1670 - The English settlers came to the New World as a result of a land grant given to 8 noblemen in 1665 as a 'thank you' gift for their help in restoring the Hapsburgs to the throne of England by way of King Charles II after his father had been decapitated by revolutionaries several years earlier - thus Carolina derived its name from King Charles. Originally, Mount Pleasant was occupied by the Sewee Indians, a tribe from the Siouan Language group whose name means "island". According to early accounts by English settlers, the Indians grew corn as their staple crop and were friendly to the Europeans. Their first encounter with the white man was probably at this time when the first English settlers of Carolina landed at Bull’s Bay in northern Charleston County on March 15, 1670.

1680 - As one of the original colonists to arrive in 1670, Captain Florence O'Sullivan was granted 2,340 acres of land in what is now the Old Village of Mount Pleasant, just south of Shem Creek (Indian name Shem-ee). This land, known as the Ferry Tract, included Sullivan’s Island and the neck of land that stretches from Shem Creek, Cove Inlet and then to the Charleston Harbor. Although Sullivan's Island was named after him, it is unclear whether or not he actually owned the island. The first white settlers arrived from England on July 6, 1680 under Captain O'Sullivan's leadership. The Indians called it 'Oldwanus" Point', which was later anglicized to 'Old Woman's Point', and then 'North Point', which is on the earliest map of the time. This is where Old Mount Pleasant is located today. Our Indian heritage is still reflected in some of the current street names, such as: Oldwanus Drive, Sewee Circle, Shem Street and Drive, and Mataoka Street. Originally part of Christ Church Parish, which was established at this time, Mount Pleasant's woods and fertile land gave way to boroughs, plantations, and coastal gunneries.

In 1694, a grant was made to Edmund Bellinger for acres ". . . on East side of Cooper River . . . commonly known as 'Hogg Island' bounding North on Hogg Island creek, South on Sullivan's Creek (Shem Creek) and East and West upon a marsh." The island was purchased by Colonel Alexander Parris, who also owned Shute's Folly (now Castle Pickney) in Charleston harbor.

In 1695, a second group of settlers came to the area, and were known as Congregationalists. There were 51 settlers in all, with each one being granted several hundred acres. They built the Old Wappetaw Church. These Congregationalists eventually joined the Presbyterian Church. The area that they settled, north of Shem Creek, soon became known as Christ Church Parish.

In 1696, when the initial land grant began to be parceled out, it took on several different names. Others who owned land out of the original grant included: John & then Sarah Barksdale, Elias & William Hancock, Peter Villeponteaux, Henry Gray, Jacob Motte, and Andrew & James Hibben. Years later, much of the original grant is now back together as the Town of Mount Pleasant.

In 1706 the Province of Carolina withstood several attacks by the Spanish and French and were victorious in defeating French invaders in an area known as "Abcaw". "Abcaw" became Hobcaw Plantation, located between Shem Creek & the Wando River. Later, it was known as Shipyard Plantation because its deep water & abundance of good timber made it ideal for a prosperous shipbuilding enterprise. Lands adjacent to Hobcaw Point were owned at different times by several families, many of whom maintained ferries serving Mount Pleasant.

In early 1708, evidently high land was situated near the Eastern edge of the marsh toward the mouth of Shem Creek. On March 23, this 17 acres was conveyed by Elizabeth Bellinger (widow and relict of Edmund Bellinger) to Alexander Parris. One of the most important aspects of Florence O'Sullivan’s ownership of Sullivan's Island was that he placed a 'Big Gun' there to protect the settlers of Mount Pleasant and the growing city of Charles Town. In 1708, the gun fired off 5 shots because French ships were sighted heading towards the settlement. They landed at SeeWee Bay, and as they headed toward Charles Town, they burned and pillaged all the way to Shem Creek, where they burned down two vessels and a storehouse, according to historian Petrona Royall McIver. Under Colonel William Rhett, these Gaulish invaders were routed and 58 were taken prisoner. Some were able to get away, and 30-40 were killed. As Mrs. McIver points out, Rhett’s "victory was swift and complete."

In 1716, the land sitting on Shem Creek was first deeded to Thomas Barksdale.

In 1749, wealthy Charleston merchant and statesman Jacob Motte purchased land on what was then called Hog Island Hill, just to the south of Shem Creek. Named Mount Pleasant Plantation, the site's original purpose may have been as a summering place. Like other plantation owners who were beginning to build summer houses on the waterfront, Motte may have been seeking a place to escape the heat of the summer and the diseases that accompanied warm weather in the swampy lowlands.

In 1770, Andrew Hibben obtained a ferry charter and bought land from Jacob Motte on the south side of Shem Creek. Hibben's ferry was the first to connect Haddrell's Point with the city of Charleston.

In 1775, Mount Pleasant played a leading role in the first major military engagement and victory of the Revolutionary War. When Charleston finally fell to the British on November 12, Cornwallis crossed the Cooper River with 2,500 troops and took possession of Haddrell's Point. The British headquarters is said to have been the home of Jacob Motte, later known as Hibben House.

