North Charleston, SC news and local guide

From the 17th century until the Civil War, plantations in what is now North Charleston grew rice and indigo with enslaved labor. Archdale Hall on the Ashley River, dating from 1680, grew to almost 3,000 acres by 1783 and was the longest family-owned plantation in South Carolina. Elms Plantation, founded in 1682 by Ralph Izard, covered nearly 4,350 acres, part of which is now Charleston Southern University. Between 1786 and 1796 the French botanist Andre Michaux kept a 111-acre botanical garden near today's Charleston International Airport, and Michaux Parkway is named for him. Retreat Plantation, from 1672, Marshlands, from 1682, and Mons Repos, from about 1798, were later taken by the federal government for the naval base, and the Marshlands house, on the National Register, was moved in 1961 to preserve it. After the Civil War, phosphate deposits were strip-mined between the Ashley River and the Broad Path, and the haul route became Ashley Phosphate Road.

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In the early 20th century Charleston's business and civic leaders marked this unincorporated part of Charleston County for industry and military use. The E.P. Burton Lumber Company was the first industry. In 1901 the Charleston Naval Shipyard was founded under agreements between the federal government and Charleston leaders, and soon after the General Asbestos and Rubber Company built what was described as the world's largest asbestos mill under one roof. In 1912 Charleston businessmen formed a company that bought the Burton tract and began laying out a planned community. The area was incorporated as the city of North Charleston in 1972. Sources Wikipedia: North Charleston, South Carolina