Finally, there's a walking tour book written by someone who's both a writer and a real Charleston tour guide. Read the first paragraph of The Charleston Walking Tour , and you'll realize that it's more than just an inventory of dates and facts:
...This colony, Carolina, was the property of eight noblemen--the Lords Proprietors--who would, theoretically, grant hereditary titles and thereby create a landed ruling class. Influential early colonists from Barbados, where feudalism and slavery had given birth to the plantation system, brought with them the aristocratic values and hedonistic lifestyle of the landed gentry. Thus Charleston, a city that values lineage dearly, was herself the heiress of ancient legacies, with a vested interest in maintaining tradition.
This pocket-size, 20-page volume features 100 points of interest, a centerfold map and information gleaned from the most recent and respected historical works, including Edward Ball's Slaves in the Family, Curtis Worthington's Literary Charleston, and Stephen Wise's Gate of Hell. It doesn't have a lot of superfluous color illustrations, which allows us to sell it to you at an incredibly low price. Imagine yourself in the walking on the cobblestones of Chalmers Street, (pictured below) as you read about its colorful 18th Century past:
This street is named for Dr. Lionel Chalmers, ...who owned property on the north side in the 18th Century. Along with a few other Edinburgh-educated physicians, Chalmers battled ignorance as well as rampant epidemics--a popular smallpox cure of the day was to place the patient's feet in the abdominal cavity of an incised fowl and apply a mixture of honey and "Dry White Dog Dung" to the throat. The pavement of the street is cobblestone that was brought as ballast in English sailing ships and cast aside when they took on rice, indigo or cotton.
Research indicates that the "Pink House" was constructed between 1694 and 1712 as a tavern. It may be the city's oldest building and may have been used, at least incidentally, in the world's oldest profession, since 18th Century Chalmers Street (then called "Mulatto Alley") was at the center of Charleston's "red light" district.
 Pink House, Charleston, S. C.

CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW FOR THE TEXT YOU'LL BE READING WHEN YOU ACTUALLY SEE THESE HISTORIC LOCATIONS:

St. Philip's Episcopal Church, Charleston, S. C. Miles Brewton House, Charleston, S. C.
Waterfront Park, Charleston, S. C.
The Charleston Walking Tour, by Alan Hartley, at any of the following Charleston, South Carolina, locations: the Visitor Reception and Transportation Center, Chapter II Bookstore, the Preservation Society of Charleston gift shop, or Historic Charleston Reproductions. Or send your address and $5.00 to us at
Talk of the Towne
2166 St. James Dr.
Charleston, S.C. 29412
and we'll mail you a copy within 10 days. To find our about our minibus tours of Historic Charleston, click on the link below.
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