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Gc 975.7 L53h 1704968
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02294 3333
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/historichousesof00leid 0
HISTORIC HOUSES
OF SOUTH CAROLINA
BY HARRIETTE KERSHAW LEIDING
WITH 100 ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DRAWINGS BY ALFRED HUTTY, PHOTOGRAPHS AND PRINTS
PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 1921
1704968
HISTORIC HOUSES OF SOUTH CAROLINA
٠٫
THIS LIMITED EDITION HAS BEEN PRINTED FROM TYPE AND THE TYPE DISTRIBUTED
THE MARSHALL HOUSE, COLUMBIA, SOMETIMES CALLED THE DE BRUHL HOUSE
COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
PRINTED BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY AT THE WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS PHILADELPHIA, U. S. A.
IV
To H. G. L.
THE BEST FRIEND A WIFE EVER HAD
V
"No fire has touched them, and no flood; They stand to-day where first they stood; Places that knew them know them still; Their doors swing wide, and on each sill, In sweet confusion, wilting flowers By noon, by night mark children's hours. And closer still, like friends well tried, The trees crowd up on every side, Folding the roof-tree and the walls. Each year their gracious shadow falls Larger and larger; every spring 'Neath southern window some new thing Lifts up its head and adds its grace To sweeten the old Homestead place. From every window to the skies Women and men lift steadfast eyes, Coming and going day by day, Leading the life they must, or may . The world is full of open doors; Step lightly in on friendly floors; And throw thy rusty keys away To locks which strange hands lock to-day."
vi
FOREWORD
" The Almighty gives dreams to some and realities to others." The dream of the English Empire builders was to dis- cover, and found a new civilization in the South, and it was out of the reality of the lives of the men and women who came and carried out the business of the dreams that South Carolina was formed, her homes erected, her fields tilled, and her civilization carried forward and outward; for it is a fact that from Colonial times South Carolina has been furnishing other South Atlantic States with the backbone of their civi- lization, although it is not generally known that she was one of the great emigrant States.
If South Carolina is to be judged by the aphorism that " A State is the product of its people," then this little section of land, which has stood for so much that is admirable, is indeed a great State. Little as it is known, South Carolina, geographically isolated in her early days, left to work out her own destiny in the following days of the development until the Revolutionary days surrounded by enemies on all sides (except to the Northward), has not only held its own but has led the Southeast in many agricultural, manufacturing and mining pursuits, led the Union in the yield per acre of corn, oats and cotton, and stands second in cotton manufacturing in the entire Union.
From the standpoint of inate ability, bravery, chivalry, purity of character and unselfish patriotism, the sons and daughters of Carolina are the equals of any on the American Continent and today represent the finest type of American citizen ; yet it is difficult to try and tell the story of this people of mixed races, several religions, various customs and the modifications of these various differentations by climate, occupation, wars and the physical conformation of the land on the face of which they lived, and moved, and had their being.
It is an interesting peep into the past to envisage the homes in which these pioneer peoples and their descendants
vii
FOREWORD
dwelt. These homes were the expression of their individuali- ties modified by their occupations and means. The social, political and economic significance of these empire builders stands revealed in the homes they builded as well as the taste that prompted the style. Means were found for overcoming distances, securing material, and workmen were either de- veloped or imported to carry out the design of the desired habitation, while the landscape gardeners were employed to decorate and embellish the neighboring grounds. All of these factors enter into the kind of house and the type of architec- ture found in lowland and highland of South Carolina.
Undoubtedly it is the sense of a story behind things that leads to the writing about the homes of olden times and about the inhabitants thereof by one set of people, and the reading of story of these houses by another set. Nor need we be afraid of being classed amongst those who have, as Rupert Hughes expressed it, " Kicked themselves upstairs into that dreary attic where the critics go who are what Horace called 'the praisers of the past,' " if we seek the human story of the indi- vidual homes and their builders.
If social life reflects the taste and is the measure of grandeur in the life of these dead and gone Carolinians, we can reconstruct for ourselves a picture of those yesteryears which lie forgotten in men's memories, but which nevertheless hold precisely the same human elements as our own existence of life and love, fun and flirtations, women's fears and wo- men's tears, and the laughter of little children, all of which are held together in the scheme of things by men and their deep desires and ambitions.
