Charleston Explained

There's one block on King Street where every single brick has a name on it.

Between Hasell and Wentworth, the pavement turns to red brick. Pay $10 in 1986 and your name got embedded in King Street permanently. Those names are still there, right under your feet.

A living time capsule hiding in plain sight!

Save this and go find your favorite name!👇

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Today is the 37th anniversary of Hurricane Hugo - and if you lived in Charleston in 1989, you never forgot it.

Category 4. 140 mph winds. Storm surge up to 20 feet. Fatality reports state that Hugo killed at least 35 people in South Carolina and caused roughly $7 billion in damage. The city was unrecognizable.

Sixteen years later, Katrina hit New Orleans and the world finally understood what Charleston already knew.. America's coastal cities are dangerously vulnerable.

Today, Charleston floods on sunny days. The Dutch solved this problem decades ago. The question is whether we'll act before the next storm forces our hand.

Tag someone who remembers Hugo. 👇

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Blackbeard captured Charleston, but didn't ask for gold.. 🏴‍☠️

He took hostages, including a member of the Executive Council, and demanded medicine. His crew was sick. He got what he wanted, released everyone unharmed, and sailed away.

Would you have handed over the medicine? 👇

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Planning a fall trip to Charleston? Save this guide first 👻

3 of the city's most haunted hotels - 20 South Battery, Meeting Street Inn, and the John Rutledge House Inn - each with specific rooms where guests have reported apparitions, doors locking on their own, and things that go bump in the night.

Would you dare spend the night? Tag someone you'd drag with you. 👇

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Charleston's window boxes weren't built for charm.. they were built because the city reeked.

No sanitary sewer system until 1894. Over 200 years of horse manure, household waste, and open streets. Residents packed their windows with fragrant herbs and flowers just to breathe a little easier.

Necessity became tradition. Now it's one of Charleston's most iconic features!

What's your favorite street for window box spotting? 👇

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These circles aren’t what you think.

On August 31st, 1886 around 10pm Charleston was nearly leveled by an estimated 7.3 magnitude earthquake. Today marks the 140th anniversary of the disaster.

Ever wonder why so many historic buildings have these metal circles? Well, they aren't decoration. They help prevent the damage if we experience them today.

Spot a circle? Let me know which street! 👇

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Civil War Submarine: The H.L.
Hunley ⚓️

In 1864, the H.L. Hunley became the first combat submarine to sink an enemy ship.

But after signaling success, the vessel and its 8-man crew vanished for over 130 years. When it was finally recovered in 2000, the crew was found still at their stations..

You can find the replica here at The Charleston Museum.

Could you have volunteered for this mission? 👇

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The Legend of Big John's Tavern 🍻

Catch Big John’s Tavern on Outer Banks Season 5 Ep.6 on Netflix today!

From an NFL career to a local legend, this East Bay Street gem is a piece of living Charleston history.

Have you been to Big John's? Let me know below! ↓

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Ever notice these metal bars outside historic homes? 🧐 Most visitors walk right past them, but they had a "genius" (and gross) purpose centuries ago.

They're boot scrapers. Before paved streets, you scraped horse manure and mud off your boots before stepping inside someone's home. The French even had a word for them: décrottoir. It literally translates to "excrement remover."

Have you spotted one of these on your street? 👇

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Charleston had its own gangsters. And one of the most notorious was shot from a second story window on Market Street while walking to pick up his girlfriend.

His name was Frank "Rumpty Rattles" Hogan. His killer was acquitted. And the man who likely set him up? His own son-in-law.

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