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Charleston is a city in Charleston counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County. The city was founded as Charlestown or Charles Towne, Carolina in 1670, and moved to its present location (Oyster Point) from a location on the west bank of the Ashley River in 1680; it adopted its present name in 1783. In 1690, Charleston was the fifth largest city in North America, and remained among the ten largest cities in the United States through the 1840 census. Charleston is known as The Holy City due to the prominence of churches on the low-rise cityscape, particularly the numerous steeples which dot the city's skyline, and for the fact that it was one of the few cities in the original thirteen colonies to provide religious tolerance to the French Huguenot Church. In fact, it is still the only city in the U.S. with such a church. Charleston was also one of the first colonial cities to allow Jews to practice their faith without restriction. Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, founded in 1749, is the fourth oldest Jewish congregation in the continental United States. Brith Shalom Beth Israel is the oldest Orthodox shul in the South, founded by Ashkenazic (German and central European) Jews in the mid 19th century.
The population was estimated to be 118,492 in 2007, making it the second most populous city in South Carolina closely behind the state capital Columbia. Current trends put Charleston as the fastest growing central city in South Carolina. The metropolitan area population of Charleston and North Charleston, which includes the entire populations of Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties, was estimated to be 603,178 in 2006. This ranks Charleston-North Charleston as the second largest metropolitan statistical area in the state behind Columbia. Nearly 80% of the Charleston metro population lives inside the city and its surrounding urbanized area (2000 pop.: 423,410).
After Charles II of England (1630-1685) was restored to the British throne following Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate, he granted the chartered Carolina territory to eight of his loyal friends, known as the Lords Proprietor, in 1663. It took seven years before the Lords could arrange for settlement, the first being that of Charles Town. The community was established by English settlers in 1670 on the west bank of the Ashley River, a few miles northwest of the present city. It was soon chosen by Anthony Ashley-Cooper, one of the Lords Proprietor, to become a "great port towne", a destiny which the city fulfilled. By 1680, the settlement had grown, joined by others from England, Barbados, and Virginia, and relocated to its current peninsular location. The capital of the Carolina colony, Charleston was the center for further expansion and the southernmost point of English settlement during the late 1600s.
By the mid-18th century Charleston had become a bustling trade center, the hub of the Atlantic trade for the southern colonies, and the wealthiest and largest city south of Philadelphia. By 1770 it was the fourth largest port in the colonies, after only Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, with a population of 11,000, slightly more than half of that slaves. Rice and indigo had been successfully cultivated by slave-owning planters in the surrounding coastal low-country. Those and naval stores were exported in an extremely profitable shipping industry. It was the cultural and economic center of the South.The Charleston-North Charleston Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of three counties: Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester. As of 2006, it was estimated that the metropolitan area had a total population of about 603,178 people. Charleston has several large suburbs. North Charleston is nearly as populated as Charleston itself and ranks as the third largest city in the state; Mount Pleasant and Summerville are the next largest suburbs. The traditional parish system persisted until the Reconstruction, when counties were imposed. Nevertheless, traditional parishes still exist in various capacities, mainly as public service districts. The city of Charleston proper, which was originally defined by the limits of the Parish of St. Philip & St. Michael. It now also includes parts of St. James' Parish, St. George's Parish, St. Andrew's Parish, and St. John's Parish, although the last two are mostly still incorporated rural parishes.
Charleston is served by the Charleston County School District, which is divided into eight Districts. These eight districts educate approximately 48,500 students from kindergarten through 12th grade, and contain 42 elementary schools, 13 middle schools, 8 high schools, 12 magnet schools, and 4 charter schools. IT also contains the seventh best high school in the United States, the Academic Magnet high school. Charleston is also served by the Berkeley County School District in northern portions of the city, such as the Cainhoy Industrial District, Cainhoy Historical District, and Daniel Island.
Charleston is also served by a large number of private schools, including Porter-Gaud School, Ashley Hall, First Baptist, Trident Academy, Charleston Day, Trinity Montessori Christian School and Mason Preparatory School.
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