Hampstead Mall

Hampstead Mall is a public park in Charleston, South Carolina, of 140,625 square feet (3.23 acres) in the Hampstead Village neighborhood at the intersection of Columbus and America Streets. The square was mentioned by Henry Laurens, who owned and subdivided the entire Hampstead Village neighborhood, as early as 1769 in advertisements for lots in his newly laid out neighborhood. He reserved the “large square... in the center of the town for such public uses and purposes, as shall be agreed upon by the first twenty-one purchasers of the lots, or a majority of them.” According to early plats, Hampstead Mall was laid out at a low-lying area which had previously been marsh or creeks. By the mid-19th century, the area was still susceptible to flooding. In 1852, City Council voted to advertise for someone to level the ground in the mall. Throughout the later 19th century, City Council undertook various improvements. In 1855, City Council voted to plant trees in the park and add a fence similar to the one surrounding Marion Square. During the Civil War, however, the park was used for housing troops, and the condition of the park did not immediately rebound. After the war, the property was used as a common pasture. Columus St. and America St. ran through the park at right angles (as wide promenades, but not continuations of the streets), dividing it into four quadrants by 1867. The

Garden data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).