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Charleston is a city in Bradley County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 664 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Cleveland Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The land now occupied by Charleston and Bradley County was home to the Cherokee long before European settlers arrived. What is now Charleston began around 1808 when Major John Walker Sr., a part Cherokee grandson of Nancy Ward, established a ferry across the Hiwassee River between present day Charleston and Calhoun. As a result, the community was initially known as "Walker's Ferry." The Hiwassee Purchase of 1819 resulted in the cession of Cherokee lands between the Hiwassee and Little Tennessee rivers to the Federal Government, and as a result, the Hiwassee River became the boundary between the Cherokee Nation and the United States, where it remained until the Cherokee removal in 1838. In 1821, the Cherokee Agency— the official liaison between the U. S. government and the Cherokee Nation— was moved to the location of present day Charleston. The agent to the Cherokees was first Colonel Return J. Meigs Sr., who had served in the American Revolutionary War, and later Joseph McMinn, who served as Governor of Tennessee from 1815 to 1821. and established a trading post and store in the city the following year. After the passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, Fort Cass was constructed in Charleston as the headquarters of the Cherokee removal, which was initiated by the Treaty of New Echota in December 1835. During the summer of 1838, thousands of Cherokees from various locations were held in internment camps at the fort under the supervision of federal troops before starting their journey westward, which became known as the Trail of Tears. Several other internment camps were located in the valleys between Charleston and present day Cleveland, Tennessee over a distance of 12 mile (19 km), including one at nearby Rattlesnake Springs. During the Civil War the Henegar House, the oldest remaining brick structure in Bradley County, was used as headquarters by both Union and Confederate generals including William T. Sherman, Oliver O. Howard, Marcus J. Wright, and Samuel Bolivar Buckner. The Charleston Cumberland Presbyterian Church building was used as a hospital by Confederate Forces in 1863. The railroad bridge over the Hiwassee River in Charleston was destroyed as part of the East Tennessee bridge burnings in November 1861. Charleston was incorporated on November 11, 1956. Charleston was the first city in Tennessee to elect a black mayor and the first city to appoint a black police chief.

Charleston is situated along the south bank of the Hiwassee River, which flows down out of the Blue Ridge Mountains several miles to the east and empties into the Chickamauga Lake impoundment of the Tennessee River several miles to the west. The river forms the boundary between Bradley County and McMinn County. Calhoun, Charleston's sister city, is situated on the north bank of the Hiwassee, on the McMinn County side. Charleston is traversed by U. S. Route 11, which enters the city from Calhoun to the north and exits the city en route to Cleveland to the south. Interstate 75, which roughly parallels U. S. 11 in the area, runs about 2 mile (3 km) west of Charleston, and is connected to the city by State Route 308. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.0 square miles (3 km2), of which 0.1 square miles (0 km2), or 5.77%, is water.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen climate classification system, Charleston has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

+Charleston racial composition Race Number Percentage White (non Hispanic) 425 64.69% Black or African American (non Hispanic) 156 23.5% Native American 1 0.15% Asian 4 0.6% Other/Mixed 49 7.38% Hispanic or Latino 29 4.37%
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 664 people, 307 households, and 199 families residing in the city.

As of the census of 2010, there were 651 people, 253 households, and 166 families residing in the city. The population density was 651 people per square mile. The housing unit density was 253 units per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 77.27% White, 19.82% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 1.69% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 4.15% of the population. Of the 253 households, 30.04% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.83% were married couples living together, 11.46% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.32% had a male householder with no wife present, and 34.39% were non families. 30.43% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.86% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.23. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.27% under the age of 18, 60.37% ages 18 to 64, and 13.36% age 65 and older. The median age was 38.6 years. 50.54% of the population were females, and 49.46% were males. The median household income was $34,805, and the median family income was $48,333. Males had a median income of $32,188, versus $30,750 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,587. About 8.0% of families and 10.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.1% of those under age 18 and 26.4% of those age 65 and over.