The Charleston Terminal Company was a transportation company that operated along the

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

, waterfront in the early part of the 20th century. The Charleston Terminal Company traced its history back to the

East Shore Terminal Company The East Shore Terminal Company was a railroad company that operated along the Charleston, South Carolina, waterfront in the late 19th century and early 20th century. The East Shore Terminal Company was in the business of transporting freight betwe ...

, which was chartered in 1890.Records of the Port Utilities Commission, 1921–1943, The Charleston Archive, Charleston County Public Library, Kathleen Gray, 2009
/ref> The Charleston Terminal Company was created after the East Shore Terminal Company went into foreclosure in July 1903 and its tracks, wharves and waterfront buildings in Charleston were purchased.The Railway Age, Volume 38, 1904, page 538
/ref> It was co-owned by the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...

and the Southern Railway. The railroads held an agreement with the Charleston Terminal Company in which they would turn over traffic and pay for such services in order to provide the Charleston Terminal Company with an additional source of revenue to pay the interest on its bonds and not fall behind financially. Within the next 18 months, the Charleston Terminal Company also acquired waterfront property and terminals that had belonged to the South Carolina Terminal Company. By the early 1900s, the majority of viable dock properties in Charleston, including railway tracks, equipment and wharves, was run by the Charleston Terminal Company. However, more and more railroads were looking to

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, for shipping and the Charleston waterfront fell into disrepair. The condition of the Charleston wharves became a key issue in the Charleston mayoral race of 1919. Candidate John Grace argued that the franchise of the Charleston Terminal Company should not be renewed and the city should take over the administration of the waterfront. Incumbent Mayor Tristan T. Hyde argued that the franchise should be renewed, but under certain stipulations. Grace went on to win the general election. After his inauguration, Grace immediately began transferring the responsibility of the port facilities to the city of Charleston. In March 1920, the

South Carolina General Assembly The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and t ...

passed an act "to authorize cities having a population of fifty thousand inhabitants or more to acquire, purchase, establish, improve, maintain, and operate the port utilities of such cities." A month later, the Charleston City Council denied the Charleston Terminal Company's formal request for a renewal of their franchise. The city of Charleston proceeded to purchase the dock facilities from the Charleston Terminal Company for $1.5 million. In a special election on November 8, 1921, Charlestonians voted in favor of the issuance of $2.5 million in municipal bonds in order to pay for the purchase of the port properties.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charleston Terminal Company Defunct South Carolina railroads Railway companies established in 1903 Railway companies disestablished in 1921 Ports and harbors of South Carolina Transportation in Charleston, South Carolina American companies disestablished in 1921 1903 establishments in South Carolina 1921 disestablishments in South Carolina