Eager for a visually striking shot to sell to his Northern audience, a photographer in the employ of the Kilburn brothers of Littleton, N. H, wandered the streets of Charleston.  He wandered over to the commercial district and captured this image of a pair of tall ships at dock while black laborers toted bags of rice nearby.

   Rice was but one of the commodities that built Charleston’s status as a world-class port; cattle and naval stores, such as timber and pitch, along with furs and indigo also flowed out from the peninsula, and by the 1850’s, cotton had become one of Charleston’s signature exports.

   All manner of vessels called at the city, hauling cargo from throughout the world.  In 1768, 448 vessels entered the harbor, and 429 cleared the port, making it one of the busiest in the colonies.  By 1848, these numbers had risen to 1,870 and 1,847, respectively.  Suck prosperity fueled settlement and industry.  According to historian Peter A. Coclanis, “In 1774, the South Carolina Lowcountry was the wealthiest area in British North America, if not in the entire world.”

  During the Civil War, this level of wealth declined but post-war the port activity helped revitalize Charleston’s devastated economy.  By the time this photograph was taken in 1870, conditions had improved.  However, the upsurge was short-lived; international competition in the early 20th century hurt the city’s shipping industry.

  As always, though, the city endured.  Tourism has replaced the wharves as the major source of income.  Shipping remains a close second.  In 2007, Charleston was the sixth largest container port in the nation, with $61 billion passing through on an annual basis.