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In 1956, the people of the Hanahan PSD were introduced to the idea of incorporation. Having a population of approximately 5,500 people by this time, the costs and benefits of becoming a municipality were explored. The increasing need for more adequate public infrastructure fueled this discussion and eventually after a decade, Hanahan expanded even further with the addition of a Parks and Playground Commission, a U.S. Post Office branch, and a public library. At the end of the 1960’s, the district was nearing build-out and by 1970, the US Census reported Hanahan PSD to have almost 8,400 residents.

Major conflicts arose in 1972 when the City of North Charleston became an incorporated City. This reignited the discussion for incorporation of Hanahan as North Charleston annexed a parcel within the Hanahan PSD into its city limits. Locals learned of a state law prohibiting the incorporation of a new city within two miles of an existing city of 15,000 people. Also, during this time, the constitutionality of the Zoning Commission and Ordinance were under scrutiny and faced legal action in court.

State Senator Rembert C. Dennis of Berkeley County, an ally to the Hanahan PSD incorporation proposal, had been working for years at the State Capital to create legislation to support zoning in PSDs but had not yet had success in getting such an act passed. Shortly after, he shifted his political focus to amendment of the state code to cover municipal incorporation. Along with State Assemblyman Robert L. Helmly of Berkeley County, they successfully amended the code, clearing the way for Hanahan’s incorporation. A petition was sent out to initiate a local referendum on the matter of incorporation. With a very narrow margin of 1,093 votes in favor and 903 in opposition, Hanahan became an incorporated city on September 18, 1973 with a population of 11,408 people. The entire PSD and abutting undeveloped lands were included in the city limits.

Since its incorporation, Hanahan has been able to update, administer and enforce its zoning ordinance and became eligible for federal revenue-sharing funds, distributed to incorporated municipalities on a per capita basis. Since the original drawings of the city limits, Hanahan has effectively doubled its size by annexing the Otranto and the Tanner Plantation neighborhoods

Resource Inventory

Districts, buildings, structures, sites and objects of local, state, or national importance, that meet specified criteria, may be nominated for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. The National Register is the nation’s official list of historic, architectural, and archaeological resources worthy of preservation. Within the Hanahan city limits, there are historical resources that are eligible or potentially eligible to be included on the National Register of Historic Places, however Otranto Plantation is currently the only resource within city limits that is included in this exclusive list of national historic places. Map 10 shows the location of all historic and cultural resources within or near Hanahan.