Tourists visiting Charleston may be disappointed to find that three popular national parks are closed because of the federal government shutdown.
Fort Sumter, where the first shots of the civil war were fired, is no longer accessible by ferry. But harbor tours are still available for people who want to take a boat ride from Charleston's Liberty Square.
On Sullivan’s Island, Fort Moultrie has shuttered its doors. The fort played a pivotal role in the American Revolutionary War. It was the site of a 1776 battle in which British ships were forced to retreat.
And in Mount Pleasant, visitors can no longer tour the Charles Pickney Historical Site. Pinckney was a delegate at the constitutional convention in 1787. But he was also a slave owner with a rice and indigo plantation.
On Parris Island, about an hour south of Charleston, more than one hundred civilian workers have been furloughed from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, the U.S. Marine Corps recruiting and training installation for the Eastern Region of the United States.
A spokesperson confirms that 133 of the depot’s 800 civilian employees have been deemed “non-essential”. Visitors are likely to wait longer at the front gate as cursory background checks will now be conducted there.
The Marine spokesperson says all questions about furloughs must be submitted to the U.S. Department of War.