The Real “Three Sisters”

It is understandable that facts, dates and landmarks get confused with all the telling of Charleston tales. One of the most common is the story of “The Three Sisters”. People are often told that three 18th century pastel single-house structures on lower Meeting Street were called the Three Sisters because of their similarity in style, and that their varying colors represent the hair of the sisters. Great story, but completely untrue. The Three Sisters were single-houses distinguished by their almost identical look, but nowhere near lower Meeting and built much later. The three houses stood at 37, 39, and 41 Calhoun Street, just east of East Bay Street, and were built in the 1840’s. This was an area once known as “French Town” for the nationality of business owners in what was not a terribly high-rent district, and commonly used for taverns and brothels in the vicinity of shipping wharves.
One of the buildings had been converted to a liquor store, which was still hanging on in the early 1960’s, when the old buildings were very uncared for and rundown. Owned and leased by the Washington Realty Company at that time, the tax on the buildings was higher than the rent they brought in, so the company petitioned the Board of Architectural Review to have the Three Sisters demolished and they were torn down in January, 1964, and the lots made into a parking lot.
A much less romantic look and tale than the colorful houses on Meeting Street, but a tale that nevertheless is the truthful version.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *