Calhoun’s Moving Grave

IMG_2323John C. Calhoun’s grave in St. Philip’s Episcopal Church western cemetery is the source of many a unique historic legend and mystery. Calhoun, who was born in Abbeville, South Carolina, was buried at St. Philip’s in 1850, despite the fact that he was a Calvinist who attended the Huguenot Church when in Charleston.

Calhoun died in Washington DC, and was initially buried there, but was exhumed and returned to Charleston with a grand funeral parade and was buried in the western, or “stranger’s graveyard”, which got its nickname from a 1760’s decision by the congregation to set aside a section for those who died here while on visits or business – because in those days they didn’t ship the bodies home. This adds to the flavor of a curious incident during the Civil War, when Calhoun’s body was exhumed and placed in an unmarked part of the eastern graveyard as a precaution against desecration by Union troops. Known as the “friendly graveyard”,  from the legend that this part is reserved for members of the congregation born in Charleston, the eastern side would only hold Calhoun until after the war, when, again according to legend, it was decided the man from Abbeville should be in with the “strangers”. In the 1880’s, Calhoun’s body was moved again to its current site and the massive monument that bears his name.

In the 1960’s, there was a rumor that Calhoun had been dug up again, this time by a group called STORCH, “striving to return Calhoun home”, who wanted him to join his wife Floride at her grave site in the upstate.     Probes were made and the grave proved to be undisturbed, but poor old John C. Calhoun may not be completely at rest, considering how much fuss has been made over moving and locating his grave.

Poinsettia A Charleston Name

IMG_2330The #Poinsettia that is such a Christmas tradition gets its name from a Charlestonian – Joel Roberts Poinsett. He was a Charleston attorney who was very fond of plants and trees, and created a massive garden in the upper peninsula that became known as Poinsett’s Grove. He was apparently a brilliant man who enjoyed the company of great thinkers, and was known for hosting breakfasts, at which ideas were offered and discussed with great scholarly detail. With a reputation as a scholar, a jurist, an elected congressman, and fluent in various languages, Poinsett became a trusted diplomat, and was appointed by President John Quicy Adams as ambassador to the newly-independent Mexico in 1825.

Poinsett was as interested in Mexican plants as politics, and became enamored of the fiery-red blooming shrub known Flor de Fuego, or Fire Flower, as well as Flor de Noche Buena, or the Christmas Eve Flower. It’s scientific name is Euphorbia Pulcherrima, but has been known as the Poinsettia since Joel Roberts brought the plant back to his grove and cultivated it as a Christmas ornamental flower, and by the 1840’s, it became known as the Poinsettia. It is one of the most recognized plants in the world today, but few know how it got its name. It is pronounced “poyn-Setta” for the benefit those TV football commentators who pronounce the Poinsettia Bowl game with an “eeah”.<img src=”Charleston Gardens” alt=”Historic Charleston”>

Trouche Family Mystery

IMG_2246This painting is, according to family history, a portrait of my great-great-great-great grandfather and his young son. We know the son’s name was Auguste Paul Trouche, and that he lived from 1803-1846, but sadly, there is

complete mystery as to the older Mr. Trouche’s name and life. According to family stories, the Trouche family arrived in Charleston about 1792, as French immigrants fleeing the uprisings in Saint Domingue in the aftermath of the French Revolution. There is no record of anyone in the city by that name until 1806, when the city directory lists a “Madame Trouche” as a refugee. Perhaps she survived the uprising with her infant son, and Mr. Trouche died in Saint Domingue.

Auguste would become a skilled artists, whose work is still displayed in the Gibbes Museum of Art. According to one of the past museum directors, the artistic skill of Auguste was unlikely to have been learned in Charleston at the time, and the style of his oil landscapes on canvas was very much in vogue in early 19th-century Paris.

This makes me wonder whether the family may have been separated by the events in the Caribbean, and that perhaps Auguste and his father returned to France and the younger man came to America later. There is also the possibility that Auguste’s age is recorded wrong, because the painting seems to be late 18th century with Mr. Trouche’s powdered whig. Another peculiar fact is that when Madam Trouche died in 1843, she was 86 years old, which, if Auguste was really born in 1803, means she would have given birth to him when she was 46 years old, which was very unusual in those days, so perhaps he was her grandson.

Quel mystere!

Majestic Manigault House

IMG_2288The Joseph Manigault House stands majestically as one of Charleston’s most fascinating tourist attractions at the corner of Meeting and John streets in the historic Mazyck-Wraggborough neighborhood – a far cry from the house’s situation a century ago.

Completed in 1803 as a “garden villa” overlooking open meadows in the Charleston peninsula “neck”, the grand Adam-style house was an exquisite design completed by local architect Gabriel Manigault for his brother Joseph, a wealthy rice planter.

