News

The City of Charleston is in the process of renewing its Franchise Agreement with Dominion Energy—a document that governs the utility’s use of public rights-of-way and helps shape how electric infrastructure is maintained and improved across the city. While routine on the surface, this renewal presents a significant opportunity to address long-standing concerns about tree protection, infrastructure resilience, transparency, and public accountability.

From data transparency to neighborhood relief, HCF is working with the City of Charleston to build a more balanced, sustainable tourism future.

NeShell White, a graduate of Virginia State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications, interned this summer with HCF's Communications Department. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, she came to Charleston through Explore Charleston and gained hands-on experience creating content for Instagram, TikTok, Adobe Express, and Canva, while also learning event planning strategy and hosting an event of her own. White reflects on the welcoming, close-knit culture at HCF and how the Foundation's commitment to Preservation, Advocacy, and Museums shows up in its everyday work with the Charleston community.

Caden Chapman, a College of Charleston graduate with a BA in English now pursuing his master's degree, interned in the Archives with Shannon Duffy at Historic Charleston Foundation this summer. His research uncovered unforgettable stories woven into Charleston's history, including a hidden dairy farm once located on Vanderhorst Street, an alligator named Wishy-Washy who lived on the grounds now home to Ashley Hall, and the tale of bootlegger Frank "Rumpty Rattles" Hogan, who was murdered by a rival on Market Street. Chapman calls the experience a privilege and an honor.

Molly Schweickhardt and Bates, both interns in HCF's Preservation Department, spent the summer immersed in hands-on preservation work. Schweickhardt assisted with easement inspections across the peninsula and researched pre-Civil War records at Calvary Episcopal Church, uncovering the stories of the church's enslaved and free congregants. Bates used ArcGIS to map the ruins of the Walled City and researched Free People of Color named in Calvary Church's historic records. Together, they also contributed to the Aiken-Rhett House Crack Study, measuring and documenting cracks throughout the historic house.

Each summer, Historic Charleston Foundation welcomes interns across every department. This July, it's Intern Takeover: hear directly from the students working alongside our team. Rising junior Kendall Snyder, a History and International Studies major at the College of Charleston Honors College, interned with HCF's Advocacy and Preservation team. Her work centered on the Board of Architectural Review process and the 106 Coming Street project, where she gained experience in research, community engagement, and architectural review. She also joined preservation interns on the Aiken-Rhett House Crack Study, documenting cracks throughout the historic house.

The 1999 Downtown Plan has guided transportation, land use, preservation, and development decisions over the past 26 years. While Charleston has evolved significantly since its adoption, many of its core principles remain relevant today. This update presents an important opportunity to reaffirm that foundation while addressing the challenges and opportunities shaping Charleston’s future. As the Peninsula Plan process moves forward, HCF will be advocating for a vision that promotes connectivity, resilience, livability, and thoughtful growth throughout the peninsula. While the planning process is just beginning, we believe there are several key issues that deserve particular attention as the City develops its framework for the next generation of transportation, land use, housing, and infrastructure investments.

On Monday, May 18, 2026, Historic Charleston Foundation hosted its spring advocacy forum titled Charleston’s Future: Stitching Together Growth and Opportunities Forum with panelists: Andrea Ostrodka, ACIP, Christian Sottile, AIA, Jared Bramblett, and moderator Scott Parker. As part of the evening’s program, attendees were introduced to a newly unveiled video that offers a visual overview of major infrastructure and development projects planned for the Charleston peninsula.

The College of Charleston is exploring options for building a college dormitory on a site that was a municipal cemetery in the 18th century. The site presents challenges and opportunities for conversation and memorialization. Attend a community meeting to learn more.

HCF awards Dr. Kerrison and 60 Tradd Street with the 2026 Whitelaw Founders Award for a meticulous, research-driven piazza restoration nearly 60 years in the making.

Historic Charleston Foundation announces the 2026 Charter Day award winners, honoring excellence in the protection, restoration, and interpretation of Charleston's historic built environment. From residential rehabilitations to cultural landscape preservation, this year's honorees embody the spirit of preservation in Charleston through expertise, vision, and a deep commitment to our city's legacy.

Last week, representatives from Historic Charleston Foundation traveled to Washington, DC to participate in the 2026 National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week, joining preservation advocates from across the country to meet with members of Congress and discuss policies that support historic preservation nationwide.

Advocacy Alert: You have until March 3 to make your voice heard. A variance request for a 12-story development on Morrison Drive is about more than one building—it's a test of whether Charleston will stay true to its own resilience and watershed planning goals. We're asking the Board of Zoning Appeals to say no, and we need you with us.

We fought hard to save a piece of West Ashley history — and we're not giving up. Learn why the 1930s USDA Vegetable Laboratory matters, what happened when City Council overturned the Design Review Board's decision to protect it, and what HCF is doing to make sure this doesn't happen again.

Few colors carry as much history as indigo — and few places feel that weight more than Charleston. In “Indigo: Variations in Blue,” curator Tushara Bindu Gude, Ph.D., brings together eight artists to explore indigo as color, pigment, memory, and meaning inside one of the South's most extraordinary historic spaces: the preserved “as-found” Aiken-Rhett House c. 1820. Part of Historic Charleston Foundation's 2026 Festival and events, the exhibit runs from March 18–April 11.

Before shrimp and grits became synonymous with Charleston cuisine, a free Black entrepreneur named Charles C. Leslie was reshaping the city's entire seafood industry. Born poor in present-day Mt. Pleasant in the mid-1800s, Leslie built a wholesale seafood empire, championed species once dismissed as “trash fish,” and became one of Charleston's wealthiest Black businessmen — leaving a legacy written into the city's food culture, its historic architecture, and the scientific record. This is his story.

Join us in welcoming three new members to Historic Charleston Foundation's Board of Trustees: Kate Kronzer, Steve Strawn and Delores Whaley.

HCF President & CEO Winslow Hastie weighs in on the Lowcountry's most pressing smart growth challenges — from the Point Hope development in Cainhoy to the proposed Charleston County Transportation Sales Tax. Read more about important issues including state concurrency legislation that ties large-scale development to infrastructure planning, development along the I-26 corridor, and more in this February's Winslow's Word.