Black History Tour
With the growth of Mount Pleasant in recent years, it has become increasingly important to prioritize and pay special attention to the preservation and promotion of African-American history and culture. Some of these historical and cultural sites have been compiled into a driving tour.
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Riverside Beach & White's Paradise
Riverside Beach, developed by the Cooper River Bridge Company, opened in 1930 as the first black beach in the area. It was sold to the County in 1941. The site featured a dance pavilion, boardwalk,…
Scanlonville
In 1868, John Scanlon, a freedman, purchased 614 acres of the former Remley Plantation at auction for $6,100. He then founded the Charleston Land Company to provide land ownership to freed slaves. The…
Greenhill
In 1870, freedman Hardy Green purchased 30 acres of land along Mathis Ferry Road. The area was called Spark Hill, but was later named Greenhill by the Moultrie School District. Children walked several…
Sweetgrass Baskets
Coil baskets of native sweetgrass and pine needles sewn with strips of palmetto leaf have been displayed for sale on stands along Highway 17 since the 1930s. This craft, handed down in certain…
Cook's Old Field Cemetery
This plantation cemetery predates the American Revolution. It was established by early members of the Hamlin, Hibben and Leland families. James Hibben (d. 1835), one of the founders of Mount…
Seaside
The earliest documented owner of the property known as Seaside was Thomas Whitesides. A plat shows the property included a main house, a barn, other outbuildings, and a row of four slave cabins. The…
Edmund Jenkins
Edmund Jenkins, an African-American veteran of the Civil War, was elected as a Town Marshal in Mount Pleasant and served from the 1890s until the late 1920s. He died on December 26, 1930. His…
Friendship AME Church
This church, founded during Reconstruction, has been at the same site since 1890. The first sanctuary serving this congregation was located on Hibben Street and built on a lot leased by the Town of…
Laing School
Laing School located here from 1868 to 1953 was founded in 1866 by Cornelia Hancock, a Quaker who had served as a nurse with the Union Army during the Civil War. First housed in Mount Pleasant…
Mount Pleasant Home for Destitute Children
At this site in 1881, Abby Munro, a Quaker from Philadelphia, established a home for orphans, neglected, and destitute children. Funds to purchase and operate the home were solicited locally and from…
54th Massachusetts Regiment
The Whilden House served as Union headquarters after the fall of Mount Pleasant in February 1865. Among the occupying troops was the first black volunteer 54th Mass. regiment. Under the command of…Tour curated by: The Mount Pleasant Historical Commission