Harleston Village is the city of Charleston's largest neighborhood, consisting of homes, churches, businesses, and schools between King and Lockwood, Calhoun and Broad. The Village of Harleston, also frequently called Harleston’s Green, more rarely Harlestonborough, and more recently Harleston Village, was originally part of a grant made to John Coming and Henry Hughes in 1671-1672. The section bo
re the Harleston name when it was developed and streets were opened in 1770. The Harlestons, during the Colonial period, were active in the government of the Province and also accomplished breeders of racehorses. Streets in the Village of Harleston were named for prominent men of the period, in England and the Province. The Royal Governor, Lord Charles Greville Montagu, along with Lt. William Bull; Hecter Beranger de Beaufain, Collector of Customs and member of His Majesty’s Council; William Pitt, the British member of Parliament who defended Colonial rights; as well as John Rutledge, Thomas Lynch and Christopher Gadsden, who were active in the Provincial government and later leaders in the American Revolution; all were commemorated. Despite its early creation, Harleston was but slowly covered with houses, and in 1819, a contemporary described it as indented with marsh and creeks. A large part of Harleston was acquired by Thomas Bennett, Sr., who with Daniel Cannon, used the ebb and flow of the tides to power large lumber mills. Thus, the part of Harleston near the Ashley River was covered by huge mill ponds. The ponds persisted after the development of steam power, and were not filled until the 1880’s.
