The Vernacular Architecture of Charleston and the Lowcountry, 1670-1990
Mar 29, 2023
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The Vernacular Architecture of Charleston and the Lowcountry, 1670-1990CHARLESTON AND THE LOWCOUNTRY,
Text Contribuoona By:
John Bivins Kcuh L Eggener Suah A. Fidt Glenn Keya Joseph K. Oppermam UJ1crLHudgim Mart R. Wenger Robert Leath David Shields Louil Ne!Jon CanuLHudgins Carl R. lowtsbury IohnMidladVlacb Gina Mic:bad Robenson Connie Wyrd Renee LaHue O.vidAma Bcmud L Herman Maine Mc:Innu Dmi,eSlone Richard Marts. m Spencer Tolley ManbaZiadm Jam Hildreth Jonallw!Poaoo MuLHill,@ Bri111 \lamado Megculavin George McDulid
1670 - 1990
1994
- u1s P. '-.;elson :onathan H. Poston
,',oducrwn by:
\l.'.lune Mclnnes Louis Nelson
Drawings by:
Cumm111s Mid McCrady, Inc., 1\n:lu1ecu ·3ieJ111 Keyes, Arch11ecu
Plullis ino ()pperm&JV1, PA, ArcluLCCU r.vans & .Schmidt. An:hiLCCU
-\manda Griffith Herbert url R. Lounsbury .vlart R. Wenger
Gary S1.1n1ai Gabrielle Lania Dean Doerrfeld
David Craig Emily A. Cuni.t Virginia E. Dore
ura M. Edwards Shelley A. Ekermeyer Ally,on M. Eubank
Claudc:ue M. Gamache ::lizabedi W. Keane Cvnthia A. Liccese William T. Sherman
John Laurens HASS
Anit.a Dodd Bobbie Kerr
Bernard Herman Gina Haney
'-tichael Robenson Gina Haney
This book is produced by Historic Charleston Founda tion wilh lhe Department of Architectural Rese.arch at Co lonial Williamsburg Founda tion. lhe Dc:panment of His toric Preservation at Mary Washington College. and the Center for Historic Architec rure and Engineering at the Univenity of Delaware
Text and drawings prepared for this publication are copywrited by Historic Charleston Foundation
TABLE OF CONTENTS
II. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................... iv. v
Wednesday, May J J
n11asday, ,\.lay J 2. momillJ[
IV. WALLED CITY TOUR I. l111rod11c11011 10 the \;\'a lied ( :it\· .......................... , ............ '..!4 - -J.i
q \\'allccl Citv Sites .................................................. - l)H
V. CIVIC SQUARE TOUR I. l nlrod11ction to Civic SquarC' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iO - i'.{ '..!. Ci,·ic Squart' Site ................................................... 7+-111
VI. PUBLIC AND COMMERCIAL LIFE I. lmroduclion to Public and Commercial Life .............................. 112-115 l) Public and Co111mercial Life Sites ...................................... 11 I 3i
VII. LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY EXPANSION I. Introduction to the Late Eighteenth Century Expansion ..................... 138-141 2. Late Eighteenth Century Expansion Sites .................. , ............. 142-189
Thursda_v, Ma_v J 2. Lunch
VIII. CONFEDERATE HOME ...................................... 190-191
Thursday, May 12, Aftenwon
IX. ANSONBOROUGH TOUR I. Introduction to the Ansonborough Tour ................................. 192-197 2. Ansonborough Sites ................................................ 198-228
X. VILIAGE OF HARLESTON TOUR I. Introduction to Harleston Village ...................................... 213-216 2. Harleston Village Sites .............................................. 217-228
XI. UPPER BOROUGHS TOUR 1. Introduction to Upper Boroughs Tour ................................... 229-233 2. Upper Boroughs Sites ............................................... 234-269
11
F11day, May I 3, morning
XIII. UPPER PENINSULA 1. Introduction to the Upper Peninsula .................................... 276-277 <> Cpper Penninsula Sites .............................................. 278-283
XIV. WEST OF THE ASHLEY, JAMES AND JOHNS ISLANDS I. Introduction to Wet of the :\shley ..................................... 284-286 '..!. James Island Siles .................................................. 287-295
Friday, .\fay 13. afte1110011
XV. COOPER RIVER I. Introduction to tl1c Cooper Ri\'er ....................................... 296-297 '' (-:ooper Ri\'er Sites .................................................. 298-325
XVI. NORTH CHARLESTON I. Introduction to orth Charleston ...................................... 326 q orth Charleston Sites .............................................. 327-333 3. Yf>aman's Hall .................................................... 334-'.36
XVII. SUMMERVILLE ............................................. 337-338
XVIII. THE GIBBES MEMORIAL ART GALLERY .................. 339
Satw-day, May 1-1, etiening
XIX. THE ASHLEY RIVER ROAD I. Introduction to the Ashley River Road ................................... 340-341 2 . . -\shley River Road Sites .............................................. 342-347
XX. FSSAYS 1. Charleston Ironwork Tradition ....................... , ................ 348-351 2. Charleston Single House ............................................. 352-355 3. Charleston Graveyards ............................................... 356-358
1 l 1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It seems fair to say that this volume comprises the first attempt at a comprehensive combination of historical research, measured drawings. g.-aphic documentation and architectural analysis of Charleston and Lowcounu·y architecture produced since the 1920s. It may be the first to include back buildings and the housing of the all echelons of Carolina society. The Vernacular Architecture Forum's Annual Conference in Charleston has provided a focus, and a deadline. for production of a new study that is. hopefully. only the beginning of renewed. all-inclusive works in this direction.
