Old
Slave
Market

When it was first constructed in 1859, the open ended building was referred to as a shed, and used the walls of the German Fire Hall to its west to support the roof timbers. Slave auctions were held inside. The interior was one large room with a 20-foot ceiling, while the front facade was more impressive with its high arch, octagonal pillars and a large iron gate.

Earthquake
of
1886

The history of the southeastern U.S. is dominated by the 1886 earthquake that occurred in the Coastal Plain near Charleston, SC. It was one of the largest historic earthquakes in eastern North America, and by far the largest earthquake in the southeastern U.S. A major shock, occurred August 31, 1886 at approximately 9:50 p.m. and lasted less than one minute, but resulted in about sixty deaths and extensive damage to the city of Charleston.

Cooper River Bridge

The need for a crossing of the Cooper River had been longstanding. The issue was how it should be done, and who would finance it. The solution came in 1928 when the dream of Charlestonian John P. Grace and others of building a Cooper River Bridge materialized, with financial backing from H.M. Byllesby and Company of Chicago.