Distinctive features of the Adam style, also known as Federal style, is the focus on unusual color, which has been meticulously restored in the house,  open for public visitation as part of the Charleston Museum.  Another noteworthy detail is the sense of spaciousness created by a grand central staircase built in elliptical shape.

Like many Charleston houses, the structure fell on hard times after the War Between the States, deteriorating badly as the surrounding area gave way to factories and rail lines. By 1922, the property was sold to the Standard Oil Company, which turned the grounds into a filling station, and the beautiful Gate Temple entrance was converted into a restroom.

The Depression ended the gas station venture, and in 1933, the house faced possible demolition when the Charleston Museum purchased it in a public auction.

During War World Two, it was leased to the federal government as a women’s USO club.

Today, the house is beautifully restored and displayed, with features that include a stunning garden and an opulent interior that still dazzles visitors year after year.

Charleston’s Most Unusual Church Story

IMG_2309It was almost Charleston’s grandest church, and now its congregation hangs on to an aging, faded structure that never matched the original design.

Begun in 1859 as St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on Charlotte Street, the massive Gothic Revival concept of famed Charleston architect Francis D. Lee was to have a 210-foot steeple and stucco facade over exquisite brick details. The church was not finished when the Civil War began, and money intended for its finish details was diverted to the defense of the city, so the spire and stucco never were added.

Changes in the city demographics by 1950 saw the congregation badly dwindled, and they joined St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on Coming Street. The old building was sold to black parishioners and became the New

Tabernacle Fourth Baptist Church, a congregation first established by Rev. Daniel Jenkins, who would achieve great fame as creator of the #Jenkins Orphanage Band.

Today, weeds grow from the old bricks, and the small congregation hangs on to a faded remnant of antebellum Charleston, in what is one of the most undiscovered areas of the historic city. <img src=”famous landmarks” alt=”Holy City”>

Elegance In Elliottborough

IMG_2314One of the most impressive buildings in Charleston is located in one of the city’s most unlikely places – the corner of Coming and Spring streets. This grand Roman Revival structure towers over the corner atop a high raised basement, with a frontal colonnade of two-story Corinthian columns and a pedimented roof. Designed by Charleston architects Barbot and Seyle and opened in 1858 as the Spring Street Methodist Church, the historic building quickly fell on hard times. During the Civil War, it was used as a field hospital for Confederate soldiers, because it was located out of range of the Federal bombarding guns and had a sizeable cistern with plenty of water. When the Confederates evacuated, the Federal occupying troops also used it as a hospital, and carried away anything that wasn’t nailed down as war trophies.

Following the Civil War, many inhabitants left the Elliottborough neighborhood, and it became a low-income area as buildings fell into disrepair. The church’s congregation dwindled over the years, and the building was in bad shape after damage from Hurricane Hugo when it was rescued by California philanthropist David Karpeles, who converted it into a manuscript museum.

Today, the Karpeles Manuscript Museum is open to the public weekdays, Tuesday-Friday from 11am to 4pm, and features rotating collections of manuscripts and artifacts that may range from Colonial American documents to Egyptian hieroglyphs to Italian opera compositions, and much more.

Assistant director Roy Smith is a very affable host for visitors, and has a wealth of knowledge of the building, its displays and the history of Charleston. It’s worth a visit just to step up on the grand portico and enjoy this classic structure that has stood through thick and thin here in Charleston.

Famous Charleston Second Is First

IMG_2306Second Presbyterian Church was completed in 1811 at Meeting Street and Ashmead Place, three years before the current First Presbyterian Church was built at Meeting and Tradd as a replacement for a structure built there in 1734. So in terms of historic rank among the Presbyterian congregations, the Second is the first and the First is the third. Second Prez, as it is commonly referred to, was designed originally with a Georgian-Palladian spire, but the scale of the structure was so massive that money ran out, and all that was built was a tower and lantern section above the enormous two-story portico. Still, the lantern is among the highest church structures in the old city, and built atop a slope whose base stands more than six feet above Meeting Street, Second Presbyterian stands out clearly when viewing the city from the harbor or the Ravenel Bridge.

When constructed, the church lay outside the boundaries of the old city in what was then called “The Neck”. Situated equidistant from the city Guard House on Broad Street and the nine ammunition magazine buildings on Laurel Island along the Cooper River in 1827, the Second Presbyterian lantern was put into service for sending signals back and forth in replenishing ordnance and gunpowder from the neck to the city defenses.

It was also high enough to be used as a marker for mariners working their way up the Cooper River, and there are references to “Flinn’s Church” in 19th century maritime accounts. According the the 1882 city directory, Second Presbyterian was also known as Flinn’s Church, presumably because of its first pastor, Andrew Flinn.

