Charlestown, chief town and port on Nevis, an eastern Caribbean island in Saint Kitts and Nevis, on a bay on the western coast. It became the chief town after Jamestown, Nevis’s first settlement, was inundated by a tidal wave in 1680. In the late 18th century Charlestown was both a naval base and a resort known for mineral waters. The town was almost destroyed by fire in 1873. The main industry is sugar milling. Notable buildings include Hamilton House, where Alexander Hamilton, a framer of the U.S. Constitution, was born, and the nearby ruins of Montpelier Estate, where the British naval hero Horatio Nelson was married. Pop. (2006 est.) 1,500.