A walk down Philadelphia Alley: A ghost story

Philadelphia Alley is a long brick-paved corridor connecting Church and State streets in Charleston’s French Quarter. The pathway appears on maps in the Holy City as far back as the 18th century. A lot of feet have walked along the slightly serpentine trail, that is now fern and shade-loving plant lined and protected by moss-covered walls. The place has become a popular tourist spot.

Legend has it that the passage was originally called Cow Alley because people used it to move and keep their livestock. Yes, even city folks needed a cow or a goat or two. It wasn’t until the 1800s that that the stretch of bricks was dubbed Philadelphia Alley for the City of Brotherly Love after some aid was rendered in the wake of a massive fire that left Charleston charred and smoldering.

Renaming the place you keep your cows doesn’t seem like much of an honor to me, but what do I know?…

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