Chicora/Cherokee

Chicora Park was purchased by the Navy and the Charleston Naval Yard was established in 1901.  The Shipyard boasted the largest pier and dry dock on the East Coast used for shipbuilding and repair prior to World War I.  The Naval Shipyard and Naval Base expanded even more during World War II and remained active until it was closed in January 1996.  For almost 100 years, the Naval Yard bolstered the economy and the development of North Charleston as a new city, drawn on planning principals of the progressive era.

Charleston Mayor R. Goodwyn Rhett headed a group of investors who organized the North Charleston Corp. and the Filbin Corp.  After they had purchased the Burton tract, WB Marquis of Olmsted Brothers Engineering Co. designed the proposed town.  In 1914, the North Charleston Development Corp was organized to construct houses for the area.  The first residents moved there in the same year.  It was about this time that the term “North Charleston” evolved.

Learn more at: https://www.northcharleston.org/residents/community/history-cultural-heritage/