This volume relies much on the groundbreaking scholarship of that first generation of Charleston historians and preservationists wbo measured and recorded, examined and pondered. sketched and \'enerated the remnants of the area's rich historical past. Albert Simons. Alice R. Huger Smith. Samuel Lapham. Elizabeth ()'r-.cill Verner. and Samuel Gaillard Stoney are the best-known but credit must also ·go to Augustine T. S. Stoney. Frank Seel. Robert:--:. S. Whitelaw, Patti F. Whitelaw, .Josephine Pincknev. Henrv Philip Staats. John Bennett. John Mead Howells, .\llston Deas. Helen S. McCormick. E. \lilh\· Burton. Laura Bragg. W. H. Johnson Thomas. Louis Green, and countless nthers whose \,·nrk e-i1her prese1Yed 1he 1·ecord nr 1he physical idenritY of the Lowcounu-v's carlv ;1rchitect11re of all forms.
Recent works have been important in elucidating the background of many structures covered herein. Historian Robert Stockton's Do You Know Your Charleston columns from the '.\fews and Courier remain an excellent ready reference source for noting and dating many of the city's building!'.. The research studies produced by the Charleston \1useum in their archaeological series, spearheaded bv \fanha Zierden now constitute a major body of informalion and have made an i11\'al11ahle conlnbution hc1·cin. Olhcr key guides include tl1e rcporls produced by Prese1valio11 Consultants. Inc. of Charleston as historical surveys of Berkeley County, James Island, Johns Island, Sullivan's Island. and most recently. :"•forth Charleston. The work of lhe late Elias Ball Bull as hislorian for the Chadeston-Berkeley-Dorchester Council of Governments include much important research. Historic Charleston Foundation has, happily, provided a small financial as well as advocacy role in facilitating these excellent works. Then too. the Foundation's own records and files from Ansonborough to the Broad Street Beautification Project lo countless house histories produced by various historians for the annual Festival of Houses and Gardens have proven an untapped resource for production of this volume. Other recent studies including Mills Lane's Architecture of the 01d South, Soul11 Carolina, Kenneth Severens'CharJeston ,;\ntebellum Architecture and Cjyjc Destiny. and monographs such as the work of John Bivins. Bernard Herman, John Vlach. Cari Lounsbury, and others have given new information and comexl to several of the buildings studied.
Lounsbury and Herman's conlributions specifically to this book, howe\'er, are a significanl part of the larger collaboration of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the University of Delaware's Center for Historic Architecture and Engineering. and Mary Washington College's Department of Historic Presen·ation. and Historic Charleston Foundation in producing this volume in cooperation with the Charleston \fuseum and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Southeastern Regional Office.
Thanks for providing images for this book belong lo the Gibbes Museum of Art. Lisa Denisivich. Registrar and Paul Figueroa, Executive Director: the Charleston Museum, Sharon Bennett. Library Director, and Mary Giles. archivist: the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division: the Valentine Museum: The South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Charles Lesser, Archivist: the City Hall Collection of the City of Charleston, Linda Heffley, curator: the Charleston County RMC Office, the Charleston County Library; the Charleston Library Society; and the South Carolina Historical Society. Special thanks goes to Steven Bauer for many donated hours in the production of numerous measured drawings for this volume and to Paul Rossman for excellent work and late hours on the lavout of the volume.
IV
The following homeowners and their co111al' I S generously arrangt·d 1he opening nf their homes for documentation a1:d/or 1011rs: \Ir. and Mrs. Richard Cuen. Mr. and \frs . Dana Sinkler. Mr. and \frs. Edward Prirchard. Jr . . \ Ir. and M rs. Darryl Forr<'slt:r, \fr s . .Jessica ;\larshall . Ted Phillips and Janet Hopkins. \lrs. William 0. 1 lanahan. Jr . . \lrs. and Mrs. \\'a\'land Cato. \!rs. Sophie l,;.cyn i11s. The Re\'ennd and \!rs. Frank \1cClain. \trs. I lerbcrt Buller. \ l rs. l renee DuPont \-lay. \Ir. and \1rs. John Barnwell. \frs . .John Hamilton. \fr. Frank Brnmlcy. \tr s . .John Ragsdale. Leonard Long, Esq . . \h . .Jeffre\' Lea. Mr. and Mrs. Price Cameron. \frs . B.S. Dukes. \1r. Richard Jenrette. M rs. Charles \\'nodward. \-Ir. and \1rs. :-.lathaniel Barnwell. \Ir. aml \ ! rs. Pc1er \larngaull. \1r. and \ 1rs. \\'allace Framp1on. \1r. :\ndrew Crispo. \fr . and \! rs. Eric Friberg, \fr . and \frs . . .