Plan Showing Site of Naval Station, Charleston, S.C.

Upgrading the Navy’s facilities on the Atlantic Coast.

“The board of officers appointed by you…to examine into the expediency of changing the naval station, Port Royal, S.C., made its report under date of January 10,1901, recommending a site on the west bank of the Cooper River.” – Accompanying text.

This uncommon topographic map presents the future site of the Charleston Navy Yard. The existing facilities at nearby Port Royal, South Carolina, were inadequate for the steel hulls and coal-fired engines of the modern battle cruiser, so in 1901, the U.S. Navy elected to move its South Atlantic Station to the outskirts of Charleston.

The footprint of the future station is outlined in red, incorporating the Lawton Plantation, low-lying coastal grounds, and recently completed Chicora Park (designed by Frederick Law Olmstead). An inset in the lower left highlights the location compared to the city, important rail lines, and the shipping lanes to the Atlantic. According to the related correspondence, the approximately 1,189 acre site was acquired for ~$84,200, though “some difficulty was experienced in reaching an agreement as to the price paid for certain portions of the property held by private citizens.”