Fort Johnson (the fort), associated indelibly in the minds and hearts of colonial South Carolinians with liberty, was named in honor of a determined and assertive English aristocrat, Sir Nathaniel Johnson. Johnson was Governor of The Colony during one of its many times of tribulation after its 1670 founding, during the period when South Carolina was governed by the eight English Proprietors, before becoming a Royal Colony in 1719.
The powerful Spanish fortress at St. Augustine (Florida) was a menace to the very existence of the English Carolina colonies. So in 1704, to make the harbor more secure against expected enemy invasions, Governor Johnson ordered the erection of a fort on the exposed neck of land which projected into Charles Town's harbor thereby dominating it. Fort Johnson's history since that time has been continuous and documented, and is as striking and dramatic as that of Fort Sumter!
Fort Johnson was strengthened during European rivalry for North American colonies, though it saw no action in the 1759 bitter controversy with the French.
Fort Johnson played a significant role in pre-Revolutionary history during the Stamp Act crisis.
The citizens of Charles Town (and other American colonies) were incensed at the arrival in the colony of the offensive stamps (mandated to be affixed to all documents for bequeathing or selling land and property, even to family heirs.) Readers should remember that some landowners in Charles Town had owned their family property for 100 years. Unthinkable that the king would tax bequeaths on properly purchased before his own birth!
Lt. Governor William Bull, fearing violence in the peaceable Charles Town streets, sent the hated stamps to Fort Johnson for safekeeping. The Charles Town citizens were outraged by the Stamp Act legislation - determined to never let the act be enforced. The garrison at Fort Johnson was strengthened, and there the hated stamps remained until the English Parliament rescinded the Stamp Act.
Early in the Revolutionary War, Fort Johnson was seized by Colonial enthusiasts. Though the fort did not play a particularly important role in the military history of the Revolution, this early skirmish is remembered because for the first time local provincial troops flew the South Carolina flag.
Before the battle, Colonel William Moultrie had been authorized by the Revolutionary government to design a flag to accompany the Carolina troops.
He chose the dark blue color of his regiment's uniforms and placed upon the background of blue, the silver crescent which had decorated his soldiers' headwear. (Arguably, the crescent is said to be a gorget, a crescent-shaped ornament worn by American Revolutionary officers, but Colonel Moultrie's own letters clearly state that his design is a crescent moon.)
The blue banner with the crescent was the flag that accompanied the advance of the Colonial troops in June 1776 during their heroic resistance at the palmetto log fort across the harbor on Sullivan's Island. Years later, the palmetto tree likeness was added to this handsome and unique state flag to commemorate that victory.
Fort Johnson was strengthened before the War of 1812, but by 1830 it suffered from neglect. Verging on decay, several permanent buildings were added just prior to the War Between the States (1861-1865). Fort Johnson is probably best remembered today as the place from where the mortar shell was fired that opened the bombardment of Fort Sumter on April 12th, 1861, calling for the desirous relocation of the forces which occupied that Union fort.
In 1864 Fort Johnson saw its last military encounter when a troop of Confederates held the fort and captured a sizeable force of Union troops. At the end of the war the fort was evacuated. Slowly it fell to ruin.
Early in the 20th Century the US government took over the fort as the Quarantine Station for the Port of Charleston. Later it was abandoned and the property fell into dilapidation.
Finally, in 1954, the College of Charleston, acting with the then Medical College of South Carolina, secured title to the forty-acre property. A building on the point (later occupied for a few years by the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium offices) was used as a residence for the president of the Medical College. A couple of adjoining buildings served ancillary functions for the Medical College such as cadaver storage. The remainder of the property and buildings constituted the Fort Johnson Marine Biological Laboratory of the College of Charleston.
In 1970 title to all of the College's property at Fort Johnson, except for the Grice Marine Biological Laboratory building and a small amount of surrounding land, was deeded to the newly established South Carolina Marine Resources Division (SCMRD). The SCMRD, which moved from the Bears Bluff Laboratory on Wadmalaw Island, began construction of its Fort Johnson Laboratory in 1970. SCMRD moved into its administration building in 1971.
In 1978, the Charleston Laboratory of the Southeastern Division of the National Marine Fisheries Service was established at Fort Johnson. This involved a transfer of programs and personnel from College Park, Maryland, to Charleston, South Carolina.
Fort Johnson Baptist Church, taking the name of the famous fort, began as a mission of James Island Baptist Church. The mother church purchased the site and the dedication service was held May 29, 1960.
The first building, now known as the "East Building," was completed in September, 1960. Fort Johnson Baptist Church then began services on October 2, 1960. 237 members from James Island Baptist Church formed the core of the membership.
On October 22, 1961 the second building, now known as the "West Building," was completed. Even with the opening of this new building, two morning worship services were required to accommodate worshipers.
The present two-story Education and Sanctuary building began construction in 1967 and the first worship service in the new sanctuary was held on January 12, 1968. During these years morning worship services attendance reached 800. Six Senior Pastors have served Fort Johnson Baptist Church, Charleston, during its years of existence. Rev. Dr. Fred S. Miller, Jr., the first pastor, served for 16 years. Rev. Dr. Lynn Reddick, Rev. Timothy Horldt, Rev. Dr. Mike Turner, Rev. Dr. Kevin Bennett and Rev. Dr. Schuyler Peterson have also served as pastors. Currently Rev. Hal West is pastor.
While God has blessed Fort Johnson Baptist Church in the past, the church family believes that the best days lie ahead. Currently FJBC is in a building program (Financial Freedom for Changed Lives) that will "burn the note" for the loan used to renovate aging buildings. The church family added a Family Life Center to the campus as well. All of the buildings have been upgraded and extra parking has been provided. 250 attend worship each week at FJBC.
We invite you to become a part of Fort Johnson's history by becoming a part of the FJBC church family.