Strong-minded persons are apt to think fashion a fickle jade and a trivial thing -- yet in Carolina, indigo culture was introduced in order to dye the home-woven silks of milady and it is even whispered that gentlemen were partial to blue, the product of their staple indigo, yet indigo eventually rivalled rice and yielded to cotton only after the Revolutionary War, and became a standard of barter in foreign commerce
viii
FOREWORD
So interwoven are social life, agricultural interests, industrial . evolution with commercial interests, that it is said " The lady of a Southern planter will lay out the whole annual produce of a rice plantation in silver and gold, muslins, lace veils and new liveries, carry a hogshead of tobacco on her head and trail a bale of Sea-Island cotton at her heels, while a lady of Boston or Salem, will wrap herself up in the net proceeds of a cargo of whale oil, and tie on her hat with a quintal of cod-fish." Thus it is that the beautiful old houses in South Carolina grew as the external expression of a certain ease, grace and dignity of life led by the landed gentry,
Near the coast the spacious verandas came in response to the need for coolness, and shadowy retreats from the brilliant sunshine of this sub-tropical climate, tall ceilings, large win- dows, and lattice jalousie blinds were borrowed from the neighboring Spanish Indies, while formal gardens and gate- ways came over in the inner consciousness of the Cavalier stock that settled low- country Carolina and found expression in manner fitting the locality.
Although the first settlers had confined themselves to the neighborhood of Charleston, the fact that Georgia was being settled (1732-34) protected the Western frontier of the State and gave a feeling of security hitherto unknown, so that the interior of the State received many immigrants ; Germans, Scotch (after the battle of Culloden), and on Brad- dock's defeat, refugees from Pennsylvania and Virginia came and settled in the Piedmont sections of the State. Besides these various additions to the State, Irish Protestants, Swiss Colonists, German Redemptionists, Welsh Colonists from Pennsylvania, all went to the making up of the total popula- tions and were added to the original English settlers, Cavaliers and gentlemen adventurers as well as the French Hu- guenot refugees.
Thus it is seen that various considerations enter into the discussion of the homes of such a mixed people. The homes of the Bacon and Rice aristocracy, situated in the low coun-
ix
FOREWORD
"try, conformed to the English Manor type, being later modi- fied to suit the climatic conditions, and becoming as Birge Harrison delightfully puts it, " infected by the spirit of the West Indian houses as though blown across from the West Indies," while the homes of the people in the middle lands of the State were builded and furnished to suit another set of people and to meet other needs, while the homes in highland counties conformed to yet another set of standards and con- ditions. So that the houses of Carolina the Province, Caro- lina the Royal Ward, when Kings George the First and Sec- ond, were said to be " Nursing Fathers " to the infant colony, or the homes of Carolina the devastated, by foreign or civil strife, all have different meanings and designs, but a spirit of high Romance permeates the entire history of the State, its people and their homes.
The present volume has been undertaken as a loving tribute to South Carolina, who gave to the writer the three beings most dear to her on earth; and, because the history of the houses in South Carolina is the history of the homes of kindred and friends, this effort has been made to give to the world a glimpse of the wonderful men and women of the state and the homes they builded.
It has been deemed best, incidentally, to mention a few of the first provincial laws in order that the reader may obtain some idea of the manner of life contemplated by those in authority in primitive Carolina. This is necessary because the history of the colony and its various settlements unwinds itself like a golden thread from the gleaming web of the history of the mother city, Charleston, until the outer threads are far from the center, yet connected by invisible and in- tangible bonds.
The houses in the upper part of South Carolina were erected at a later date than those in the low country, and so have been included in this volume with briefer mention, the oldest houses naturally being found along the rivers in the lower part of the state.
FOREWORD
My thanks are due to Misses: Lillian Yates, Mary Von Kolnitz and Elsie Kirkland for their efficient and loving help. My thanks are also due to the many friends and the owners of properties throughout the state who so kindly responded to letters written to secure information. I have consulted all of the standard sources of information available, and have scanned the De Saussure records (the originals of which are owned by my aunt, Miss Isabelle De Saussure) and have in addition had priceless aid and information given me by my mother, Susan Boone De Saussure and my father, Reverend John Kershaw, D.D.
