The Preservation Society is prioritizing the preservation of African American Settlement Communities throughout the Charleston region. Settled by formerly enslaved people following the Civil War, these vibrant, self-sustaining communities were where free people of color purchased land, built homes, and became successful farmers, fishermen, and tradesmen.
Historic Image of the Old Phillips Community School, courtesy of the Town of Mount Pleasant
Today, many of these significant cultural landscapes survive and are often populated by the decedents of the original community founders, who still live according to the same settlement patterns as their ancestors. Unfortunately, as land values skyrocket, the longstanding kinship networks of settlement communities are threatened by encroaching development, and so much has already been lost.
Left: Sweetgrass drying in the front yard of a property in the Phillips Community, photo courtesy of Brockington and Associates; Right: House of Prayer Pentecostal Holiness Church in the Phillips Community, courtesy of Charleston County.
A recent victory at the Phillips Settlement Community gives us hope for the future. Located east of the Cooper River in northern Mt. Pleasant, Phillips was established in 1878 by freedmen who purchased lands formerly part of the Laurel Hill and Boone Hall Plantations. Laid out as a planned community, the original plat of Phillips is still evident in modern-day surveys.
Plat of the Phillips Community, ca.1875
Recently threatened by a highway expansion project, the residents rallied together, and with the help of other community partners, successfully designated Phillips as Charleston County’s first local historic district and advocated for a less-impactful infrastructure proposal. Our hope is for this positive development for Phillips to serve as a model for other African American settlement communities seeking greater recognition of their unique and often overlooked cultural significance.
Resources
African American Settlement Communities Historic Commission
Town of Mt. Pleasant Settlement Communities Task Force
Charleston County Comprehensive Plan, Cultural Resources Element
Aerial showing Phillips on right, suburban development on left, courtesy of Coastal Conservation League The Phillips Community has had a string of preservation victories that we are excited to share with you! From progress on the National Register nomination, to designation as Charleston County’s first historic district, to minimized impacts from the Highway 41 project, there […]
Read the original Live 5 news story here. MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) – The Phillips Community in Mount Pleasant is now designated as a historic district. Charleston County Council voted on the ordinance last night and the designation provides protection to the historic black settlement communities. People in the community have said the area is […]
Read the original Post and Courier article here The map of the Phillips Community shows the community’s boundaries. PROVIDED/CHARLESTON COUNTY At first blush, the town of Mount Pleasant’s move to annex 9 acres of mostly undeveloped property in the Phillips Community seems ill-advised. Parallel efforts are underway to list the historic African American settlement community on […]
Read the original Post and Courier article here The map of the Phillips Community shows the community’s boundaries. PROVIDED/CHARLESTON COUNTY One of the oldest planned settlement communities in Charleston County looks to add its name to a new list. The Phillips Community, located off U.S. Highway 41 near Horlbeck Creek in Mount Pleasant, is in […]
Read the original Count on 2 article here. MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – On Tuesday, the Charleston County Council heard their first request for the designations of a historic district. The area in question, known as the Phillips Community. The Historic Charleston Foundation, familiar with the ordinance that would declare the Phillips Community a historic district announced at the […]
Map of revised plan for the Highway 41 Improvement Project Yesterday, Charleston County Council voted to advance a new preferred alternative for the Highway 41 Improvement Project as an effort to reduce impacts to the Phillips Community in Mt. Pleasant. We are encouraged by the direction of the new plan, which diverts traffic around Phillips on a […]