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Cultural Heritage· Charleston

Sweetgrass Basket Weaving — North Market Street Vendors

Good forHistory buffs

Gullah artisans have woven sweetgrass baskets on and around the Charleston City Market for over 300 years, a tradition descended directly from West African coiled-basket techniques brought by enslaved people from Sierra Leone and Senegal. The baskets sold here are functional, handmade objects requiring years of apprenticeship, not craft-fair reproductions.

Quick facts
  • ·Vendors are concentrated outside the historic market sheds on North Market Street and extend north along Highway 17 in Mount Pleasant.
  • ·The tradition is recognized by the Smithsonian and the South Carolina Arts Commission as an endangered living folk art.
  • ·Distinct from the Charleston City Market building itself, which is already in the catalog.

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Editorial content compiled with AI assistance. Place details verified against public records.