Charleston is a city in Mississippi County, Missouri, United States.

Charleston is the largest town on the Missouri side near the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

Settlement initially occurred on the north side, in what in 1805 was called "Matthews Prairie".

[12] On September 1, 1861, Confederate General M. Jeff Thompson robbed the Union Bank of Charleston.

[13] The city was the epicenter of the October 31, 1895, 5.9 Mfa earthquake on the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

The quake damaged virtually every building in Charleston, creating sand volcanoes and cracking a pier on the Cairo Rail Bridge.

Chimneys toppled as far away as St. Louis, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; Gadsden, Alabama; and Evansville, Indiana.

The fate of specific buildings may also be traced by Sanborn maps that were produced of the town during this period.

The Southeast Correctional Center, is a maximum security state prison for men, and is located on the southernmost edge of the city.

Just south of Charleston is Missouri's largest American Flag mural.

The mural is located on the property of Delta Growers Association and can be easily seen from Route 105.

[22] Charleston High School has won 12 state boys basketball championships, the most recent being in 2022.