Sullivan's Island, historically known as O'Sullivan's Island, is a town and island in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, at the entrance to Charleston Harbor, with a population of 1,791 at the 2010 census, and 1,891 people in 2020. The town is part of the Charleston metropolitan area, and is considered a very affluent suburb of Charleston.
Sullivan's Island was the point of entry for approximately 40 to 50 percent of the 400,000 enslaved Africans brought to Colonial America, meaning that 99% of all African Americans have ancestors that came through the island. It has been likened to Ellis Island, the 19th-century reception point for immigrants in New York City. During the American Revolution, the island was the site of a major battle at Fort Sullivan on June 28, 1776, since renamed Fort Moultrie in honor of the American commander at the battle.
On September 23, 1989, Hurricane Hugo came ashore near Sullivan's Island; few people were prepared for the destruction that followed in its wake. The eye of the hurricane passed directly over Sullivan's Island. The Ben Sawyer Bridge was a casualty, breaking free of its locks. Before the storm was over, one end of the bridge was in the water and the other was pointing skyward. Sullivan's Island police chief, Jack Lilien, was the last person to leave the island before the bridge gave way.
History
The island was known as O'Sullivan's Island, named for Captain Florence O'Sullivan, who was stationed here as a lookout in the late 17th century. O'Sullivan was captain of one of the ships in the first fleet to establish the colonial settlement of Charles Town. In 1671, he became surveyor general. He appears in the earliest record of Irish immigration to the Carolinas, mentioned as being taken on "at Kingsayle (Kinsale) in Ireland".
Sullivan's Island was used as a quarantine station for enslaved Africans, who were housed in various "pest houses" on the island and checked for communicable diseases before they were transported to Charleston for sale at public auction. Sullivan's Island was the port of entry for over 40% of the estimated 400,000 enslaved Africans transported to Colonial America, making it the largest slave port in North America. It is estimated that more than half, if not all, of all African Americans have ancestors who passed through Sullivan's Island.
"There is no suitable memorial, or plaque, or wreath or wall, or park or skyscraper lobby," writer Toni Morrison said in 1989. "There's no 300-foot tower, there's no small bench by the road."On July 26, 2008, the Toni Morrison Society dedicated a small, black, steel bench on Sullivan's Island to the memory of the Africans forced into slavery, one of several which are planned. The memorial was privately funded.
In 2009, the National Park Service installed a commemorative marker at Fort Moultrie describing the Sullivan's Island Quarantine Station. The text on the plaque reads:
Albert Wheeler Todd, an architect from Charleston, designed a town hall for the island. For most of its history, the town, located on the southwest half of the island, was known as "Moultrieville". Later, Atlanticville, a community on the north-east of the islands, merged with Moultrieville and together the two became the town of Sullivan's Island. In 1962, the new Charleston Light was built.
In May 2006, the Town of Sullivan's Island became the first municipality in South Carolina to ban smoking in all public places. The ordinance passed 4–2 and the ban went into effect in June.
The Atlanticville Historic District, Battery Gadsden, Battery Thomson, Fort Moultrie Quartermaster and Support Facilities Historic District, Moultrieville Historic District, Dr. John B. Patrick House, Sullivan's Island Historic District, and U.S. Coast Guard Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Fort Moultrie
On June 28, 1776, an incomplete fort was held by South Carolinian forces under Colonel William Moultrie against an invasion by a British force under the command of Henry Clinton sailing with Commodore Sir Peter Parker's Royal Navy fleet. The British cannonade proved to have no effect on the sand-filled palmetto log walls of the fort; the only fatalities were the result of those shots that carried over the walls.