Marion Square

Marion Square is greenspace in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, spanning ten acres.

In 1758, John Wragg sold 8.75 acres to the provincial government for 1,230 pounds to construct a defensive wall to keep the city safe from Indians and, later, the British.

By 1783, there was no longer a need for the defence works, and the 8.75 acres were transferred to the newly created city government.

In 1789, the state reacquired a portion of the land along the northern edge to build a tobacco inspection complex.

[3] The square is jointly owned by the Washington Light Infantry and the Sumter Guards.

The space is a favorite place for College of Charleston students because of its proximity to campus.

In 2003, city council member Wendell Gaillard proposed banning sun-bathing in Marion Square ("This 'Girls-Gone-Wild'-type attitude has caught ahold all across the country.

[10] The square is the home to many monuments, including a Holocaust memorial, an obelisk dedicated to Wade Hampton, and a statue of John C. Calhoun in cast bronze atop a giant pillar.

In this 1865 photo of the original Citadel building, a remnant of the city's defensive wall, known as a horn work, is visible in the foreground; the horn work is still in place in 2014 surrounded by a low iron fence.
In this 1892 photograph of Marion Square, the original version of the Calhoun Memorial can be seen.
Marion Square historical marker for the Siege of Charleston . The center of the defensive works was called the hornwork, the inner wall consisting of a two foot thick wall constructed of lime and oyster shells. Two ditches were in front of the wall, and 93 cannon were mounted along the works. [ 25 ]