\.nton\' \lerck. Dr. and \frs. Fraser Wilson. \-Ir. and \!rs. \lil tnn Denwrre. \fr . and \!rs. Craig Benne 1 1 . Jr . . \ Ir . and \1rs. Ju lian \'. Brancl l . Dr . and \!rs. < :harllon DeSa11ss11re. \fr . and \ l rs. Da\'id Hewi l l . \ Ir. and \1rs. William Johnson. \fr. and \!rs. Thomas Cooper. Dr. and \ lrs. Biemann Otherson. \Ir . . tnd \In. I lcnry Grimball. Dr. and \!rs. Fletcher Derrick. \frs. Roger Hanahan. \tr. St. J ulian Childs. \Ir. and \lrs. Jefferson Leath. \Ir. and mrs . . J . R11 1 ledge Young. J r .. \Ir. Charles Sulli\'an. \Ir. Roh<'rl I lomak. \ Ir . . .\.ndrt'w I Inward. \Is. ( :arv hnward. \1r. and \ l rs. Rufus Barke le,·. \Ir. .Jame's \ lcadors. \!rs. William Prewitt . \Is. Shelli'\' ( :lark-Glidwell. \ Ir . and \!rs. \\'a1·wick J on<'s. \ Ir. and \l rs. Lawrence Walker. \Is. J u lie ( ;raudin. \I r. and \1rs. Charles .-\1 kim. \Ir . and \!rs. Charles I land. \!rs. Rebecca I luge. Randolph Pelzer. Esq .. \Ir. Roben James. \Is. Rossie Coalter. \Ir. and \! rs. _ loseph .Jencre11e. \Is. Ruth Cupp. \Is . . \llison Bellow. \ Ir. and \!rs. Charl lon D1•Sa11ss11rf', .Jr . . \Ir. and \- !rs. dand I lcwi 1 t . \Ir . , 1 1 1d \ ! rs. \\'i lliam . Johnson . \Ir . and \!rs. Thomas C :onprr. Dr. and \!rs. Bicmann Thursc 1 1 . \ I r. and \!rs. Henry Crimball. Dr. and \lrs. Fletcher Df'l'nck. \lrs. Rupr Hewabau. \Ir. and \ ! rs. Johnathan Leath. \Ir. and \!rs . . J . Rutledge Young. Jr . . \fr. Charles Sullivan. \I r. Robert \\'nmack. \lrs . . \ndrew howard. \Is. Can· I Inward. and \tr. ,111d \!rs. Rufus Barkelc\'. \ Ir. Janll's \kadors. \1rs. William DeWi 1 1 . \Is. Slwllt'\' Clark-( ;lide\\'<• 1 1 . \ fr . and \lrs. \,\'arn·ick Jor n:· . \Ir. and \!rs. Lawrence Walker. \Is. Ju I re < ;ra11di 1 1 . \Ir. and \!rs. Charles .·\tk11 1s . \I r. and \Ir. < :harks I land. \!rs. Reba I luge. \I r. Randolph P<'lzcr. Esq . . \Ir . Rnh1·r1 Jones. \Is. Russ11· ( :onll<'r. \ Ir . lkrnard \lazv('k, \Ir. Herlwrt Dd:os1a. \Ir. and \1rs. Charles \\'nrl\'. \I r. and \lrs. Joseph l<' tH'l ' t ' I I ( ' . \1s. Dana Campbell. \Is. Lucw Jarcocks. \Ir. John Slayten. \!rs. Thomas H11cgen1 1 1 . \I r. \lax I ( i l l . I l l . \Ir. Peter I l i u ri . \Ir. Robert Ball. \1r. and \-lrs. Parker Gilbert. \ts. Ruth Cupp. \Is . .-\ll1son Bello. Reverend George Tompkins. \1s. Barbara Doyle. \1r. Charles D11f'll. \Is. Kris Kepfonl-Young. \fr . and Mrs. Philip \-1 iddlcton. \· I s . Eliza Edwards Cleveland. \-1r. and \1rs . .-\sli1011 Philips.
\'
Deuui of the origin.al fortified ciry from Bishop RrtJ. "Prospect of Charles Town," 1738
Charles Fraser or John Blake Whire. "View on Broad Srreer." c. 1837 Private Collecrwn
- -::a •- ---- - - --- --- -- - - -- - ... . .
Archdak Hall, built before 1730; darroyed in the eartlu/ualce
Ha/f-timbert!d house on Logan Street (now derr, ,lisbed) John Meade Howells photograph, CAA
2
INTRODUCTION TO CHARLESTON ARCHITECTURE
! n 1 838. Fanny Kemble. the noted English accrcss and abolitiornst. visited Charleston and said. · ·
This cuv ts the oldest I have yet seen tn America . . . . ,he appearance of the city is highly picturesque. a wora which can appl_v to none other of the Amencan towns . . . It is in this respect afar more ariswcrat1c r shouid I not say democrauc.1 i c1ry than any I have yet seen in America. inasmuch as every house seemf buiit to the owner's pamcuiar taste: and in one streer vou seem to be in an old English town. and in another in some connnemal ciry of France or Italy."
Similar views of the city's beauty and distinct architectural character are repeated over and over in early lravelers' accounts. L'nlike most Americ:in cities. the cityscape of Charleston still l argely reflects its indi vidual history and development
The colony of Carolina. originally named for Charles I, was granted by his son. Charles II . to eight friends who had helped him regain the throne of Engl:ind. These .. Lords Proprietors" were led by Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury. Aided by his secretary. the political philosopher John Locke. Shaftesbury devel oped a unique plan for rule of the colony. TI1is document. the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina. set up a l anded aristocracy later to be abandoned but also mandated religious toleration.
Ch:irles Town was well established by 1 680 when il w:is decided that settlers of the new proprietary colony of CJrolina. lhen dwelling across the Ashley. would erect :i new town on the site formerlv c:iiled Oyster Poim.