Upon sailing from England in the 1780s, Jonathan Lucas was shipwrecked on the Carolina coast. After settling here, Mr. Lucas became a pioneer in the rice industry by inventing a mechanical means to replace the laborious task of pounding and threshing rice by hand. This process resulted in the Charleston area becoming a center of the profitable rice industry. In 1793, Jonathan Lucas rebuilt the old Greenwich Mill to house a saw mill and the first mechanical rice mill in the area. It drew power from the tides of Shem Creek and traces of the holding pond are still visible at low tide. With the Civil War ending and occupation imminent, the mill was burned to keep from falling into enemy hands. The land near the mill became known as Lucasville, one of the four original villages of Mount Pleasant. It was incorporated into the Town in 1872.

In 1795, he built the first water-driven, combined rice and saw mill in the Charleston area on Shem Creek. The adjoining lands became known as Lucasville, with Lucas Street and Mill Street later named for this brilliant inventor and his mill. Lucas ...On what became known as Mill Island, Lucas constructed a wind-powered lumber and saw mill. In 1795, he built the first water-driven, combined rice and saw mill in the Charleston area on Shem Creek. The adjoining lands became known as Lucasville, with Lucas Street and Mill Street later named for this brilliant inventor and his mill.

In 1803, James Hibben purchased Motte's land and divided the property into lots. Hibben's father established the first ferry service to Charleston, and his land was known as the 'ferry tract'.

In 1837, Mount Pleasant was incorporated into a town. On December 20, the village of Greenwich was merged with Mount Pleasant and incorporated by an act of the Assembly. The town rapidly grew after it's incorporation as many other surrounding villages were added in. These include Hillardsville, Hibbens Ferry and Lucasville. Today most of what was Christ Church Parish has become part of the Town of Mount Pleasant.

In 1858 the limits of the town were extended to embrace Hilliardsville, an area acquired in 1847 by Charles Jugnot and Oliver Hilliard for a picnic ground. Hilliardsville included a grove of live oaks called Hort's Grove (now known as Alhambra Park). Lucasville, a settlement on Shem Creek, was merged with Mount Pleasant in 1872.

In 1859, while working on his Cedar Grove plantation, which was on the western shore of Shem Creek (now Cooper Estates), Dr. Louis F. Klipstein discovered fragments of mastodon bones while ditching and excavating a pond. Portions of the tusk measuring more than 6' were also found. Characterized by elongated noses and tusks (like elephants), the mastodon americanus was a mammal of the last Ice Age.

On May 13, 1862, the 'Planter' became part of the Federal blockading fleet when, that evening, the ship's officers went ashore, leaving Robert Smalls and the all-black crew aboard. Smalls seized the opportunity and made a run for the Union ships just outside the harbor entrance.

During the Civil War, in February of 1865, there was a grist mill on Shem Creek in the area that is now the Shemwood II subdivision. The mill ground rice and corn grown on local plantations.

The Magwood family long - affiliated with Shem Creek and Bull's Island - began in South Carolina with Irishman Simon Magwood (1763-1836). Captain Robert Holman Magwood (1878-1956) purchased the Mount Pleasant Boat Building Company on Shem Creek in 1895, and his boats Susie Magwood and Josephine were kept there, as was his COOTER pen, and a turtle crawl where he raised diamondback terrapins for export to Northern restaurants.

On August 12, 1905, the Shem Creek beacon was lit. It is a red, three-pile structure, built on the east side of the entrance to Shem Creek.

In 1929, when the original Cooper River Bridge, it changed the profile of Mount Pleasant forever. Shrimping became an important industry in the 1940s, and the picturesque setting of Shem Creek, with its commercial shrimp fleet bobbing at the docks, became a major attraction. Although some travelers just pass through Mount Pleasant on their way to the resort islands, or heading north to Myrtle Beach, some make the town itself their vacation.

On Nov 9, 1948, United States Senator Burnet Maybank announced approval of Shem Creek's dredging project. Dredging of the channel as far as the Highway 17 bridge has been approved and work will begin shortly. The channel will be approximately 60' wide.

42 years later, on Nov 9, 1992 - almost 100 years after the Magwood family setup shop on Shem Creek, Mr. Magwood said he was selling his shrimp boats because he can no longer afford to insure them. A proliferation of restaurants has pushed most of the shrimp boats out of Shem Creek, and large pleasure boats are taking up the space in residential developments.

The rest is modern history...

Greenwich Village

The village of Greenwich was the first "village" of what is now Mount Pleasant. It began as a one-hundred acre plot of land. Owned by Englishman Jonathan Scott, the land was split in half and the waterfront portion of the plot was turned into town lots and they were bounded by streets that Scott named King, Queen and Pitt Streets (Pitt aptly named for the Prime Minister of England, Sir William Pitt). The rest of the land was created as a common space and today this area is where McCants, Boundary and Pitt Streets lay. This public space was called the Common. Part of this property was set aside for the use of African Americans. On it a Baptist, Methodist and a Presbyterian Church were built and also a school for blacks called Laing School. The town hall was also built on this common land that included a basement to be used for jailing purposes. This area later became the Berkeley County jail.

