Secrets of Hampton Park: The Citadel’s Friendly Neighbor
By Mark A. Leon
So many of us have bore witness to weddings, sat on a blanket enjoying life music, relaxed in the gazebo, fed the ducks, smelled the beautiful floral arrangements all around, biked the outer rim of the park or just held hands with someone you love walking over the bridge and listening to the sounds of the fountain. That is Hampton Park, one of our most beloved park gems. With The Citadel on one side and Charleston Strong with its doves of unity on the other, this park is a haven for baseball, basketball, weddings, concerts, jogs, bike rides and children playing. Hampton Park has brought so much joy to Charleston.
Here are a few facts that may open your eyes about Hampton Park and its rich history:
- The full size of Hampton Park is 60 acres.
- Hampton Park is named after Wade Hampton III, Governor of South Carolina from 1877 – 1879 during Reconstruction
- From 1792 – 1900, Hampton Park was a horse racing track called Washington Race Track. It was started by the South Carolina Jockey Club. Though the track was historically closed in 1900, the
last race was in 1877 due to the damage caused by the Civil War. - It was originally the front yard of a large plantation called “The Grove”. The plantation was destroyed during the Revolutionary War and put up for land sale because the couple that owned the plantation had no children.
- During the Civil War, the land was used as a prisoner of war camp for Union Soldiers being moved from Andersonville, Georgia to Florence, South Carolina. Over 200 died due to illness and are buried in unmarked graves near the parking lot on the Wagoner Terrance side.
- That in 1901, several businessmen decided to hold a regional trade exposition in Charleston and bought the land from the Charleston Library Society for part of the grounds. The Expo was considered a failure by many but in 1902 Teddy Roosevelt came to the event and one year, the actual Liberty Bell made an appearance. Officially called the South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition, this event brought new business to Charleston including the American Cigar Company and United Fruit Company.
- The Boston Bean Eaters (today known as the Atlanta Braves) held two weeks of spring training in the park in 1905, and lost to the Detroit Tigers.
- In 1917, the City of Charleston leased two acres to the 18th Infantry for an encampment to prepare
for World War I service? - Mr. Archer Huntington donated $1000 and a collection of exotic animals from his personal collection at Brookgreen Gardens to get a zoo started in 1932. zoo included lions, bears, and native species in a series of big chain link cages located between the current bandstand and the Cleveland Street entrance. By 1972, the zoo was in such bad condition, it was deemed in violation of new federal codes of animal welfare treatment and was soon closed.
Today thousands flock to the closing concerts for Piccolo Spoleto and MOJA festivals with families and loved ones to listen to great music and celebrate community. Next time you are having a picnic in Hampton Park or going for a jog, think about the celebrated history of this land.
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I remember the zoo vividly and the three-legged bear. My parents would take us Sunday afternoon to visit and have a picnic with a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Thanks for sharing and confirming my memories.
Tammy, Thank you for sharing your wonderful and vivid memory. Mark
I remember my granddad taking me and he would always buy me Crackerjacks or a candy necklace at the bandstand. I vividly remember the monkeys in cages and the geese walking around while the azaleas and dogwoods blooming. I also remember climbing in the big oak tree. I was sad to see the animals go. Thanks for the history. I am going to share this with my grandchildren.
I remember many picnics in the park, climbing in the magnolia trees near the bandstand and the buffalo at the zoo. I also remember participating in a large Girl Scoutcandle lighting ceremony that was held circling the lake. My most vivid memory however is the Sunday afternoon thar a got separated from my family and got chased by several hissing geese. I don’t like geese to this very day.
Thanks for sharing I do remember how we has family did talk about the zoo. Today I love that park. When i worked at food lion would just go there and hang out.
I remember many trips to the Park from my home in North Charleston. Picnics, softball viewing, etc. My brother donated a Myner bird to the Zoo. Sadly, it didn’t “talk”. We would visit Pete many times, and felt embarrassed when tourist tried to make him speak! (I believe a “talking” one existed at the same time.) Any chance for the Zoo to return??
My father was in the Naval Reserve and had to go to Charleston, once a month. My cousins lived on Rutledge Ave. and when we went down there, we stayed with them. We would always walk down to Hampton Park. This was back in the 1950’s. We had so much fun. I have pictures, but I don’t know how to put them on here. This brought back a lot of wonderful memories. Thank you,
Susan
Susan,
I would love to see the photos. Would you mind emailing some of them to me? lesam2@hotmail.com
Thank you for sharing your memories.
Oh, the excitement in us kids was exuberant to the max! First a stop at the snack-shack then off to see the big Lion “King” and his big mane and ROAR proved he was king of the beast in Hampton Park Zoo. The otters playing and the white buffalo standing like he was posing for the five cent nickel! Did I mention the zoo keeper Mr. Bloom! Friendly and tried and true!
The rose garden, ducks in the pond and bridges over the waterways lit up at night by the bridge globe lamps!
I have so many memories of Hampton Park. Growing up in wagoner terrace the park was our very own playground. I remember the deer, the Lion, the Bear, the monkeys and the aviary. We always took old bread to feed the ducks,geese and swans. We played under the canopy of oak trees surrounded by azaleas, these were our forts. We played at the Pavillion and pretended fashion shows and beauty pageants. We did not have any bad experiences there. We felt safe, except for the days when the lion would escape from his cage. I did not know of all the history that would have initiated many pretend war battles.
ANd according to historian David Blight, it also may have been the site of the first Memorial Day.
I grew up in the area of Hampton Park I remember going to sleep in the summertime with the windows open and could hear the lion roar at sundown it was the best place to be a kid growing up!
Does anyone have any photos of Hampton Park when the animals were there?
It was the overflow from Andersonville Civil War prison for the union soldiers from the very beginning hundreds of black children ran to the middle of the track with flowers to put on the graves of union soldiers. On decoration day, we call it Memorial day now.
This morning on MSNBC a reporter/anchor did a story on the many Blacks who dug proper graves for the Union soldiers there. Dug by hand pick and shovel, to pay homage to those prisoners, then deceased, soldiers. She mentioned the various names and how Decoration Day became Memorial Day. Wish I knew the whole story.
I remember visiting the park and zoo often as a kid. Feeding the ducks, climbing the trees, and running back and forth to the gazebo, hearing the roar of that lion, walking through the bird aviary, and watching the monkeys play are all part of my childhood memories. I also have embedded in my memory something gross that happened to me and my twin sister when we were probably around 4-5 years old. We were standing in front of the lion’s cage, when all of a sudden, the lion cocked his leg and his pee sprayed like a hose on both of our faces! Mom immediately went into disaster control mode and grabbed tissues and napkins, anything that she could find to start wiping our faces as she rushed us quickly towards the bathroom. She was able to wash the pee off our faces, out of our hair and clothes and the day was saved! And, as you would guess, I never stood directly in front of that lion cage again but only would view him safely from a distance.