We were still consumers… even during the Civil War

Downtown Charleston during the Civil War

A lot of people are surprised to learn that the atmosphere in downtown Charleston today isn’t necessarily that different than during the Civil War. If you walk down to King Street today, I bet you’ll see hundreds of folks strolling amongst the restaurants and shops. And back then, you’d see the same thing. The shops and stores were open, and there was really a sense of normalcy that most people wouldn’t expect to exist during a time of war.

So while Charlestonians were dealing with war, most of the time they were going about their normal activities. They still had dreams, they still had goals, and yes… they still went shopping.