HARRIETTE KERSHAW LEIDING
CHARLESTON, S. C. MARCH 1, 1920
XI -XII
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CONTENTS
PAGE
NOTES FROM SOUTH CAROLINA ALMANAC 1765. xvi
I. OLD CHARLESTON AND SOUTH CAROLINA 1
II. ON COOPER RIVER FROM CHARLESTON TO THE "TEE" .. 12
III. WESTERN BRANCH OF COOPER RIVER ABOVE THE "TEE" 36
IV. EASTERN BRANCH OF COOPER RIVER ABOVE THE "TEE" 74
V. SANTEE, FRENCH SANTEE, SOUTH SANTEE, NORTH SANTEE 91
VI. GEORGETOWN AND VICINITY. 112
VII. UPPER, LOWER AND MIDDLE ST. JOHN'S AND ST. STEPHEN'S 131. VIII. ST. MARK'S PARISH. 155
IX. FROM DOVER TO CALAIS VIA THE PARISHES OF CHRIST CHURCH AND ST. THOMAS. 178
X. ON THE ASHLEY RIVER AND IN ST. ANDREW'S PARISH ... 188 XI. JOHN'S ISLAND AND EDISTO ISLAND. THE PLACES AND THE PEOPLE. 20S
XII. BEAUFORT. INCLUDING COMBAHEE AND CHEE-HA DIS- TRICTS. WITH TWO PICTURES OF WILLTOWN HOUSES AND ONE AT BARNWELL, SOUTH CAROLINA . 233
XIII. ON THE ROAD TO COLUMBIA AND COLUMBIA AND ITS HOMES 250
XIV. THE OLD CHERAWS, LAURENS, LANCASTER AND NEW- BERRY 268
XV. JOSEPH MCCULLOUGH HOUSE, FORT HILL, LOWTHER HALL, TOMASSEE AND THE BURT HOUSE IN ABBEVILLE .. 289
ADDITIONAL HOUSES OF HISTORIC INTEREST IN SOUTH CAROLINA 304
xiii - XIV
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
THE MARSHALL HOUSE, COLUMBIA, S. C., SOMETIMES CALLED THE DE BRUHL HOUSE. Frontispiece
Title Vignette
MEPKIN GATE Drawn by E. S. Holloway.
MAP OF SOUTH CAROLINA OF 1715 2
MILES BREWTON HOUSE, CHARLESTON. 4
Showing old coach house and slave quarters.
JUDGE HEYWARD'S MANSION, CHURCH STREET, CHARLESTON. 8 As it was when President Washington was there entertained in 1791.
" DICTATOR" RUTLEDGE'S HOME, BROAD STREET, CHARLESTON 10
THE PAUL HOUSE, BROAD AND CHURCH STREETS, CHARLESTON 10
" BELVIDERE," OLD SHUBRICK HOME Now the Charleston Country Club House.
16
" YEAMANS' HALL," GOOSE CREEK 20
ST. JAMES' CHURCH, GOOSE CREEK 22
ST. JAMES' CHURCH, INTERIOR 22
"MEDWAY," ON BACK RIVER ABOVE GOOSE CREEK 26
OTRANTO CLUB HOUSE, GOOSE CREEK 26 THOMAS SMITH, PORTRAIT. 30
" MEDWAY," ON BACK RIVER, HOME OF LANDGRAVE SMITH 30
"DEAN HALL," COOPER RIVER, BELOW THE TEE 32
MAUM PATIENCE AND HER PET GOBBLER 32
"COMING TEE" HOUSE ON COOPER RIVER 38 38
STRAWBERRY CHAPEL, COOPER RIVER.
"WAPPAHOOLA," WESTERN BRANCH, COOPER RIVER. 54
" MULBERRY CASTLE," WESTERN BRANCH, COOPER RIVER 58
THE DRAWING-ROOM, MULBERRY CASTLE, COOPER RIVER 62
" DOCKON," WESTERN BRANCH, COOPER RIVER. 64 64
"LITTLE LANDING" OR "LEWISFIELD "
"EXETER," NEAR MONCK'S CORNER.
"GIPPY," WESTERN BRANCH, COOPER RIVER 72
TOWN HOUSE OF THE BALL FAMILY, CHARLESTON 76
"QUIMBY," EASTERN BRANCH, COOPER RIVER 82
" MIDDLEBURG," EASTERN BRANCH, COOPER RIVER. 82
" LIMERICK " 84
A primitive house nearly 200 years old.
AVENUE OF LIVE OAKS, " LIMERICK " 84
POMPION HILL CHAPEL, EASTERN BRANCH, COOPER RIVER 90
"FAIRFIELD ". 94
The oldest house on Santee. Drawn by Alfred Hutty.
.
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
WAMBAW CHURCH (ST. JAMES') SANTEE 98
" HAMPTON," THE HOME OF THE RUTLEDGES ON SOUTH SANTEE 100
THE DINING-ROOM AT "HAMPTON' 102
THE PORTICO AT "HAMPTON" 102
"EL DORADO," ON THE SANTEE, ONE OF THE PINCKNEY HOMES 106
"HOPSEEWEE" (LUCAS HOUSE) NORTH SANTEE. 106
Home of Thomas Lynch, the Signer.
