The island was known as O'Sullivan's Island from an early date, because of the Irishman, Captain Florence O'Sullivan, who was stationed as a lighthouse keeper in the late seventeenth century. The island was completely denuded in order to distinguish the approach to Charleston Harbor.
Sullivan's Island was at first the main Entrance for app. 40% (4-8 Million Pers.) of the Slave traded Blacks to the British Colonies using the Middle Passage.
On 28 June 1776, a makeshift log fort was held by colonial forces against a sustained siege and bombardment by British forces under Lord Cornwallis attempting to enter the harbor to besiege and conquer the City of Charleston. The palmetto logs used in the construction proved to be remarkably spongy and absorbed the cannon balls. The Battle of Fort Moultrie was commemorated by the addition of a white palmetto tree to the blue and white crescent moon flag of South Carolina. The victory is still celebrated every June 28, known as Carolina day.
The history of the island has been dominated by the extensive coastal defenseworks known as Fort Moultrie, which served as the base of command for the defenses of the City of Charleston until it was closed in the late 1940s.
Edgar Allan Poe was stationed at Fort Moultrie from 1827 to 1828. The island was the setting of his short story "The Gold-Bug." The town library, situated in a refurbished military battery, is named after the poet. Several streets on the island bear the names of his works as well, including "Raven" and "Gold Bug" Drives.
Other literary connections to the island include the novel Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank and inclusions in the novel Beach Music and the semi-autobiographical memior The Boo, both by novelist Pat Conroy.
For most of its history, the town on the island was known as Moultrieville, on the south-west half of the island. Another community on the north-east portion, Atlanticville, was established and later merged to form the Town of Sullivan's Island.
The new Charleston Light was built in 1962. The 140-foot-tall triangular building boasts an elevator instead of the typical spiral staircase.
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.
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