Fort Pemberton described below is a large earthwork fort on James Island in Charleston and was built to guard against Union attack along the Stono River. It was purchased by the City of Charleston in 2019 and will be opened as a park. A Civil War era sketch and LiDAR image are shown below. Part of the fort has been lost to two roads but the rest is very well preserved. Below is a summary of recent minutes from the Recreation Committee of the city discussing the progress on the project. Followed by some background information on the fort and a few pictures.

The Recreation Committee is chaired by Councilmember Caroline Parker with Councilmember William Dudley Gregorie as Vice-Chair. Recreation committee minutes from their website (website).

February 2024- Mr. Kronsberg (Jason Kronsberg Director of Parks for the City of Charleston) said Fort Pemberton in Riverland Terrace on James Island had its third TRC (Technical Review Committee) review on January 18th. Hopefully, they would be wrapping up the TRC comments soon and pending permit approvals, they anticipated putting the project out to bid late 2nd quarter. The scope of work was passive park in nature, walking trails, small parking areas, and waterfront access. Fort Pemberton was an old Civil War fort. It had been used as a residence for a number of years but the residence was in bad shape and would be demolished. It went through a BAR (Board of Architectural Review- oversees all demolitions) approval. It had been vandalized and caught on fire a couple of times. There would be a new picnic shelter at that location. They would reutilize some of the slate roof tiles, which was a BAR requirement, and try to get the project opened for public access this year. Councilmember Shealy asked Mr. Kronsberg if people would be able to come to the park by boat. Mr. Kronsberg said they would as there were two existing residential dock structures that they would be upgrading. One was in better shape than the other, but they would both have floating docks, blue water, and trail connections less than a mile away from the future WPAL Park.

March 2024- Ft. Pemberton Park: Mr. Kronsberg said it was a passive park in TRC permitting. They had salvaged the slate roof off the existing structure and were currently working with demo contractors to get bids for removal of the old burned-out house. They were also working with the South Carolina Battleground Trust who held the easement over the earthworks to review the current plan to gain their support for the project.

July 2024- Ms. Brownlee (Senior Production Project Manager) said permitting was nearly complete with the submittal for July 29th and expected TRC approval around August 15th technical review committee. They would be going to Council for the contract approval October 22nd with a notice to proceed the first week in November. The project completion should be May 2025 pending weather. Councilmember Waring asked Ms. Brownlee if the plans on what was contemplated to be built there could be e-mailed to the Committee. Ms. Brownlee said she would send that information. At the August 20, 2024, committee meeting the park was not mentioned in the minutes.

September 2024- Not mentioned in the minutes

October 2024- Not mentioned in the minutes

November 2024- Fort Pemberton and Riverland Terrace: They put the project out for bid, and they had received three bids. They were all a bit over budget, so they were evaluating their VE options and the potential for additional funding to get that project to contract. (I think VE stands for Value Engineering) website.

December 2024- not mentioned in the minutes.

2025- No meeting minutes in January. No mention of the project in the February, March or April minutes.

In January of 2025 this article appeared on the web discussing the city’s plans (link).

May 2025- looks like some type of restroom structure has been purchased, delivered and set (so presumably a prefabricated restroom has been delivered to the site and installed on May 7th).

September 2025- No discussion of the fort in the body of the minutes since November of 2024.

From the SC Battleground Preservation Trust website– “Fort Pemberton, a large five-sided Confederate earthwork on the James Island side of the Stono River, was one of the largest forts constructed by Confederate authorities for the defense of Charleston. Construction on the pentagonal earthwork was initiated in 1861 by the order of Confederate Commander Brigadier General John C. Pemberton for which the fort is named. Completed in 1862, the fort was 400 feet by 350 feet with an additional rampart 700 feet long. The earthen walls are 10 to 12 feet high and 20 feet wide at the base. The fort was initially armed with twenty guns of various calibers and built to keep Union gunboats from approaching Charleston from the Stono River. Fort Pemberton also included two powder magazines and a hot-shot furnace. Some of the fort’s guns faced inland to defend a land assault as well. The fort was described in February 1865 by Union troops as “a large well-built work, heavily armed.” The city of Charleston recently purchased the property to establish a park here.”

Fort Pemberton- Pictures taken from the street.