WINYAE INDIGO SOCIETY HALL, GEORGETOWN 110
WINYAH INN, GEORGETOWN 112
THE PYATT-ALSTON HOUSE, GEORGETOWN 114
CHURCH, PRINCE GEORGE, WINYAH, GEORGETOWN 118
PROSPECT HILL, WACCAMAW RIVER 120
PROSPECT HILL, REAR VIEW 122
FRIENDFIELD HOUSE, NEAR GEORGETOWN 124
THE DRAWING-ROOM, FRIENDFIELD HOUSE 126
"SOMERSET," THE CAIN HOUSE, PINOPOLIS 132
SINKLER HOUSE, ADJACENT TO "BELVIDERE," EUTAWVILLE 138
" BELVIDERE," THE SINKLER HOUSE, NEAR EUTAW SPRINGS 140
CHAPEL IN ST. STEPHEN'S. 152
" MILFORD," WEST OF PINEWOOD 156
" MELROSE," BUILT BY MATTHEW SINGLETON. Drawn by Alfred Hutty.
158
" HILLCREST," STATESBURG . 168
CORNWALLIS HOUSE, THE OLD KERSHAW HOMESTEAD, CAMDEN. 170
HANDBILL ISSUED IN 1794, ADVERTISING SALE OF KERSHAW LANDS 172
"LAUSANNE," THE DESAUSSURE HOME, CAMDEN 174
" MULBERRY," NEAR CAMDEN 176
OAKLAND PLANTATION, MT. PLEASANT 182
Front and rear views.
CHRIST CHURCH, CHRIST CHURCH PARISH, NEAR MT. PLEASANT 184
THE GIBBES HOUSE, CHARLESTON NECK, SOMETIMES CALLED THE LOWNDES HOUSE 190
"ARCHDALE HALL," LAMBS, NEAR DORCHESTER, THE BAKER HOMESTEAD, 200 YEARS OLD 194
ST. GEORGE'S CHURCH, DORCHESTER 196
Designed by Sir Christopher Wren.
THE PERRY HOUSE AT TONGUEVILLE (SOMETIMES CALLED TONGUE WELL), NEAR DORCHESTER. 198
"INGLESIDE" OR "THE HAZE," GOOSE CREEK 200
INTERIOR AT "INGLESIDE," GOOSE CREEK 200
" DRAYTON HALL," ST. ANDREW'S PARISH, ON ASHLEY RIVER 202
SIDE VIEW OF "DRAYTON HALL " 202
xvi
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
TOWN HOUSE OF. THE BULL FAMILY, WHOSE COUNTRY ESTATE "ASHLEY HALL" LAY IN. ST. ANDREW'S PARISH . 204
ST. ANDREW'S CHAPEL, IN ST. ANDREW'S PARISH, ON ASHLEY RIVER, NEAR CHARLESTON 208
" FENWICK CASTLE," JOHN'S ISLAND 210
" BRICK HOUSE," JOHN'S ISLAND, NEAR CHARLESTON 212
VANDER HORST HOUSE, CHAPEL STREET, CHARLESTON 214
VANDER HORST HOUSE, KIAWAH ISLAND 214
THE WILLIAM SEABROOK HOUSE, EDISTO ISLAND 218
THE HOPKINSON HOUSE, EDISTO ISLAND 220
BRICK HOUSE, EDISTO ISLAND 220
" BLEAK HALL," THE TOWNSEND HOUSE, EDISTO ISLAND 222
Copied by Miss Phoebe Townsend.
OLD HOUSE AT " WILTON BLUFF" 230
Built by Col. Morris.
" PROSPECT HILL," NEAR " WILLTOWN" OR "WILTON" 236
Formerly a Barnwell-Manigault House.
ST. HELENA'S CHURCH, BEAUFORT. Established 1712. 240
THE RECTORY, ST. HELENA'S, FROM THE CHURCHYARD 240
" THE POINT," THE HAMILTON HOUSE, BEAUFORT 244
"THE ANCHORAGE," ON "THE BAY," BEAUFORT. 246
HOUSE IN BEAUFORT, FROM THE PIAZZA OF WHICH LAFAYETTE SPOKE 248
KITCHEN AND WALL MADE OF "TABBY." THE SAMS' HOME, BEAUFORT
Now the Crofut House. 248
" WOODLANDS," THE RESIDENCE OF W. G. SIMMS, BARNWELL. 248
HOUSE ON THE ROAD TO COLUMBIA 250
Built just after the Revolution by the grandfather of Rev. John O. Willson.
