of the city, contains many fine monuments. The principal benevolent institutions are the orphan house, with an endowment of $190,000, and over 300 inmates; the Roman Catholic orphan asylum, with more than 100 inmates; the almshouse; the asylum for the aged and infirm; the city hospital; and an asylum for colored orphans, supported by the state. The principal public buildings are the U. S. arsenal and citadel, the market, city hall, court-house, orphan house, academy of music, custom-house, post-office, Charleston hotel, and Mills house. Three steam railroads have their center here, and there are horse railroads con necting the different parts of the city with each other. The streets are lighted with gas, and many of them are well paved. The schools of the city are under the control of commissioners elected by the people and a superintendent appointed by the commis sioners. In 1872, there were 8 public schools (5 grammar and 3 primary); number of children of school age. 12,727, of whom 5,068 were enrolled; number of teachers 68, all but four of them males; total school expenditures over $40,000 annually. There are also a considerable number of private schools. Charleston college, founded in 1871, in 1872 had 5 instructors, 50 students, and a library of 8,000 volumes. The state med ical college, at the same date had 9 professors. The Charleston library, founded in 1748, has 14,000 volumes, and the apprentices' library is a valuable collection. Charles ton was among the first of the principal places in the south to enlist in the revolutionary struggle of 1776. It was captured May 12, 17S0, after a siege of six weeks, by 12,000 British regulars under sir Henry Clinton, and evacuated Dec. 14, 1782. It was the center of the nullification movement of 1830, which was put down by Andrew Jackson; and the war of the rebellion had its beginning here in the bombardment of Fort Sumter, which aroused the northern people to a stern resistance. The city remained in the pos session of the confederates until the surrender of Columbia, the state capital, to Slier man, when it was evacuated by the confederate forces, and all the public buildings, stores, cotton warehouses, shipping, etc., were fired by order of gen. Hardee, the con federate commander. When the union forces took possession, Feb. 18, 1865, they did all that they could to rescue the city from destruction. During the war many buildings were destroyed, and the towers and steeples of the churches riddled with shot and shell.