On this site stands one of Charleston's oldest public facilities in continuous use: the Charleston Market. Earlier markets, dating back to the city's relocation to the peninsula, ca. 1680, offered meat, fish, and vegetables at different sites. After the American Revolution, however, the city sought to consolidate this activity in one location and chose the present site, which was then a creek and marsh extending from Meeting Street to the Cooper River, briefly designated Canal or Channel Street.
———————-Six neighbors, among them Charles Cotesworth Pickney, who owned the largest portion, donated land in March 1788, directing the city to open a market. By 1792, some marsh and creek had been filled and a 200 foot long brick market, stood near Meeting Street. In late 1793, the city converted that structure to house refugees from Santo Domingo, and the land reverted to its original owners because a market had not been erected within the specified time. Once the property was again donated to the city in 1804 and construction resumed. The "Centre Market", consisting of separate sheds for fresh meats and vegetables, opened 1 August 1807, while sheds for fish and "small meats" opened later. Here, the city's population, both slave and free, gathered daily to sell and buy locally raised commodities and imported delicacies.———————-Market Hall, designed by E.B. White and built for the Meetings of the Market Commissioners and others, opened in 1841 on the site of the original depot for country wagons. The rise of grocery stores and refrigeration in the early twentieth century sapped the market's vitality, and its fortunes steadily declined. Renewal projects beginning in the 1970's spurred a revitalization of the market and surrounding area. The historic restoration of Market Hall was completed by the City of Charleston in 2003. In 2010, the market sheds were completely restored by the City of Charleston, in partnership with the City Marker Preservation Trust.———————-The Market was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1975. Although damaged by fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, and an earthquake, the City Market continues to function in the heart of the Historic District as one of Charleston's most cherished institutions.
This plaque was placed in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the City Market.
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