Sullivan's Island, South Carolina

Not to be confused with Sullivan Island.

Sullivan's Island, South Carolina
Town
Sullivan's Island viewed from Fort Moultrie
Sullivan's Island viewed from Fort Moultrie
Map
Coordinates: 32°45′48″N 79°50′16″W / 32.76333°N 79.83778°W / 32.76333; -79.83778
CountryUnited States
StateSouth Carolina
CountyCharleston
Settled17th century (as O'Sullivan's Island)
Named forCaptain Florence O'Sullivan
Government
 • MayorPatrick O'Neil
Area
[3]
 • Total
3.44 sq mi (8.91 km2)
 • Land2.50 sq mi (6.47 km2)
 • Water0.94 sq mi (2.44 km2)
Elevation
9 ft (3 m)
Population
 (2020)[4]
 • Total
1,891
 • Density757.01/sq mi (292.28/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (EST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP code
29482
Area code(s)843, 854
FIPS code45-70090[1]
GNIS feature ID1231842[2]
Websitesullivansisland-sc.com

Sullivan's Island, historically known as O'Sullivan's Island,[5] 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,[6] and 1,891 people in 2020.[7] 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.[8][9][10] It has been likened to Ellis Island, the 19th-century reception point for immigrants in New York City.[11] 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.

  1. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  3. ^ "ArcGIS REST Services Directory". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference USCensusDecennial2020CenPopScriptOnly was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Sullivan's Island town, South Carolina". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Census2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Finkenbine, Roy E. (February 11, 2020). "The Erasure of the History of Slavery at Sullivan's Island". Institute of the Black World 21st Century. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  9. ^ Twitty, Michael W. (2017). The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South (First ed.). New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-237929-0. OCLC 971130586.
  10. ^ "Nearly 1,000 Cargos: The Legacy of Importing Africans into Charleston". Charleston County Public Library. October 5, 2018. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  11. ^ Chin, Adeline; Kermeliotis, Teo (May 25, 2018) [December 7, 2012]. "African Slave Traditions Live On in U.S." CNN.