Discover

'James Island' is a large triangular barrier island in the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the historic downtown of Charleston, South Carolina. Located on the south of Charleston Harbor, it shares an historic and military importance with Sullivan's Island on the north. The island is separated from the peninsula and downtown Charleston by the Ashley River, and from the mainland by Wappoo Creek and the Stono River.
Fort Sumter is located on an island just off the northern shore and was the site of the first battle of the Civil War. Several battles and skirmishes of that war were fought on the island (as seen in the movie ''Glory'').
As of the 2000 census, the United States Census Bureau reported that 33,781 people lived on the island. The northern and western parts of island are part of the city of Charleston as well as some southern parts. The majority of the southern section of the island is more rural and includes the town of James Island, but the town has failed in its previous attempts to incorporate. A most recent attempt, with a June 2006 vote, was successful, but its incorporation is again being contested. The most southern parts of the island are in the city of Folly Beach. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, the population of James Island is included within the Charleston-North Charleston Urbanized Area and the larger Charleston-North Charleston Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Samuel Smalls, the man that the novel Porgy and subsequent opera Porgy and Bess are based on, is buried in the cemetery beside James Island Presbyterian Church.
Comedian Stephen Colbert spent some of his childhood on James Island.