Mount Pleasant Village

The name Mount Pleasant comes from the plantation once owned by Jacob Motte. James Hibben purchased the plantation in 1803 the land was surveyed and divided into town lots. There were thirty-five altogether and ten of his children inherited the larger of these. All of these lots were butted and bounded by several streets which still exist to this day. Beach Street was actually a beach with no marsh and there were six lots that sat on that stretch of land. Bennett Street was named for James Hibben’s stepfather William Bennett. Whilden Street carries the name of the famed Elias Whilden who had five sons that fought for the Confederacy. Boundary Street was not aptly named because there were lots that sat beyond the street past where the old Moultrie School once sat. Lastly Venning Street was named for Nicholas Venning who also owned Belvue Plantation off of what is now Long Point Road.

When Hibben bought the Mount Pleasant property from Jacob Motte, he moved into Motte’s home which stands today. The home at 111 Hibben Street is called the "Hibben House" and is the oldest home in the City of Mount Pleasant. Built in 1755, the home has a rich history that includes the fact that the British used the home as their headquarters during the Revolution. In fact it is said that General William Moultrie, for whom Fort Moultrie on Sullivan’s Island is named, was held captive in the home. Many others have owned the home even Mrs. Petrona Royall McIver, Mount Pleasant historian, who purchased the home with her husband William Whilden McIver in 1912.

Mount Pleasant Village and Greenwich Village merged in 1837 into one town which became the Town of Mount Pleasant. The town grew gradually as more and more villages and tracts were added to the original two villages of Mount Pleasant and Greenwich. The first of these to be added to the town was the Hibben Ferry Tract. The tract was added to the Town of Mount Pleasant in 1872 and this land was also the area from which ran people across the Charleston Harbor into the City of Charleston.

Owned by Andrew Hibben, the ferry charter was obtained by Hibben in 1770. According to Mrs. McIver this was the first ferry that connected Haddrell’s Point to Charleston. The ferry carried passengers and their carriages and often their cattle. It cost $.33 for a single passenger to take the ferry. The ferry continued to run even after the death of Andrew Hibben by his son James. In 1847 the Hibben family ceased their involvement with the ferry system and the business was handed over.

The Ferry Tract

The land that was known as the "Hibben Ferry Tract" included blocks on Bennett, Hibben, and Beach Streets and was also bounded by Shem Creek. This is one of the oldest settlements in the Town of Mount Pleasant. Purchased in 1770 by Andrew Hibben, the land became part of the town in 1872. The act to include this area was approved on March 12 and states that the corporate limits of the town of Mount Pleasant be, and the same is hereby, extended by continuing the eastern line of Boundary Street northwardly to Shem Creek, from which point the said creek and the waters of Charleston harbor shall be the boundary.

Hilliardsville

Originally part of a tract of land owned by William Hort, the Hillardsville section of Mount Pleasant includes what is today Alhambra Park and Alhambra Hall. The section that includes Alhambra Park was originally a grove of live oak trees called Hort’s Grove. Part of this tract was purchased in 1847 by Charles Jugnot and Olivier Hilliard and the two developed the land into a picnic ground. The two also owned a ferry company and used a section of the property called Shell Hall to construct a wharf. The Mount Pleasant Ferry Company not only built a wharf but they developed the picnic area constructing an octagonal hall which ultimately became the first Alhambra Hall. The park that the surrounded the area was sprinkled with swings and sometimes a traveling carousel would visit. Hilliardsville was annexed to the Town of Mount Pleasant in 1858 and thus Common (now Royall) Street, Pitt Street, Center Street were added to the town along with a piece of land that was later built into a road and named McCormick Street.

Lucasville

Added to Mount Pleasant by an act of incorporation in 1872 along with the Ferry Tract, Lucasville was bounded by Bennett, Hibben, Boundary (Simmons Street today) Streets and Shem Creek. The area was named after Jonathan Lucas whose son William first developed the land. Jonathan Lucas and his family gained fame in South Carolina for the invention of the rice mill. Born in Cumberland, England in 1754 he was shipwrecked off the coast of South Carolina and made a name for himself by building several rice mills throughout the Carolina Lowcountry. One of these mills was built on Shem Creek at Haddrell's Point and it was a combination rice and saw mill. The mill no longer stands but there is a Lucas burial ground that still exists on the property today.

According to an article published in the "Mount Pleasant, S.C. Sesquicentennial Souvenir Program" in 1885 there were only 783 residents in Mount Pleasant. "Four miles of street were laid with shells and the town was known as a pleasure and health resort for the planters of Christ Church parish and the people of Charleston." Mount Pleasant has grown since its many additions in the nineteenth century from a cozy little seaside town to a major metropolitan area that includes wonderful shopping, gorgeous views of the rivers, creeks and harbors that surround her and with the many neighborhoods that have been built throughout recent years. However, through all of this growth, the city has some how managed to maintain her historic charm and elegance.

SOURCE: Town of Mount Pleasant, Google Books & Bob