Historic Preservation Projects

The Historic Preservation Committee has worked over the past few years to draft amendments to better protect the historic resources in unincorporated Charleston County. After an extensive review process, County Council voted to approve the new Historic Preservation Ordinance on August 21, 2018. The new Historic Preservation Ordinance can be found within Chapter 21 of the County Code of Ordinances, located here: https://library.municode.com/sc/charleston_county/codes/code_of_ordinances.

In 2015, the Charleston County Zoning and Planning Department was awarded a Federal Historic Preservation Grant from the National Park Service (administered by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History) to fund an update to the Charleston County Historical and Architectural Survey (last conducted in 1992). New South Associates (NSA), Inc., a cultural resources consulting firm, was hired to complete this project, which included identifying and surveying properties that have historical or architectural significance. The survey update only included properties in unincorporated Charleston County that had not previously been surveyed. NSA and planning staff held community meetings and met with citizens in preparation for completing the survey work in Spring 2016. In the end, approximately 1,300 properties were surveyed. The survey identified two individual properties as eligible for the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) – the Elliot Constantine House in Riverland Terrace and the Tobin-Boyd School in the Red Top Community. The survey also identified Riverland Terrace on James Island as potentially eligible for the NRHP as a historic district. The most significant survey finding was the documentation of a corridor of African-American settlement communities, which is a unique cultural resource that represents the Gullah people, their culture, and the communities they established during the Reconstruction era. Four of the communities, Phillips, Snowden, Scanlonville, and Sol Legare, were designated eligible for the NRHP, while several others were deemed eligible with further research.

This project and the Planning Department have won two major awards for furthering preservation in South Carolina – a 2017 Preservation Service Award from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History (SCDAH), SCDAH Foundation, and Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation and the 2018 Robert N.S. and Patti Foos Whitelaw Founders Award from Historic Charleston Foundation.

View the Charleston County Historical and Architectural Surveys here:
2016 Survey (Unincorporated Charleston County)
1992 Survey (County-wide)
1989 Survey (Johns Island and James Island only)

This state-wide program recognizes farms that have been owned by the same family for over 100 years. In Charleston County, agriculture has always played a large role in the rich local history, starting with the plantations that began operating during the 17th century. If you know of a local farm that has been around for over 100 years, encourage them to apply for the Century Farms program (the program information and application can found here).

Throughout the County, primarily in undeveloped or rural parts of the County, many cemeteries or clusters of unmarked graves exist. The County is gathering information on these sites to help create an inventory of cemeteries. Do you have information about cemeteries or unmarked grave sites? Email planning@charlestoncounty.org or call (843)202-7203. As the County works to create a local inventory of historic resources, if you have a property that deserves to be recognized, email planning@charlestoncounty.org or call (843) 202-7203 to find out more information.