North Charleston in Charleston County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Union Heights
⎯⎯⎯
Howard Heights

Union Heights Marker<br>(<i>side 1 • faces south • church on right</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 4, 2019

1. Union Heights Marker
(side 1 • faces south • church on right)

Inscription. Union Heights (side 1)This Community, subdivided into lots in 1919, was named for the nearby union station of three railroads. It had been part of Belmont Plantation from the colonial period to the mid-19th century and became an African-American community after the Civil War. Union Heights, a thriving neighborhood of houses, churches, and shops, grew with the dramatic expansion of the Charleston Navy Yard from 1935 through World War II and into the 1960s.

Howard Heights (side 2)This community, subdivided into residential lots for African-Americans in 1943, was named for Howard University. It had been part of Windsor Plantation in the early 19th century, then was part of the phosphate operations of the Virginia-Carolina Chemical Co. The Charleston Housing Authority developed this area with federal funding during World War II. Though smaller than Union Heights, Howard Heights flourished from 1943 into the 1960s.
Sponsored by the Union Heights Community Council, 2014

Erected 2014 by Union Heights Community Council. (Marker Number 10-83.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list:

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

African Americans. In addition, it is included in the Historically Black Colleges and Universities series list.

Location. 32° 50.346′ N, 79° 57.705′ W. Marker is in North Charleston, South Carolina, in Charleston County. It is at the intersection of Meeting Street (U.S. 52) and Beech Avenue, on the right when traveling north on Meeting Street. Marker is located beside the sidewalk, near the northwest corner of the Mount Olive Baptist Church. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2416 Meeting Street, North Charleston SC 29405, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Historic Charleston

and in the Lowcountry.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Howard Heights Marker<br>(<i>side 2 • faces north • church on left</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 4, 2019

2. Howard Heights Marker
(side 2 • faces north • church on left)

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Charleston Navy Yard Historic District (approx. 1.6 miles away); Magnolia Cemetery (approx. 1.8 miles away); Brig. Gen. R. S. Ripley (approx. 1.8 miles away); Marine Barracks (approx. 1.8 miles away); German Confederate Soldier's Monument (approx. 1.8 miles away); Charleston Light Dragoons (approx. 1.8 miles away); Soldiers Ground (approx. 1.9 miles away); South Carolina Generals Memorial (approx. 1.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in North Charleston.

Also see . . . Union Heights and Howard Heights History. Union Heights is one of the earliest predominantly African American communities from slavery time in Charleston County, SC, that still exists today. Once characterized as soggy and swampy land deemed valueless, many African Americans acquired lots dating back to the late 1800s. Mount Olive Baptist Church, organized in the late 1800s, is the oldest church in Union Heights. Homes within the sub-neighborhoods of Union Heights and Howard Heights are believed to be built from scrap pieces of

Union Heights Marker (<i>side 1; wide view looking north from Meeting Street</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 4, 2019

3. Union Heights Marker (side 1; wide view looking north from Meeting Street)

lumber. This would account for the irregular lengths of boards visible on many of the homes currently existing in Union Heights. (Submitted on May 9, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Howard Heights Marker (<i>side 2; wide view; Mount Olive Baptist Church in background on left</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 4, 2019

4. Howard Heights Marker (side 2; wide view; Mount Olive Baptist Church in background on left)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 9, 2019. It was originally submitted on May 9, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,016 times since then and 44 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on May 9, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Union Heights⎯⎯⎯Howard Heights

Union Heights
⎯⎯⎯
Howard Heights