The City Yearbook

The City of Charleston Year Book was a chapter in the City of Charleston's municipal reporting that has left us with a treasure trove of data, histories, illustrations, and perspectives on life in Charleston from the late-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century.

To compete with other cities that seemed to be rising from the ashes of the Civil War on the backs of modern industry, Charleston needed to prove itself. The Year Book began as a way to present Charleston as a progressive city after decades of destruction, debt, and declining prestige. The Year Book was a way to showcase Charleston's present and potential while honoring the city's past.

The Year Book started in 1880 under the term of Mayor William A. Courtenay. Courtenay was passionate about history and education, beginning his career as a publisher and bookseller. He later became a correspondent for the Charleston Mercury while he served in the Confederate Army. After the war, Courtenay worked in manufacturing before serving as mayor from 1879 to 1887. After his tenure, he worked with the then Historical Commission of South Carolina, the state body responsible for preserving public records, and predecessor to the South Carolina Department of Archives & History. Courtenay is also the namesake of the Courtenay School on Meeting Street.

The production of the Year Book fell to the Clerk of Council, the usual keeper of City Council minutes and decisions. The first Clerk of Council to head the project was W.W. Simons, who served from 1873 to 1908.

Rockwood, G. G. (1898). William Ashmead Courtenay [Engraved portrait]. https://digitalcollections

Charleston (S.C.). City Council. (1903). W.W. Simons. In Charleston Year Book 1903 (p. xiii). Dag

The contents of the Year Book included the names of the Aldermen of the City Council and department heads, a word from the mayor, departmental reports, and various statistics, illustrations, and essays. The inaugural Year Book included a history of the City of Charleston, maps from throughout the years, descriptions of fire damages, and statistics from the slave trade. The data focused on the names of the ships, their city of origin, and the number of people who made it on each one. There is nothing on the names of the stolen passengers, their African ports of origin, or an acknowledgement of the lives lost along the way. The included data is sparse and clinical, similar to municipal accounts on harvests, livestock, and the weather.

A longer narrative on the history of slavery in South Carolina appears in the Year Book of 1883, which chronicled the major legislative decisions on slavery and its trade in the state. The essay's unattributed author attempted to establish the account as wholly neutral, with the opening sentence reading:

"In this connection I desire to record some historical facts relative to the appearance, growth, existence and disappearance of the slave system on this soil. It is now time to look at history and preserve it; without prejudice and with unbiassed judgement. A narrative without motive save to chronicle the past is now possible."

Regardless, the attempt quickly fails, imbuing sentences that make clear the writer's feelings about the peculiar institution, such as:

"Looking back now upon the dead past of the South, we need not blush for it, for its life was vigorous and fruitful. It is true that long ago the world condemned slavery, but the world has never known it as we have known it, and history will not yet do us justice, for it must record how difficult its duties were how faithfully and successfully we discharged them."

Quotes taken from: Charleston (S.C.). City Council. (1883). Slavery in Province, Colony and State. In Charleston Year Book, 1883 (pp. 527–540).

This discussion on slavery perfectly reflects the goals of the Year Book of Charleston- preserving history in history's own voice, balancing tradition with modernity, and showcasing progress without sacrificing identity. The Year Book is an important historiographical resource, particularly in its first twenty years of publication, a time for which few comprehensive primary source records remain for the City. However, it is always important to remember that, as with any annual report, the publication generally tried to reveal the operations of the City in the best light possible.

Charleston (S.C.). City Council. (1886). City of Charleston Year Book. In Charleston Year Book, 1

Charleston (S.C.). City Council. (1910). Annual Meteorological Summary of Charleston S.C. for the

Charleston (S.C.). City Council. (1880). Slave Trade. In Charleston Year Book, 1880 (pp. 258–263)

Charleston (S.C.). City Council. (1880). Slave Trade. In Charleston Year Book, 1880 (pp. 258–263)

Charleston (S.C.). City Council. (1880). Slave Trade. In Charleston Year Book, 1880 (pp. 258–263)

Sources

Charleston (S.C.). City Council. (1880). Slave Trade. In Charleston Year Book, 1880 (pp. 258–263). News & Courier Book Presses.

Charleston (S.C.). City Council. (1883). Slavery in Province, Colony and State. In Charleston Year Book, 1883 (pp. 527–540).

Charleston (S.C.). City Council. (1886). City of Charleston Year Book. In Charleston Year Book, 1886 (p. 401).

Charleston (S.C.). City Council. (1903). W.W. Simons. In Charleston Year Book 1903 (p. xiii). Daggett Printing Co.

Charleston (S.C.). City Council. (1910). Annual Meteorological Summary of Charleston S.C. for the Year Ending December 31, 1910. In Charleston Year Book, 1910 (p. 229). Daggett Printing Co.

Charleston (S.C.). City Council, & Courtenay, W. A. (1880). Charleston Year Book, 1880. News & Courier Book Presses. https://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/lcdl/catalog/lcdl:108468

City of Charleston, Barbot, J. C., & Holmes, G. H. (1902). Year Book Index 1880-1930. https://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/lcdl/catalog/295782

Doyle, D. H. (1990). New men, new cities, new South: Atlanta, Nashville, Charleston, Mobile, 1860-1910. University of North Carolina press.

Rockwood, G. G. (1898). William Ashmead Courtenay [Engraved portrait]. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/53751480-c54c-012f-5139-58d385a7bc34?canvasIndex=0

The Charleston Year-Book. (1881, August 20). The News & Courier, 1.