Charleston, city in southeastern South Carolina, seat of Charleston County. It is situated on a narrow, low-lying peninsula between the Ashley and Cooper rivers, at the head of a broad bay leading to the Atlantic Ocean. The city also includes an area on the western bank of the Ashley River.
Charleston is one of the busiest ports of the southeastern United States; its fine, nearly landlocked harbor handles both coastal and overseas trade. The city is also a rail, road, and air transportation hub. Among the many manufactures here are paper, metal products, chemicals, cigars, molded rubber products, and petrochemicals. A large United States Navy shipyard and an air force base are located north of the city. It is the seat of the College of Charleston (1770), the oldest municipal college (since 1837) in the country; the Medical University of South Carolina (1824); The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina (1842); Charleston Southern University (1964); and Trident Technical College (1964). A cultural center of the South, it is the site of an annual arts festival, the American counterpart of the Festival of the Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. Also here are the Gibbes Art Gallery and the Charleston Library Society (1748), one of the oldest libraries in the country. A major tourist attraction is the extensive historic district, noted for its lush gardens and the varied architecture. Three fortifications stand at the mouth of Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter and Castle Pinckney (1797), both built on shoals, and Fort Moultrie, on Sullivans Island.