The church is the 4th oldest in historic Charleston, and today adorns the beautiful Mazck-Wraggborough neighborhood north of Calhoun Street, where the streets are wide and quiet, and pleasant walks can be made under giant oaks and among fountains and flowers. Nearby are the famous Joseph Manigault House and the statuesque Fourth Tabernacle First Baptist Church.

The Citadel – A Charleston Classic

IMG_2261One of the most beautiful and storied college campuses in America can be found at The Citadel. It is a remarkable spectacle – located along the scenic Ashley River with statuesque buildings, uniformed cadets on parade, booming cannons, and a tradition of military service comparable to West Point and Annapolis. Founded in 1842 as the South Carolina Military Academy, the military school was first located in downtown Charleston at Marion Square, but moved to its present location in 1922. The grandeur of the crenelated barracks along the famed Avenue of Remembrance is lined with military aircraft, tanks, missiles and guns, symbolizing the service of Citadel Cadets from the Civil War to the present.

One of the truly hidden gems of Charleston is the Citadel Museum on campus, featuring artifacts, pictures, uniforms, weapons, medals and momentos throughout the school’s highly-decorated past. One of the most amazing displays is the giant “Stainless Banner” that flew over the garrison at fortifications in Charleston Harbor, where Citadel cadets distinguished themselves as expert artillerists, commanding guns that helped keep Charleston uncaptured throughout the Civil War.

Best of all, the Citadel Museum and a visit to the campus is completely free. Simply drive in and enjoy the spectacle of Summerall Field and the Avenue of Remembrance, where Friday afternoon parades are very popular. To find out days and times of the parades, go on line at www.citadel.eduHomeVisit The Citadel.

Save Charleston’s Grace

IMG_2216The proposed new Clemson Architectural Center in historic Ansonborough is an atrocious design that resembles a sagging mattress made of glass. The defenders of this design say this is consistent with traditional Charleston architectural innovation, but that is simply not true.

Charleston is graced with classic designs such as the details shown here of the William Blacklock House on Bull Street. The Blacklock house was built around 1800 in a style that was innovative for its day – the Adam style that is also know as Federal style. Rather than deviate from tradition, the Adam style enhanced it, with elaborate detail meant to show off the skill of artisans in wood, iron and plaster. The brothers Robert and James Adam patterned the style after the beautiful details of late Roman and Greek classics, such as the Pantheon, where aesthetics were considered the ultimate in building achievement.

There is nothing aesthetic about the proposed Clemson structure, which is bulky, boxy and totally out of character with the historic Ansonborough neighborhood, which was mostly built in Greek Revival style after the Charleston fire of 1838. One of the greatest buildings in Charleston history was built just down the street in 1839 – the grand Charleston Hotel. That exquisite structure, with its 14 two-story Corinthian columns on a massive raised basement, was destroyed in 1962 to build another “innovative” building, the squat brick Heart of Charleston Motor Hotel.

The old city should have learned a lesson then, and fortunately, the Clemson center was not built.

Compelling Charleston

IMG_2110Charleston SC is blessed with just about everything appealing to visitors, and is a great place to tour in October, or any month during the year for that matter. The beaches and barrier islands are beautiful in the Fall with Monarch Butterflies and sea oats swaying above sand dunes. Golfers love the championship courses that have views of ocean front, tidal creek and maritime forest. Excellent restaurants are everywhere and not as crowded this time of year, there are outstanding hotels and inns, such as the Rutledge House Inn(pictured) at 116 Broad Street, once home to Constitution signer John Rutledge, and the Simmons Bed and Breakfast at 15 Church Street, located in a wonderful antebellum house that was once home to noted Charleston philanthropist Amarinthia Yates Snowden. Of course, it’s a great time to see plantations, museum houses and local parks, and all are hopeful that government issues get sorted out to reopen the gates at Fort Sumter National Historic Site. The Preservation Society of Charleston is currently hosting its annual Fall Tour of Private Homes and Gardens, and the Dock Street Theatre is offering a Charleston Stage production of Sherlock Holmes.

With moderate temperatures and long days of sunshine in this shoulder season, it’s an ideal time to join me on a walking tour or just to wander the scenic streets of this elegant, historic city. Enjoy the Fall blooms such as Cassia and Plumbago, watch the talented Sweetgrass weavers work their magic with colorful baskets, marvel at the grand church steeples, the intricate wrought iron, the fables cobblestones, and the distinctive piazzas and porticoes.

There are miles of contiguous historic district with opulent houses and flourishing gardens, a grand waterfront promenade along the famous Battery witnessing Charleston Harbor filled with dolphins, sailboats and pelicans, and a welcoming attitude among Charlestonians known for their gracious Southern hospitality.