SC Supreme Court rules in favor to protect Ashley River Historic District
On January 21, 2026, the SC Supreme Court ruled in the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s favor to prevent the City of North Charleston from annexing land in the Ashley River Historic District, which would have have dramatically reduced its protection and lead to inconsistent development.
The Ashley River Historic District was listed on the National Trust’s list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places in 2018. This district, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, includes former Native American trade routes, slave settlements, cemeteries, rice fields, phosphate mining camps, archaeological sites, remnants of small tenant farms, and post-Civil War settlements formed by African Americans.