·--::::::qr;;;;p-- :!;l---,-:t;:,: .;g:.,:,<O:.-<,;-::::':>;,.:,•:••,; -• ..... . . : :<:=-· """-<--.. - -:: ... ··'t,
ay the l o90's. the town had more than 1 00 houses sur rounded, partially, or completely, by a large wall of brick Jnd tabby. with comer bastions and a drawbridge where Broad and Meeting streets intersect today.
l . . \.
".\.tap of Charleston and Carolina," / 710
. ' - The wall dictated the earliest architectural development of the town. circumventing the original plans of the Lords Proprietors for a baroque grid plan with a great central square. An early engraving by Bishop Roberts indicates that it was an earlier son of English architecture : lace facobean. even lace medieval with forms such as curvilin e:ir gables and steeply pitched roofs which the English had borrowed heavily from he low countries of Europe. Some buildings were half-timbered or tabby although the Lords Proprietors preferred brick .
. -\ nwnber of late 1 7th and early 18th century fires de stroyed this construction. except for a few buildings such as the Old Powder Magazine and the John Lining House. Charles Town's population in the late 1 7th and early 1 8th century was fairly diverse and the society was characterized by openess and fluidity. English Anglican immigrants. sometimes the younger sons of Barbadian sugar planters, vied for conttol with English Dissenter families. Some 400 French Huguenots arrived in the l 680's and soon achieved wealth and position. Other groups like Scots and German Palatines came as well. Black slaves brought in at the initial behest of the Barbadians were imponed in vast mlID bers, especially between 1700 and 1740 when more than 40% of all slaves brought to North America came into the pon of Charles Town via Sullivan's Island. Their cultural tradition. particularly on isolated plantatio. came to be known as Gullah, a distinct mix of African-Caribbean-Indian influences.
The completion of St. Philip's Episcopal Church in 1 722 mariced the beginning of a new elegance for Charles Town. while in the countryside, where the earliest plantation houses were of simple construction, great Georgian houses were being built by the early 1 8th century. These included Archdale
J
, ;:..:· : /...!::.- ·-.
"lchnography of Charles-Town. 1 788" is the Phoenix fire insurance company's map of the city as it reemerged from the Revolution.
Hall. now destroyed. and Drayton Hall, ( 1742) still extant and consid ered the finest example of Georgian Palladian architecture in America.
After a major fire in 1740, a great period of rebuilding began, fully developing Charleston's traditional Georgian architecture. The "Charles ton single house," a typical single-pile Georgian house turned on its end to fit Charleston lots and respond to its climate, became the rule. Later these were usually "encumbered" by porches or "piazzas," often several tiers high, on the southern or western elevation. Charleston's most opulent colonial buildings were built after 1 760, as the boom in rice and indigo expons made Charleston the fourth largest city in British North America and by all accounts, the wealthiest.
One writer noted that several hundred houses were built between 1760 and I 770, "many of them very el egant." St. Michael's Church, the State House rebuilt in 1792 as the Court House, and the Exchange building were the public manifestations of this wealth. The work of artisans, painters, silversmiths, and cabinetmakers flourished to serve these rich consumers who also imponed many luxuries from London. Theater and music also advanced to a degree unusual for the American colonies.
The Revolutionary War and years of British occupation from 1 779 brought a downturn to the level of crafts manship of Old Charles Town. After the war, "mechanics" experienced in construction trades slowly began to repopulate the city. The Adamesque style of neoclassicism, adapted to local tastes and climate took hold in Charleston, as it did the rest of America.
The great "gentleman architect" of the city in this period was Gabriel Manigault ( 1758-18()()) designer of the South Carolina Society Hall, the Joseph Manigault House, and the Bank of the United States, later Charleston ·s City Hall. Unknown architects designed such imposing mansions as the Nathaniel Russell House, headquaners of Historic Charleston Foundation. A few "Regency" style buildings, often attributed to the brief sojourn of English architect William Jay, such as the Duncan House (Ashley Hall School), were also of this early national period when Charleston experienced renewed wealth from exports of rice and sea Island cotton.
Charleston's most famous native architect, Robert Mills, presaged the birth of the Oassical Re- vi val style with his First Baptist Church ( 1 822) and the Fireproof Building (1 826). Countless buildings in the Greek Revival style followed afterward, including residences such as the Roper House, and religious buildings such as Beth Eloheim Temple.
Edward Brickell White was the
Thomas Leitch's, "View of Charles Town 1 774;" shows the city at the height of its' prerevolutionary Golden Age, MESDA
most important architect of the city after 1830 who worked in associational styles. He designed the Market Hall Greek Revival, the portico for the College of Charleston Roman Ionic, and a new Huguenot Church Gothic Revival). Romantic, Gothic and Italianate styles were often used for new structures and for remodeling older buildings before the War Between the States.
4
,4
Typical Charleston single houses on Church Street , HCF
The Orphan House Chapel designed by Gabriel Manigault ( c. 1807) under demolition in the mid 1950s.
5
The vernacular forms of yards in Charleston's Mazyck-Wraggsborough area, before 1920, depicted in the White Pines Series
Looking south on Meeting Street, 1865, National Archives
:·7· =·. : ,; t«
'•• , . . •: ... . ......
:.) .
.,:> ·"'· .