" FORT GRANBY," NEAR COLUMBIA From an old print. 250
ONE OF THE KINARD HOUSES, RICHLAND STREET, COLUMBIA 256
Now the Seibel residence.
THE "TOM WILSON" HOUSE, COLUMBIA. 260
A boyhood home of Ex-President Woodrow Wilson.
THE PRESTON PLACE OR "AINSLEY HALL," COLUMBIA 264
CHANCELLOR JOHNSON'S HOME, NEAR MAR'S BLUFF, OLD CHERAW 270
THE JOSEPH MCCULLOUGH HOUSE, ABOVE GREENVILLE . 290
" FORT HILL," RESIDENCE OF JOHN C, CALHOUN, CLEMSON COLLEGE 292
JOHN EWING CALHOUN HOME, NEAR CLEMSON COLLEGE. 292
" LOWTHER HALL," THE TRESCOTT HOUSE, PENDLETON 296 OLD STONE CHURCH, PENDLETON 300 Built in 1790.
THE BORT HOUSE, ABBEVILLE 302 Built by a Calhoun. At this house was held the last meeting of the Confederate Cabinet.
xvii
HISTORIC HOUSES OF SOUTH CAROLINA
NOTES FROM SOUTH CAROLINA ALMANAC 1765
BERKLEY COUNTY TAKES IN THE OLD PARISHES OF
1. St. Philip's Parish, Charleston 2. St. Michaels, Charleston 3. Christ Church 4. St. Thomas and St. Dennis.
5. St. John's 6. St. George (Dorchester) 7. St. James (Goose Creek) 8. St. Andrews (West side Ashley River)
County Town-Chorlesten
CRAVEN COUNTY TAKES IN THE OLD PARISHES OF
1. St. James Santee 2. St. Stephen
3. Prince George
4. Prince Frederick 5. St. Marks
County Town-Georgetown
COLLETON COUNTY CONTAINS PARISHES OF
1. St. Paul 2. St. Peter 3. St. Bartholomew County Town-Jacksonborough
GRANVILLE COUNTY CONTAINS THE OLD PARISHES OF
1. St. Helena
2. St. Peter 3. Purrysburg, (see Peter Purry) 4. Prince William County Town-Beaufort
CHAPTER I OLD CHARLESTON AND SOUTH CAROLINA
LD houses resemble children in that their characters are greatly affected by environment and parentage. In dealing with the South Carolina homes it must be remembered that the state was settled in layers, so to speak, the homes of the sea-coast people being constructed to suit the ideas of people from sea-port towns in the old world, while those of the middle and upper parts of the state were built to meet the requirements of people who had drifted into the interior, or come in from other settlements.
It is amusing to read one of the early historical writers, Oldmixon, who describes Carolina as "lying parallel with the Land of Canaan, " which would seem to imply the use of tents, and some of the primitive log-cabins erected by the first set- tlers were scarcely more than this. A more substantial type of primitive house was built of mud and clay-such a house is said to exist in Williamsburg county, near Kingstree. An- other primitive house of a later period was constructed of a native cement composed of lime and oyster shell -- called "Tabby"-an example of which is found on Fripp's Island, near Beaufort. The native marls of South Carolina also fur- nished materials with which the first settlers builded their homes. The remains of such a house are found on Fairlawn Barony on Cooper river.
Numerous descriptions of the colony were printed and sent ont in order to induce immigration, many of which are included in B. R. Carroll's Historical collection. Some of these were printed in London "and to be sold by Mrs. Grover, in Pelican Court, in Little Britain. 1682.". A small description and a map of South Carolina was published by Mr. Richard Blome, and printed for Dorman Newman, in the year 1678. Yet an-
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HISTORIC HOUSES OF SOUTH CAROLINA
other map of Carolina was printed by order of the Lords Pro- prietors "newly published in one large Sheet of Paper, a very spacious Map of Carolina with its Rivers, Harbor's Planta- tions, and other Accommodations, from the latest Survey, and best Informations, with a large and particular Description of the Entrances into Ashly and Cooper Rivers; this Map to be Sold for Is. by Joel Gascoyne, near Wapping Old Stairs, and Robert Green in Budge Row, London, 1682."
