Uncovering the Historic Roots of Roc's Blackfront

A herd of silhouetted horses race across a glass light panel, casting an amber glow that fights to illuminate the dim interior of Roc’s Blackfront Restaurant & Lounge, owned (previously) by Mike Knoop at 410 Sixth Street.

The evident speed of these dark horses hints at the fast-paced and often-hidden life of the building’s past. Originally designated Lot 10, Block 4 in the original city plan for Charleston, the current location of Roc’s Blackfront was the birthplace of The Charleston Courier in 1841, only two years after Charleston was incorporated as a town. A team of horses trudged through mud and dirt to heave the printing equipment from Shelbyville to the publication, lying along what was then a dirt lane named Jackson Street..