The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: October thirteenth, being charmed by Charleston.

Founded in 1680 on the narrow peninsula where the Ashley and Cooper rivers meet the Atlantic, Charleston is South Carolina's oldest city. An early port for slaves and sugar, the city prospered. Its landowners valued expressing their wealth and elegance in architecture and art.

Unlike plantations in other places which were inhabited by their owners year round, the gentry from the mosquito-infested lowlands that once surrounded Charleston spent summer's sultry months in town. They favored so-called "single homes," palatial, two-story, shoe-boxes, one room wide, with long verandas opening on the sea. An English actress who visited in 1838 called Charleston "picturesque," a word she said applied to no other city in America. Modern visitors will find Charleston agreeably unchanged from that early assessment. It perpetually ranks among America's most mannerly cities.

Life in Charleston is quaint, but it has not always been easy. It's where the Civil War's first shots were fired and where General Sherman ended his destructive march that cut the Confederacy in two. In 1886, the city was hit by the east coast's worst earthquake ever and 11 years ago, Hurricane Hugo wreaked its havoc. Yet after each travail, Charlestonians have re- built their city with pride, determination and a strong, loving sense of the past.

The fruits of their efforts are especially obvious each fall during the Candlelight Tours of Home and Gardens hosted by the Preservation Society of Charleston. This year's edition, the 24th, runs through October 28th.

FMI For more information on Charleston, contact the Charlestion Convention and Visitors Bureau at 800-774-0006 or www.charlestoncvb.com.

For information on the Fall Candlelight Tour of Homes and Gardens, contact the Preservation Society of Charleston at 843-722-4630 or www.preservationsociety.org

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