The Ten Mile Community: A Community of Survivors Leads the Fight for Preservation

Communities across Charleston County are facing increasing pressure from development and the risk of displacement. Many of these communities are historic African American neighborhoods that are leading grassroots preservation efforts to secure long-overdue recognition and use available resources as tools for survival. One such community is Ten Mile, located between Mount Pleasant and Awendaw, where residents have been fighting to stop development that would permanently alter the character and historical significance of their community.

Charleston County designated Ten Mile as the third Historic District in 2022, joining Phillips and the Beefield communities as areas now afforded added protection and oversight by the Charleston County Historic Preservation Commission (HPC). The HPC provides a level of review comparable to that of the City of Charleston’s Board of Architectural Review (BAR), ensuring that proposed developments are compatible with the established scale, character, and architectural patterns of these historic districts.

The HPC is granted additional authority under the Charleston County Historic Preservation Ordinance to review development applications for consistency with the district’s prevailing land-use patterns. These traits include existing lot sizes and shapes, densities, spacing of homes, and other defining characteristics the Commission deems relevant. This language is particularly critical for historic districts like Ten Mile, where rural land-use patterns, large lots, and low lot coverage are the primary character-defining features and central to the community’s historical significance.

Communities such as Ten Mile are recognized specifically for development patterns established by their ancestors in the decades following the American Civil War. Like many historic African American communities, Ten Mile reflects a legacy of long-standing land ownership, with property passed down through generations. This continuity has preserved not only the physical settlement patterns but also the deep cultural and familial connections that make these communities rare and resilient survivors within Charleston County’s changing landscape.

Ten Mile is now leading the way in proactive self-preservation. The community has completed an Area Character Appraisal (ACA) to document existing conditions, including lot sizes, density, architectural styles, environmental impacts, traffic concerns, and infrastructure challenges. Submitted to the Historic Preservation Commission, the ACA serves as a critical tool for county planners and developers, helping them better understand the community’s character and guiding future development toward compatibility rather than disruption. This effort provides a powerful model for other communities, demonstrating how detailed documentation of character-defining features can strengthen the application of preservation ordinance criteria and support long-term protection. VIEW FINAL ACA HERE

Although the Historic Preservation Commission and the ACA are essential tools, they alone are not sufficient to prevent the continued loss of Charleston County’s African American history, culture, and landscapes. Codifying historic land-use patterns through zoning is a critical step in ensuring lasting protection. Recognizing this need, the Ten Mile Community and Charleston County worked together to develop the Ten Mile Community Overlay District.

The Overlay District, developed through more than two years of collaboration between county staff and Ten Mile residents and following a temporary moratorium on large-scale development, was unanimously approved by County Council at its Dec. 9, 2025 meeting. Intended to preserve the community’s rural character and deter large-scale development, the overlay establishes tailored guidelines addressing density, traffic impacts, architectural compatibility, and accessory dwelling units — representing a significant step toward preventing the overdevelopment and disappearance of the Ten Mile community.

Historic Charleston is proud to support Ten Mile's preservation efforts, including the establishment of the overlay district, and we continue to advocate at the county level for the designation of additional historic districts to protect these critically endangered cultural resources.

- Lisa Jones, Director of Advocacy (updated December 2025)