Charleston, IL history

First settled by Benjamin Parker (1826), it was named for Charles Morton, its first postmaster.

Charleston, city, seat (1830) of Coles county, east-central Illinois, United States It lies near the Embarras River, about 45 miles (70 km) south of Champaign.

"Coles County, originally a part of Crawford County, but organized in 1831, and named in honor of Gov.

In September 1858 Charleston was the scene of the fourth debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas (see Lincoln-Douglas debates), attended by some 12,000 people; Coles County Fairgrounds, the site of the debate, houses a Lincoln-Douglas museum.

The Charleston Riot took place on March 28, 1864 on the courthouse square in Charleston, Illinois.

Edward Coles - lies central to the eastern portion of the State, and embraces 520 square miles, with a population (in 1900) of 34,146.

Brief History of Coles County From the "Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois" 1901 ©Transcribed by Kim Torp

By 1912, portions of the tract had been sold to Oakdene Cotton Compress, Texaco, and the Read Phosphate Co.

In 1914, the North Charleston Development Corp was organized to construct houses for the area.

By 1925, the North Charleston Corp and the Filbin Corp. had been reorganized as Charleston Farms.

Following the financial panic of 1929, Joseph Franc bought control of the holding company.

A Public Service District was formed in 1934 to serve the area with street lights, water, sewerage, garbage disposal, and fire protection.

The transcripts were compiled in 1939 by Eastern Illinois State College History Professor Charles H. Coleman.

North Charleston in 1961 tried again to incorporate and, in anticipation, even elected a mayor, F. C. Ott.

The Charleston County Park, Recreation and Tourist Commission was created in 1968 as a county special purpose district by an act of the South Carolina legislature.

1972: The City of North Charleston was established as the 9th largest city in South Carolina on June 12, 1972 with John E. Bourne, Jr. as the first mayor.

On June 12, 1982 North Charleston had grown by 250 percent.

In July 1985, the commission’s tourism function was transferred to the Charleston Trident Chamber of Commerce and the commission was renamed Charleston County Park & Recreation Commission.

September 21, 1989 Hurricane Hugo hit, causing over $2.8 billion in damage to the South Carolina Lowcountry.

The North Charleston Coliseum opened in 1993 and the South Carolina Stingrays Hockey Team of the ECHL began to call North Charleston their home.

The North Charleston Performing Arts Center and the Charleston Area Convention Center opened in 1999.

North Charleston’s Riverfront Park was officially opened to the public on July 4, 2005, establishing a beautiful access to the vistas along the Cooper River with a large outdoor performance venue and picnic areas.