Mount Pleasant: The Victorian Village is an intimate look at like in the area of the town now known as the historic district, during the slower-paced time before World War II. Called The Village by its citizens, this close-knit community along the edge of Charleston harbor was formed when five small English settlements merged in the nineteenth century to create the town of Mount Pleasant. The small town had its own identity and remained a Victorian Village due to its isolation from the outside world except by ferry. Rapid growth and change began with the opening in 1929 of the Grace Memorial Bridge over the Cooper River. The bridge linked cities to the north and south via Highway 40 (now 17), thus opening the door for tourism and commerce while creating local accessibility to Charleston.