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'Charlestown' is a town in Saint Kitts and Nevis; it is in fact the capital of Nevis. It was built on the Leeward side of the island of Nevis, at the southern end of Pinneys Beach. The town was protected by Fort Charles to the south and Fort Black Rocks to the north. Many of the older two-story stone buildings were severely damaged over time by earthquakes, which tended to cause the upper story to collapse into the lower story. This unfortunate design flaw lead to the common practice of building a wooden upper floor above a stone ground floor.
The town was the birthplace and childhood home of Alexander Hamilton. The restored stone building which was his place of birth now houses the Museum of Nevis History on the ground floor, and the Nevis Island Administration Assembly Room on the upper floor. There are two other museums in Charlestown: the ''Nelson Museum'', and the ''Nevis Sport Museum'', as well as the Philatelic Bureau. Charlestown contains many other important buildings, some historical and some recent, such as the Post Office, the old Treasury Building which is now the Nevis Tourism Authority, the Court House and Public Library, the new Police Station and the Alexandra Hospital. At the northern end of town is the Bath Hotel and Spring House, which was a famous tourist hotel and spa during the 18th century. The main building is now occupied by government offices.
Charlestown has a population of 1,500, and is the main administrative, commercial, and most concentrated residential, area on the island. It is also the hub for transportation in Nevis. There is a modern port area with a dock where the ferries from St. Kitts load and unload passengers.
Memorial Square commemorates all Nevisian soldiers who died during World Wars I and II. Nearby is the ''Cotton Ginnery Mall'' which supplies much of Nevis' residents' shopping needs.