Meeting Street looking north, 1902, Detroit Publishing Co . . photograph, HCF
The demolition of the Mills House, c. 1850,for a reconstruction as a modern hotel, 1969
hanesrnn on Lne eve or me War Bctwci..:n Lne States wJs :.i rat.her ·.:1osea c1 ty. · fearrui 01 1LS staves since me Jiscovery or me Vesey plm m i 822. Bem on prmecung ns stave system. 1iercely proud or its architectural beauty :md opulent lifestyle and int1amed by the rhetoric ot ••fire-eating"' politicians. a convenuon in Charles…
Text Contribuoona By:
John Bivins Kcuh L Eggener Suah A. Fidt Glenn Keya Joseph K. Oppermam UJ1crLHudgim Mart R. Wenger Robert Leath David Shields Louil Ne!Jon CanuLHudgins Carl R. lowtsbury IohnMidladVlacb Gina Mic:bad Robenson Connie Wyrd Renee LaHue O.vidAma Bcmud L Herman Maine Mc:Innu Dmi,eSlone Richard Marts. m Spencer Tolley ManbaZiadm Jam Hildreth Jonallw!Poaoo MuLHill,@ Bri111 \lamado Megculavin George McDulid
1670 - 1990
1994
- u1s P. '-.;elson :onathan H. Poston
,',oducrwn by:
\l.'.lune Mclnnes Louis Nelson
Drawings by:
Cumm111s Mid McCrady, Inc., 1\n:lu1ecu ·3ieJ111 Keyes, Arch11ecu
Plullis ino ()pperm&JV1, PA, ArcluLCCU r.vans & .Schmidt. An:hiLCCU
-\manda Griffith Herbert url R. Lounsbury .vlart R. Wenger
Gary S1.1n1ai Gabrielle Lania Dean Doerrfeld
David Craig Emily A. Cuni.t Virginia E. Dore
ura M. Edwards Shelley A. Ekermeyer Ally,on M. Eubank
Claudc:ue M. Gamache ::lizabedi W. Keane Cvnthia A. Liccese William T. Sherman
John Laurens HASS
Anit.a Dodd Bobbie Kerr
Bernard Herman Gina Haney
'-tichael Robenson Gina Haney
This book is produced by Historic Charleston Founda tion wilh lhe Department of Architectural Rese.arch at Co lonial Williamsburg Founda tion. lhe Dc:panment of His toric Preservation at Mary Washington College. and the Center for Historic Architec rure and Engineering at the Univenity of Delaware
Text and drawings prepared for this publication are copywrited by Historic Charleston Foundation
TABLE OF CONTENTS
II. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................... iv. v
Wednesday, May J J
n11asday, ,\.lay J 2. momillJ[
IV. WALLED CITY TOUR I. l111rod11c11011 10 the \;\'a lied ( :it\· .......................... , ............ '..!4 - -J.i
q \\'allccl Citv Sites .................................................. - l)H
V. CIVIC SQUARE TOUR I. l nlrod11ction to Civic SquarC' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iO - i'.{ '..!. Ci,·ic Squart' Site ................................................... 7+-111
VI. PUBLIC AND COMMERCIAL LIFE I. lmroduclion to Public and Commercial Life .............................. 112-115 l) Public and Co111mercial Life Sites ...................................... 11 I 3i
VII. LATE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY EXPANSION I. Introduction to the Late Eighteenth Century Expansion ..................... 138-141 2. Late Eighteenth Century Expansion Sites .................. , ............. 142-189
Thursda_v, Ma_v J 2. Lunch
VIII. CONFEDERATE HOME ...................................... 190-191
Thursday, May 12, Aftenwon
IX. ANSONBOROUGH TOUR I. Introduction to the Ansonborough Tour ................................. 192-197 2. Ansonborough Sites ................................................ 198-228
X. VILIAGE OF HARLESTON TOUR I. Introduction to Harleston Village ...................................... 213-216 2. Harleston Village Sites .............................................. 217-228
XI. UPPER BOROUGHS TOUR 1. Introduction to Upper Boroughs Tour ................................... 229-233 2. Upper Boroughs Sites ............................................... 234-269
11
F11day, May I 3, morning
XIII. UPPER PENINSULA 1. Introduction to the Upper Peninsula .................................... 276-277 <> Cpper Penninsula Sites .............................................. 278-283
XIV. WEST OF THE ASHLEY, JAMES AND JOHNS ISLANDS I. Introduction to Wet of the :\shley ..................................... 284-286 '..!. James Island Siles .................................................. 287-295
Friday, .\fay 13. afte1110011
XV. COOPER RIVER I. Introduction to tl1c Cooper Ri\'er ....................................... 296-297 '' (-:ooper Ri\'er Sites .................................................. 298-325
XVI. NORTH CHARLESTON I. Introduction to orth Charleston ...................................... 326 q orth Charleston Sites .............................................. 327-333 3. Yf>aman's Hall .................................................... 334-'.36
XVII. SUMMERVILLE ............................................. 337-338
XVIII. THE GIBBES MEMORIAL ART GALLERY .................. 339
Satw-day, May 1-1, etiening
XIX. THE ASHLEY RIVER ROAD I. Introduction to the Ashley River Road ................................... 340-341 2 . . -\shley River Road Sites .............................................. 342-347
XX. FSSAYS 1. Charleston Ironwork Tradition ....................... , ................ 348-351 2. Charleston Single House ............................................. 352-355 3. Charleston Graveyards ............................................... 356-358
1 l 1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
It seems fair to say that this volume comprises the first attempt at a comprehensive combination of historical research, measured drawings. g.-aphic documentation and architectural analysis of Charleston and Lowcounu·y architecture produced since the 1920s. It may be the first to include back buildings and the housing of the all echelons of Carolina society. The Vernacular Architecture Forum's Annual Conference in Charleston has provided a focus, and a deadline. for production of a new study that is. hopefully. only the beginning of renewed. all-inclusive works in this direction.
