Charleston

Formed January 1, 1769 (2^nd county)

Charleston County (408,317), Charleston (150,288)                

The Modern red brick facility was built in 2004 to replace the original 1789 courthouse.  The old facility is on Broad Street at Meeting Street.  United States Highway 17 is 16 blocks to the northwest.  NBBJ, Cooper, Robertson & Partners and Goff D’Antonio combined for the designs of the new courthouse.  The new facility is on Broad Street at Courthouse.  Charleston County was organized on January 1, 1769 as an original county (2^nd county.)  Charleston has always been the county seat.  The county and county seat are named for King Charles II.  Charleston County is the birthplace for 25 South Carolina Governors, John Rutledge, John Mathews, Benjamin Guerard, William Moultrie, Thomas Pinckney, Charles Pinckney, Arnoldus Vanderhorst, Edward Rutledge, John Drayton, Paul Hamilton, John Geddes, Thomas Bennett, Jr., James Hamilton, Jr., William Aiken, Jr., Whitemarsh B. Seabrook, William H. Gist, Andrew G. Magrath, Wade Hampton III, Hugh S. Thompson, Miles B. McSweeney, Martin F. Ansel, Wilson G. Harvey, Burnet R. Maybank, James F. Byrnes, and Ernest F. Hollings. 

Charleston County government consists of a sheriff and 9 Council Members.  Two Circuit Court Judges and Six Family Court Judges serve Charleston and Berkeley counties.  The county is on the southeast coast of the Atlantic Ocean.  Columbia, South Carolina is northwest and Savannah, Georgia is southwest of the county.  The county center is 13.4 miles East of Charleston nearer Isle of Palms.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Berkley and Georgetown counties and the Atlantic Ocean, and Colleton and Dorchester counties. 

The area of the county is 1358 square miles.  It is 1 out of 46 in the state.  It ranks 3 out of 46 in population in the state.  It has a density of 300.7 persons per square mile making it 6 out of 46 in the state.  Charleston County has 86.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 26 enters the county from the northwest, Berkeley County, and terminates.  United States Highway 17 comes from the northeast, Georgetown County, and goes to the southwest, Colleton County.  United States Highway 52 enters from Berkeley County, north, and terminates.  United States Highway 78 parallels Interstate Highway 26 from Dorchester County and terminates.  The county resembles a locomotive train.  The City of Charleston is located in the southwest quarter of the county and extends into Berkeley County.  Charleston is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 36.8% of the county population.  This county is in the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area.