Charleston History

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.

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.