This volume relies much on the groundbreaking scholarship of that first generation of Charleston historians and preservationists wbo measured and recorded, examined and pondered. sketched and \'enerated the remnants of the area's rich historical past. Albert Simons. Alice R. Huger Smith. Samuel Lapham. Elizabeth ()'r-.cill Verner. and Samuel Gaillard Stoney are the best-known but credit must also ·go to Augustine T. S. Stoney. Frank Seel. Robert:--:. S. Whitelaw, Patti F. Whitelaw, .Josephine Pincknev. Henrv Philip Staats. John Bennett. John Mead Howells, .\llston Deas. Helen S. McCormick. E. \lilh\· Burton. Laura Bragg. W. H. Johnson Thomas. Louis Green, and countless nthers whose \,·nrk e-i1her prese1Yed 1he 1·ecord nr 1he physical idenritY of the Lowcounu-v's carlv ;1rchitect11re of all forms.
Recent works have been important in elucidating the background of many structures covered herein. Historian Robert Stockton's Do You Know Your Charleston columns from the '.\fews and Courier remain an excellent ready reference source for noting and dating many of the city's building!'.. The research studies produced by the Charleston \1useum in their archaeological series, spearheaded bv \fanha Zierden now constitute a major body of informalion and have made an i11\'al11ahle conlnbution hc1·cin. Olhcr key guides include tl1e rcporls produced by Prese1valio11 Consultants. Inc. of Charleston as historical surveys of Berkeley County, James Island, Johns Island, Sullivan's Island. and most recently. :"•forth Charleston. The work of lhe late Elias Ball Bull as hislorian for the Chadeston-Berkeley-Dorchester Council of Governments include much important research. Historic Charleston Foundation has, happily, provided a small financial as well as advocacy role in facilitating these excellent works. Then too. the Foundation's own records and files from Ansonborough to the Broad Street Beautification Project lo countless house histories produced by various historians for the annual Festival of Houses and Gardens have proven an untapped resource for production of this volume. Other recent studies including Mills Lane's Architecture of the 01d South, Soul11 Carolina, Kenneth Severens'CharJeston ,;\ntebellum Architecture and Cjyjc Destiny. and monographs such as the work of John Bivins. Bernard Herman, John Vlach. Cari Lounsbury, and others have given new information and comexl to several of the buildings studied.
Lounsbury and Herman's conlributions specifically to this book, howe\'er, are a significanl part of the larger collaboration of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the University of Delaware's Center for Historic Architecture and Engineering. and Mary Washington College's Department of Historic Presen·ation. and Historic Charleston Foundation in producing this volume in cooperation with the Charleston \fuseum and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Southeastern Regional Office.
Thanks for providing images for this book belong lo the Gibbes Museum of Art. Lisa Denisivich. Registrar and Paul Figueroa, Executive Director: the Charleston Museum, Sharon Bennett. Library Director, and Mary Giles. archivist: the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division: the Valentine Museum: The South Carolina Department of Archives and History, Charles Lesser, Archivist: the City Hall Collection of the City of Charleston, Linda Heffley, curator: the Charleston County RMC Office, the Charleston County Library; the Charleston Library Society; and the South Carolina Historical Society. Special thanks goes to Steven Bauer for many donated hours in the production of numerous measured drawings for this volume and to Paul Rossman for excellent work and late hours on the lavout of the volume.
IV
The following homeowners and their co111al' I S generously arrangt·d 1he opening nf their homes for documentation a1:d/or 1011rs: \Ir. and Mrs. Richard Cuen. Mr. and \frs . Dana Sinkler. Mr. and \frs. Edward Prirchard. Jr . . \ Ir. and M rs. Darryl Forr<'slt:r, \fr s . .Jessica ;\larshall . Ted Phillips and Janet Hopkins. \lrs. William 0. 1 lanahan. Jr . . \lrs. and Mrs. \\'a\'land Cato. \!rs. Sophie l,;.cyn i11s. The Re\'ennd and \!rs. Frank \1cClain. \trs. I lerbcrt Buller. \ l rs. l renee DuPont \-lay. \Ir. and \1rs. John Barnwell. \frs . .John Hamilton. \fr. Frank Brnmlcy. \tr s . .John Ragsdale. Leonard Long, Esq . . \h . .Jeffre\' Lea. Mr. and Mrs. Price Cameron. \frs . B.S. Dukes. \1r. Richard Jenrette. M rs. Charles \\'nodward. \-Ir. and \1rs. :-.lathaniel Barnwell. \Ir. aml \ ! rs. Pc1er \larngaull. \1r. and \ 1rs. \\'allace Framp1on. \1r. :\ndrew Crispo. \fr . and \! rs. Eric Friberg, \fr . and \frs . . .