08/28/2026
You’ve seen it all over Charleston—a green so deep it can look black until the sunlight hits it.
But the story behind Charleston Green goes back to the years following the Civil War.
During Reconstruction, the federal government supplied Charleston with buckets of black paint to help freshen up a city that had been badly damaged during the war.
And, according to Charleston lore, plain black simply wouldn’t do.
Charlestonians began mixing small amounts of yellow and green pigment into the black paint, creating the incredibly dark green that eventually became known as Charleston Green.
Today, you’ll still find this distinctive color throughout the historic district on shutters, doors, gates and architectural details.
It’s one of those wonderful Charleston stories where history, architecture and a little local ingenuity all come together.
After restoring 38 historic homes, these are the details I never get tired of—the little pieces of history hiding in plain sight all around us.
Once you know the story, you’ll start spotting Charleston Green everywhere.