It will thus be seen that Charleston is the mother of the state, and a perusal of the Acts of Assembly published in Grimke's Digest will strengthen this belief. The first law- makers of the colony were religious men, as is shown by their first law, which provided for the observation of the Lord's Day. Having taken this step they proceeded to the "sup- pressing of idle, drunken and swearing persons inhabiting within this state." Having thus provided for the just and the unjust our forefathers proceeded to the laying out of high- ways, and so successfully did they accomplish this latter task that the roadway system of South Carolina to-day occupies in large measure the highway system as laid out by our pro- genitors. One of the first provisions after this was "settling the militia." Then realizing that all these things would cost money they passed an Act for "raising a tax of £400 or the value thereof."
One class of settlers that came to South Carolina and built fine homes was of the Cavalier stock of England. Many Acts were passed to encourage immigration, among them "an Act to suspend prosecution for foreign debts." Another was for "making Aliens free of this part of the country," and "for granting liberty of conscience to all protestants."
Among the early laws permanency of building was pro- vided for ; the residences of Charleston were to be constructed of brick, but this was later repealed. Along with permanency of building came the desire for preservation of record, and an early Act provides for the registering of births, marriages and deaths in the colony. Philanthropie and educational enter- prises were nurtured, rewards given to inventors of agricul- tural machines, and in every way possible a fine type of
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MAP OF SOUTH CAROLINA OF 1715
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OLD CHARLESTON AND SOUTH CAROLINA
civilization established." One of the earliest Acts provides for a Provincial Library.
Mr. Langdon Cheves writes of the buildings erected in early days, saying : "Fine old Colonial brick houses probably did not exist in the up country ; were few in the middle country and were comparatively rare anywhere. Most of the fine brick houses were built between the years 1710 and 1760, and in the neighborhood of Charleston. After 1760 the tradition of stone and brick houses faded, masons became scarce, and saw mills developed, then wooden houses on brick basements were built."
Concerning the topography of "Charles Town" (the name of the chief city was changed to Charleston by act of Assem- bly in 1783), although the first settlement was on the western bank of Ashley River the Council journal of date 21st Febru- ary, 1671/2, says :
"Mr. Henry Hughes came this day before the Grand Councill and voluntarily surrendered up the one halfe of his land nere a place upon the Ashley River knowne by the name of Oyster Poynt, to be employed in and towards the enlarging of a Towne and common of pasture there intended. .
The natural advantages of Oyster Point had not escaped even the first Governor, for Secretary Dalton tells us that "there is a place between Ashley River and Wando River, about 600 acres, left vacant for a town and fort, by the direc- tion of the old Governor Coll. Sayle, for that it commands both rivers : it is, as it were, a key to open and shut this settle- ment into safety or danger."
THE HISTORIC HOUSES OF CHARLESTON
There are only two or three buildings which are discussed in this present volume, as the subject has been thoroughly cov- ered from an architectural standpoint in the "Dwelling Houses of Charleston." But it is not out of place to say that in Charleston one sees over and over again houses on the old San Domingo model, of a three or four story structure, one room deep, that tower tall and narrow, as though turning a shoulder to the world. However, a balcony door let in the
3
HISTORIC HOUSES OF SOUTH CAROLINA
façade gives a hint of welcome and provides access to the verandas which stretch the entire length of the houses. The advantage of this arrangement is that the house faces the walled-in garden, while not being set too far back from the city street. One writer says that "the arrangement of rooms in these houses is much like that of the average English house in that the drawing room (or with-drawing rooms) parlor and dining room are all on the second floor, while the library suite and breakfast room are found on the ground floor. On the third floor, which affords needed light and air, are the large, spacious bed rooms. "
In 1706 the building of wooden frame houses in the town had been declared to be a nuisance and prohibited, later it was represented that bricks were not always to be had but at such excessive rates as prevented the building up of waste places. and the act was repealed. Houses were allowed to be built of wood, provided the hearths and chimneys were of brick and stone. McCrady says in his "History of South Carolina Under Proprietary Government" that "until 1717 there were few houses at Charles Town out side the fortifications In that year the fortifications on the West, North and South sides were dismanteled and demolished to enlarge the town,- which now began to spread out on the North across the creek, which ran where the market now stands, and on the West be- yond what is now Meeting Street. There are but three build- ings in the City of Charleston of which there are any historical authorities for believing that they were built during the Proprietary Government." These are supposed to be found on the lower part of Church Street, just below Tradd. None of these houses are very large. In this present volume the presentation of Charleston houses is confined to several very well known establishments of a much later date.
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