\.nton\' \lerck. Dr. and \frs. Fraser Wilson. \-Ir. and \!rs. \lil tnn Denwrre. \fr . and \!rs. Craig Benne 1 1 . Jr . . \ Ir . and \1rs. Ju lian \'. Brancl l . Dr . and \!rs. < :harllon DeSa11ss11re. \fr . and \ l rs. Da\'id Hewi l l . \ Ir. and \1rs. William Johnson. \fr. and \!rs. Thomas Cooper. Dr. and \ lrs. Biemann Otherson. \Ir . . tnd \In. I lcnry Grimball. Dr. and \!rs. Fletcher Derrick. \frs. Roger Hanahan. \tr. St. J ulian Childs. \Ir. and \lrs. Jefferson Leath. \Ir. and mrs . . J . R11 1 ledge Young. J r .. \Ir. Charles Sulli\'an. \Ir. Roh<'rl I lomak. \ Ir . . .\.ndrt'w I Inward. \Is. ( :arv hnward. \1r. and \ l rs. Rufus Barke le,·. \Ir. .Jame's \ lcadors. \!rs. William Prewitt . \Is. Shelli'\' ( :lark-Glidwell. \ Ir . and \!rs. \\'a1·wick J on<'s. \ Ir. and \l rs. Lawrence Walker. \Is. J u lie ( ;raudin. \I r. and \1rs. Charles .-\1 kim. \Ir . and \!rs. Charles I land. \!rs. Rebecca I luge. Randolph Pelzer. Esq .. \Ir. Roben James. \Is. Rossie Coalter. \Ir. and \! rs. _ loseph .Jencre11e. \Is. Ruth Cupp. \Is . . \llison Bellow. \ Ir. and \!rs. Charl lon D1•Sa11ss11rf', .Jr . . \Ir. and \- !rs. dand I lcwi 1 t . \Ir . , 1 1 1d \ ! rs. \\'i lliam . Johnson . \Ir . and \!rs. Thomas C :onprr. Dr. and \!rs. Bicmann Thursc 1 1 . \ I r. and \!rs. Henry Crimball. Dr. and \lrs. Fletcher Df'l'nck. \lrs. Rupr Hewabau. \Ir. and \ ! rs. Johnathan Leath. \Ir. and \!rs . . J . Rutledge Young. Jr . . \fr. Charles Sullivan. \I r. Robert \\'nmack. \lrs . . \ndrew howard. \Is. Can· I Inward. and \tr. ,111d \!rs. Rufus Barkelc\'. \ Ir. Janll's \kadors. \1rs. William DeWi 1 1 . \Is. Slwllt'\' Clark-( ;lide\\'<• 1 1 . \ fr . and \lrs. \,\'arn·ick Jor n:· . \Ir. and \!rs. Lawrence Walker. \Is. Ju I re < ;ra11di 1 1 . \Ir. and \!rs. Charles .·\tk11 1s . \I r. and \Ir. < :harks I land. \!rs. Reba I luge. \I r. Randolph P<'lzcr. Esq . . \Ir . Rnh1·r1 Jones. \Is. Russ11· ( :onll<'r. \ Ir . lkrnard \lazv('k, \Ir. Herlwrt Dd:os1a. \Ir. and \1rs. Charles \\'nrl\'. \I r. and \lrs. Joseph l<' tH'l ' t ' I I ( ' . \1s. Dana Campbell. \Is. Lucw Jarcocks. \Ir. John Slayten. \!rs. Thomas H11cgen1 1 1 . \I r. \lax I ( i l l . I l l . \Ir. Peter I l i u ri . \Ir. Robert Ball. \1r. and \-lrs. Parker Gilbert. \ts. Ruth Cupp. \Is . .-\ll1son Bello. Reverend George Tompkins. \1s. Barbara Doyle. \1r. Charles D11f'll. \Is. Kris Kepfonl-Young. \fr . and Mrs. Philip \-1 iddlcton. \· I s . Eliza Edwards Cleveland. \-1r. and \1rs . .-\sli1011 Philips.
\'
Deuui of the origin.al fortified ciry from Bishop RrtJ. "Prospect of Charles Town," 1738
Charles Fraser or John Blake Whire. "View on Broad Srreer." c. 1837 Private Collecrwn
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Archdak Hall, built before 1730; darroyed in the eartlu/ualce
Ha/f-timbert!d house on Logan Street (now derr, ,lisbed) John Meade Howells photograph, CAA
2
INTRODUCTION TO CHARLESTON ARCHITECTURE
! n 1 838. Fanny Kemble. the noted English accrcss and abolitiornst. visited Charleston and said. · ·
This cuv ts the oldest I have yet seen tn America . . . . ,he appearance of the city is highly picturesque. a wora which can appl_v to none other of the Amencan towns . . . It is in this respect afar more ariswcrat1c r shouid I not say democrauc.1 i c1ry than any I have yet seen in America. inasmuch as every house seemf buiit to the owner's pamcuiar taste: and in one streer vou seem to be in an old English town. and in another in some connnemal ciry of France or Italy."
Similar views of the city's beauty and distinct architectural character are repeated over and over in early lravelers' accounts. L'nlike most Americ:in cities. the cityscape of Charleston still l argely reflects its indi vidual history and development
The colony of Carolina. originally named for Charles I, was granted by his son. Charles II . to eight friends who had helped him regain the throne of Engl:ind. These .. Lords Proprietors" were led by Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury. Aided by his secretary. the political philosopher John Locke. Shaftesbury devel oped a unique plan for rule of the colony. TI1is document. the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina. set up a l anded aristocracy later to be abandoned but also mandated religious toleration.
Ch:irles Town was well established by 1 680 when il w:is decided that settlers of the new proprietary colony of CJrolina. lhen dwelling across the Ashley. would erect :i new town on the site formerlv c:iiled Oyster Poim.
·--::::::qr;;;;p-- :!;l---,-:t;:,: .;g:.,:,<O:.-<,;-::::':>;,.:,•:••,; -• ..... . . : :<:=-· """-<--.. - -:: ... ··'t,
ay the l o90's. the town had more than 1 00 houses sur rounded, partially, or completely, by a large wall of brick Jnd tabby. with comer bastions and a drawbridge where Broad and Meeting streets intersect today.
l . . \.
