SC, South Carolina

Paving the Streets of Charleston, South Carolina ...

The city of Charleston in South Carolina did not become a chartered city until after the American Revolution. Before this it had no city government, all of its developments depended solely on the colony executive and legislature. Even street names were not visible till the early 1700’s.

During the eighteenth century there was quite a noticeable lack of paving on the streets of Charleston, this was however back then what gave it its own unique characteristics. Writings of this era have noted that the quiet of the city streets in Charleston was very uncanny. For in many other American cities you would hear the constant rattle of wheels on paving stones and cobblestones, however in Charleston this was missing.

It was written in 1765 by Pelatiah Webster that the streets of this city ran in all directions and met each other at right angles, but they were not paved expect for the footpaths, which were about 6 feet wide and were paved with brick pavers in the main streets of the city.

Charleston did not pave their streets until the 1800’s, up until then the streets were simply covered with sand and because sand was easily cleaned and replaced and also the fact that the water soaked right into it, made a lot of sense to Charleston early on. This was particularly so because Charleston did experience its fair share of rainfall and paving would just slow down its excavation.

There was however a downside to not paving the streets of Charleston, and this was that when the sand was saturated many vehicles with narrow wheels tended to mire. So, in the wake of the Revolution the city was then governed and it was then that the streets began to be paved. Slowly but surely the sand streets were replaced with paved streets that still allowed water to filtrate through to the sub-soils.

About South Carolina, SC ... South Carolina is a state which is featured in the southern region of America. In 2004 the population of South Carolina was estimated to be over 4 million people. Several of the navy’s ships were named in honor of South Carolina. The abbreviation for South carolina is SC.

In the 20th century a fast growing textile industry become popular and which attracted many large military bases and most recently European manufactures. Natural ports in South Carolina are named Charleston and Georgetown.

The lower part of South Carolina is called Coastal Plain which is very flat and composed of Sand, silt and clay. Some of the many features of South Carolina are Carolina’s Bays. The reason for this part of South Carolina is unknown is may be suggested that they were constructed during a meteor shower.

Located in the Upcountry are some famous parks such as; Caesars Head State Park and the Table Rock State Park. The Chattanooga River is a famous spot for water activities such as; whit water rafting.

For more information go to The official website for the state of South Carolina

Cities of South Carolina