Resilience and Freedom: Exploring Historic Charleston

The Avery Normal Institute (now called the Avery Research Center) was founded by Francis Lewis Cardozo. It was the first secondary school for African Americans in the city of Charleston. The center is now part of the College of Charleston.

Constructed in the early 1770s, the Heyward-Washington House was the home of Thomas Heyward, Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence. President George Washington stayed at the house during his visit to Charleston in 1791. The house was subsequently called the Heyward-Washington House.

As a major naval base, Fort Sumter was an important asset. When the state of South Carolina seceded from the Union in 1861, it wanted to secure the fort from federal troops. On April 12, 1861, fighting broke out and Union troops surrendered the fort after a full day of fighting. Over the course of the war, federal troops attempted to recapture Fort Sumter from Confederate hands. Fort Sumter is now a National Monument managed by the National Park Service.

The Gullah-Geechee people are the descendants of enslaved people from west and central African countries such as Angola, Senegambia, and the Gold Coast. Despite their bondage, enslaved people continued to observe and celebrate their culture and heritage. Many enslaved communities also created new customs and traditions in America. The Gullah-Geechee people, for example, are known for their sweetgrass baskets.

The South Carolina National Heritage Corridor (SCNHC) stretches 320 miles from the state’s northwestern tip down through its southeastern corner near Charleston. Designated by Congress in 1996, the corridor is intended to encourage preservation of the natural and cultural resources of the area.