Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/322

 314 CHARLESTON They are situated in the Kanawha Salines, be- ginning about 2 ra. above Charleston, and ex- tending up the river on both sides for 10 m. A great variety of coal is found in abundance, such as cannel, splint, and all kinds of bitu- minous coals. Locks and dams are in process of construction on Elk river in order to facili- tate the transportation of the immense quanti- ties of coal and timber that abound along its banks for over 100 m. The Chesapeake and Ohio railroad, which is designed to be one of the great through routes between the east and west, passes through Charleston. The North- ern and Southern West Virginia railroad, in progress, terminates here. The state house is a capacious stone building, 138 ft. long, 56 wide, and 140 high, erected in 1870 at a cost, including land, of about $60,000. The other state institutions are in other parts of the state. The manufacturing establishments comprise 2 iron founderies with machine works attached to each, 4 saw and planing mills, a cabinet fac- tory, 2 factories for making staves and head- ings for salt and flour barrels, a pump factory, a mineral water factory, 2 large flour mills, and a woollen factory. There are a high school called the Charleston institute, a public school, a Roman Catholic seminary, and sev- eral private schools. There are 8 churches, 4 weekly newspapers, and a monthly periodi- cal. The seat of government was removed from Wheeling to Charleston by an act of the legislature of 1869, which went into effect April 30, 1870. CHARLESTON, the chief commercial city of South Carolina, a port of entry, and capital of Charleston co., in lat. 32 46' N., Ion. 79 57' W., 100 m. S. S. E. of Columbia, the capital of the state, 82 m. N. E. of Savannah, Ga., and 455 m. S. S. W. of Washington, D. C. It stands at- the confluence of the Ashley and Cooper rivers, which here unite and form a spacious harbor. These rivers run a parallel course for nearly 6 m., widening as they ap- proach the sea, thus gradually narrowing the site of the city into a peninsula. The city is built upon low and level land, and to one ap- proaching by water seems to rise from the sea. The harbor is a large estuary extending about 7 m. S. E. to the Atlantic, with an average width of 2 m. It is landlocked on all sides ex- cept an entrance of about a mile in width. 8. of this entrance, extending along the coast, is Morris island, about 5 m. long and 3 m. wide. The width of the inner harbor at its mouth is something over a mile. The passage is de- fended by four fortresses. On the right hand, at the entrance, is Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan's island, occupying the site of the fort which, on June 28, 1776, beat off" the British fleet of Sir Peter Parker. On the left hand, raised upon a shoal in the harbor, and directly covering the channel, is Fort Sumter. Immediately in front of the city, and but a mile from it, is Castle Pinckney, covering the crest of a mud shoal, and facing the entrance. A little S. of Pinck- ney is Fort Ripley, a small square work, built in 1862. On the S. side of the harbor, about li m. from the city, are the ruins of Fort Johnson. The outer harbor, lying within the bar, extends from Sullivan's island to the south channel, below the lighthouse, a distance of 6 m. The bar consists of successive ranges of sand banks, which stretch away before the en- trance for several leagues ; and as these ranges consist in part of quicksand, they are liable, from storms and undercurrents, to occasional change of locality, greatly increasing the difficulty of pilotage. Between these successive ranges of sand are formed several channels of varying depths of water. There are four of these chan- nels : the ship channel, with 16 ft. water at ebb ; the small or middle channel, with 14 ft. ; Law- ford's, or the south channel, with 10 ft. ; and Maffit's, close to the shores of Sullivan's island. The ship channel is 11 m - from the city, the middle 7i, while that of Maffitt is still nearer. The approach to the coast is easy, the shoaling gradual, and with proper care and good sea- manship the soundings alone would assure the mariner of safety. The lights along the coast of this district begin at Cape Roman; there is a light at Bull's, and floating lights and bell boats contribute to disarm all the dangers of the coast. The lighthouse at the entrance of Charleston harbor is on Lighthouse island, and W. of the ship channel, lat. 32 41' 55" N., Ion. 79 52' 29" W. The tower is of brick, 110 ft. high; the light is at an elevation of 133 ft. 'above the sea. It may be seen at a distance, in good weather, of 20 nautical miles. The beacon in front of the main light is visible at a distance of 10 nautical miles. The height of the light above the sea level is 50 ft. There are beacons also on Morris and Sullivan's isl- ands, at Fort Sumter, Castle Pinckney, Mount Pleasant, and on the battery at White point, all within the harbor. From the entrance of the middle channel a full view of the city is obtained, guided by the spire of St. Michael's church, which bears from this point about N. 63 W. The surrounding country is noted for the picturesque character of its scenery. Rice and cotton fields, oaks, magnolias, myrtles, and jasmines abound in profusion. On Sulli- van's island are many cottages owned by the wealthy citizens of Charleston and vicinity, and occupied by them during the summer. The mean annual temperature at Charleston in 1872 was 65-5; total rainfall, 58-83 inches; prevailing wind, southwest. The mean tem- perature in January was 45, February 48-5, March 51, April 65-6, May 74-9, June 79-7, July 84-1, August 81-8, September 77'8, Oc- tober 69, November 59, December 49. The population in 1800 was 18,711; 1810, 24,711; 1820, 24,780; 1830, 30,289; 1840, 29,261; 1850, 42,985; 1860, 40,519, of whom 17,146 were colored; 1870, 48,956, of whom 22,749 were colored. Only 4,892 of the total population in 1870 were foreigners. There were 6,861 dwellings, with an average of 7'14 persons