Historic Hobcaw Point is one of Mount Pleasant's oldest communities. Today there are some 384 homes, many on large half-acre lots with magnificent grand oak trees and views of the tidal marsh and waterways. Located less than ten minutes from downtown Charleston, this 400-acre neighborhood was developed in the early 1950’s atop the location of 18th Century shipyard.
The neighborhood streets resemble smaller versions of oak-canopied scenic highways. Positioned on a peninsula bordered by the Wando River and Hobcaw & Molasses Creeks, through-traffic is non-existent allowing pedestrians and bicyclist a more relaxed environment in which to roam the neighborhood.
Hobcaw Drive, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina 29464, United States
Hobcaw Point is the location of three of Mount Pleasant's Historical Markers.
Hobcaw Shipyards
The shipyard at Hobcaw Point was the center of activity centuries ago: the heart of the shipyard, the site of ship construction and repair and the slipways where ocean going vessels were launched. The shipyards built on Hobcaw Creek included Pritchard’s Shipyard, the largest in colonial South Carolina. Notable ships launched there were the 180-ton Heart of Oak (1776) and the 200-ton Magna Carta (1770). The South Carolina Navy built and maintained naval vessels at Prichard’s during the Revolutionary War. The shipyard industry closed in 1831, after 78 years of operation.
https://www.mountpleasanthistorical.org/items/show/28
By the time of the American Revolution Hobcaw Point was so significant a shipyard that in 1770 the South Carolina colonial government authorized construction of a powder magazine for its protection and the protection of the various Wando River Plantations.
Hobcaw Point Powder Magazine
In 1770, the South Carolina colonial government authorized construction of a powder magazine near the Wando River plantations and Hobcaw Point shipyards. A four-sided earthen embankment with a brick powder magazine and guardhouse stood near here from 1772 to 1783, on the land of Capt. Clement Lempriere. A detachment of colonial militia was assigned to protect the magazine. The site is the only remnant of what happened in this area from the early 1700’s to the almost the Civil War.
After the Civil War, the site was virtually untouched for another 100 years.
https://www.mountpleasanthistorical.org/items/show/27
Hobcaw Point Battery
Beauregard returned to Charleston in September 1862 and, once again, assume command of the Department of South Carolina and Georgia for the Confederacy. Headquartered in Charleston, he quickly began working on improving the defenses of the city. Brigadier General Thomas Jordan, Beauregard’s Chief of Staff, assigned Captain W. H. Echols, Chief Engineer, with the task to construct many of the new fortifications. On October 3, 1862, he ordered, “You will examine Hobcaw Point, on the Cooper River, in the vicinity of Mount Pleasant, to determine whether or not it will afford a good position for a battery. Echols selected the site of a former fortification, Lempriere’s Point Battery, a Revolutionary War redoubt used from 1772—1783. The battery featured two 8-inch Columbiads on barbette carriages with a large powder magazine. In mid-October, Beauregard reported to the Adjutant General in Richmond that the new battery at Hobcaw Bluff was the best position to command the Cooper River, Wando River, and Town Creek. The Hobcaw Point Battery is destroyed. There are some slight remnants of an earthwork fortification at Hobcaw Point. It is undetermined whether these remains are Revolutionary War, Civil War, or both.
Participation in or with the HPRA is strictly voluntary. Our dues are $75/year which fund the entry sign area maintenance and electricity. We are a collective voice for our residents when addressing events or conditions that impact our neighborhood. Please continue your support and if so moved - - get involved!!
~ Bill Collar, HPRA President
Post Office Box 408
Mount Pleasant, SC 29465