Oldest Town in South Carolina: Charleston, Beaufort, More

The oldest town in South Carolina is Charleston, founded in 1670 when English colonists landed on the west bank of the Ashley River at what is now Charles Towne Landing. The oldest surviving towns after it are Beaufort, chartered in 1711, and Georgetown, laid out in 1729.

There is a fourth name that belongs on the list and is usually left off, because it is no longer a town. Dorchester, on the Ashley above Charleston, was settled in the 1690s and abandoned after the Revolution. You can walk it for three dollars.

Charleston, 1670

The colonists came from Bermuda under William Sayle and put their first settlement on a marshy point off the Ashley River, a few miles northwest of the present city. By 1681 the town had moved to the peninsula, where it is now. The original site is Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site, 1500 Old Towne Road, Charleston: 664 acres, an exhibit hall, a replica 17th-century trading ketch, and digs still in progress. Grounds open 9 to 5 daily; $12 adults, $7 children 6 to 15.

So the answer depends on what you count. The settlement dates to 1670. The city where it stands dates to about 1681.

Dorchester, 1696 or 1697

In January 1696, Congregationalists from Dorchester, Massachusetts, took up 4,050 acres on the Ashley River; their minister, Joseph Lord, preached his first sermon on January 26. The state park service gives 1697; sources differ by a year. The town had a church by 1719, a brick bell tower by 1751, and a tabby fort by 1760. The British occupied it in 1780 and burned the church on their way out in 1781. The town never came back. Residents moved to higher ground at Summerville and the bricks were hauled off.

Dorchester is therefore the oldest abandoned town in South Carolina, and older than Beaufort or Georgetown. What remains is Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site, 300 State Park Road, Summerville: the bell tower, the fort (called the best-preserved tabby fortification in the country), the churchyard, and a log wharf visible at low tide. Open 9 to 6 daily during daylight saving time, 9 to 5 otherwise. $3 adults, $1 children. About 25 miles from downtown Charleston by the Ashley River Road. There is no bell in the tower. The town says this is not a problem, and I have no reason to disagree.

Beaufort, 1711

Beaufort was chartered in 1711 and named for the Duke of Beaufort. It calls itself the second-oldest city in South Carolina, and by charter date among towns still standing, it is. The Spanish explored the sound as early as 1514 and planted the colony of Santa Elena nearby in the 1560s; it failed. Downtown is the remnant of the original English grid, and 304 acres of it are a National Historic Landmark.

Georgetown, 1729

Georgetown was laid out by Elisha Screven in 1729 on a grid four blocks by eight, and the grid, street names and lot numbers are still in use. It calls itself the third-oldest city in the state. It grew on indigo and then rice; by 1840 Georgetown District grew nearly half the rice in the United States. A Spanish colony called San Miguel was attempted on the Waccamaw Neck in 1526 and collapsed within months.

So which is oldest?

Oldest founded and still standing: Charleston, 1670. Then Beaufort, 1711, and Georgetown, 1729. Oldest founded but no longer a town: Dorchester, 1696, which outranks both Beaufort and Georgetown by date and is the only one of the four you can see more or less as it was left.

Charleston keeps the title. Forty miles up the Ashley is the town Charleston’s own people built, buried their dead in, and walked away from. The county history covers what happened in between, and The Tower With No Bell is where the dispatches start.

Frequently asked questions

Q. What is the oldest city in South Carolina?

A. Charleston, founded in 1670 at Charles Towne Landing and moved to its present peninsula by 1681.

Q. Is Beaufort or Charleston older?

A. Charleston, by 41 years. Beaufort was chartered in 1711. Spanish attempts near Beaufort in the 1500s failed and left no town.

Q. Can you visit the ruins of Dorchester?

A. Yes. Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site at 300 State Park Road, Summerville, is open daily and costs $3 for adults. The bell tower, tabby fort and churchyard are on a short interpretive trail.

What is the oldest town in South Carolina?