".\.tap of Charleston and Carolina," / 710
. ' - The wall dictated the earliest architectural development of the town. circumventing the original plans of the Lords Proprietors for a baroque grid plan with a great central square. An early engraving by Bishop Roberts indicates that it was an earlier son of English architecture : lace facobean. even lace medieval with forms such as curvilin e:ir gables and steeply pitched roofs which the English had borrowed heavily from he low countries of Europe. Some buildings were half-timbered or tabby although the Lords Proprietors preferred brick .
. -\ nwnber of late 1 7th and early 18th century fires de stroyed this construction. except for a few buildings such as the Old Powder Magazine and the John Lining House. Charles Town's population in the late 1 7th and early 1 8th century was fairly diverse and the society was characterized by openess and fluidity. English Anglican immigrants. sometimes the younger sons of Barbadian sugar planters, vied for conttol with English Dissenter families. Some 400 French Huguenots arrived in the l 680's and soon achieved wealth and position. Other groups like Scots and German Palatines came as well. Black slaves brought in at the initial behest of the Barbadians were imponed in vast mlID bers, especially between 1700 and 1740 when more than 40% of all slaves brought to North America came into the pon of Charles Town via Sullivan's Island. Their cultural tradition. particularly on isolated plantatio. came to be known as Gullah, a distinct mix of African-Caribbean-Indian influences.
The completion of St. Philip's Episcopal Church in 1 722 mariced the beginning of a new elegance for Charles Town. while in the countryside, where the earliest plantation houses were of simple construction, great Georgian houses were being built by the early 1 8th century. These included Archdale
J
, ;:..:· : /...!::.- ·-.
"lchnography of Charles-Town. 1 788" is the Phoenix fire insurance company's map of the city as it reemerged from the Revolution.
Hall. now destroyed. and Drayton Hall, ( 1742) still extant and consid ered the finest example of Georgian Palladian architecture in America.
After a major fire in 1740, a great period of rebuilding began, fully developing Charleston's traditional Georgian architecture. The "Charles ton single house," a typical single-pile Georgian house turned on its end to fit Charleston lots and respond to its climate, became the rule. Later these were usually "encumbered" by porches or "piazzas," often several tiers high, on the southern or western elevation. Charleston's most opulent colonial buildings were built after 1 760, as the boom in rice and indigo expons made Charleston the fourth largest city in British North America and by all accounts, the wealthiest.
One writer noted that several hundred houses were built between 1760 and I 770, "many of them very el egant." St. Michael's Church, the State House rebuilt in 1792 as the Court House, and the Exchange building were the public manifestations of this wealth. The work of artisans, painters, silversmiths, and cabinetmakers flourished to serve these rich consumers who also imponed many luxuries from London. Theater and music also advanced to a degree unusual for the American colonies.
The Revolutionary War and years of British occupation from 1 779 brought a downturn to the level of crafts manship of Old Charles Town. After the war, "mechanics" experienced in construction trades slowly began to repopulate the city. The Adamesque style of neoclassicism, adapted to local tastes and climate took hold in Charleston, as it did the rest of America.
The great "gentleman architect" of the city in this period was Gabriel Manigault ( 1758-18()()) designer of the South Carolina Society Hall, the Joseph Manigault House, and the Bank of the United States, later Charleston ·s City Hall. Unknown architects designed such imposing mansions as the Nathaniel Russell House, headquaners of Historic Charleston Foundation. A few "Regency" style buildings, often attributed to the brief sojourn of English architect William Jay, such as the Duncan House (Ashley Hall School), were also of this early national period when Charleston experienced renewed wealth from exports of rice and sea Island cotton.
Charleston's most famous native architect, Robert Mills, presaged the birth of the Oassical Re- vi val style with his First Baptist Church ( 1 822) and the Fireproof Building (1 826). Countless buildings in the Greek Revival style followed afterward, including residences such as the Roper House, and religious buildings such as Beth Eloheim Temple.
Edward Brickell White was the
Thomas Leitch's, "View of Charles Town 1 774;" shows the city at the height of its' prerevolutionary Golden Age, MESDA
most important architect of the city after 1830 who worked in associational styles. He designed the Market Hall Greek Revival, the portico for the College of Charleston Roman Ionic, and a new Huguenot Church Gothic Revival). Romantic, Gothic and Italianate styles were often used for new structures and for remodeling older buildings before the War Between the States.
4
,4
Typical Charleston single houses on Church Street , HCF
The Orphan House Chapel designed by Gabriel Manigault ( c. 1807) under demolition in the mid 1950s.
5
The vernacular forms of yards in Charleston's Mazyck-Wraggsborough area, before 1920, depicted in the White Pines Series
Looking south on Meeting Street, 1865, National Archives
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Meeting Street looking north, 1902, Detroit Publishing Co . . photograph, HCF
The demolition of the Mills House, c. 1850,for a reconstruction as a modern hotel, 1969
hanesrnn on Lne eve or me War Bctwci..:n Lne States wJs :.i rat.her ·.:1osea c1 ty. · fearrui 01 1LS staves since me Jiscovery or me Vesey plm m i 822. Bem on prmecung ns stave system. 1iercely proud or its architectural beauty :md opulent lifestyle and int1amed by the rhetoric ot ••fire-eating"' politicians. a convenuon in Charles…
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