Hampton Park
Charleston Parks
Hampton Park is one of the largest parks in Charleston, a sprawling 60-acre green space with the most extensive floral displays of any park in the area. Sitting on the western edges of downtown, right next to the Citadel, this spot will give your group a more relaxed and tranquil experience while still being close to the hustle and bustle of all the best Charleston attractions.
Within the park, your group can picnic, walk the trails, or simply just enjoy the scenery. You must certainly take some time to check out the flowers all around, the park boasting a grand display of roses as well as excellent examples of local seasonal florals such as camellias and azaleas.
One of our favorite things about this park, aside from the gorgeous scenery, is the history surrounding it. Here is a quick timeline of events from the 1700s till today:
- Mid 1700's - Plantation owned by John Gibbes, known as the Orange Grove Plantation
- 1830's - Jockey Club/Horse Races
- Civil War Era - POW camp held by Confederates. Over 200 union soldiers died here, all buried in a mass grave onsite.
- 1900 - Library Society purchased land
- 1901 - Regional Trade Expo took place here, seeing over 680,000 people in its debut, but only lasting 2 years total.
- 1906 - The land becomes a public park space named after Confederate General Wade Hampton II. He was also the cities governor at the time.
This is a seriously great place to take your students to enjoy the cities natural surroundings and learn quite a bit about Charleston's past, from the Civil War to local commerce!
