Branford-Horry House

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Branford-Horry House
Branford-Horry House.jpg
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Location59 Meeting St., Charleston, South Carolina
Coordinates 32°46′28″N79°55′53″W / 32.77444°N 79.93139°W / 32.77444; -79.93139
Built1767
Architectural styleGeorgian
NRHP reference No. 70000573 [1]
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1970

The Branford-Horry House is located at 59 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina. [2] The house is unusual for its piazza, which extends over the public sidewalk. [3] The house holds both an exterior and interior historic preservation easement by the Preservation Society of Charleston. [4]

Contents

Description

The 6,216 square foot, three-story house of stuccoed brick has four bedrooms and five baths. [5] Its features include interior cypress paneling, a carved mahogany mantelpiece, french doors, cornice details, and a carved wooden staircase. [5] A cypress-paneled second-floor drawing room, carved by artisan Henry Burnett, [4] is said to be "one of the most distinguished 18th-century rooms in America." [6] A brick courtyard with fountain is located on the property. [5] A two-story piazza extends over the sidewalk, with five columns supporting a pediment. [7]

History

The house was built after 1751, when William Branford married Elizabeth Savage, who had inherited the corner parcel from her uncle Benjamin Savage. Upon her death in 1801, the home was inherited by Ann Branford and her husband Thomas Horry. [8] During the 1750s, the property included a carriage house and several outbuildings. [7] According to the 1790 census, eight white people and thirty-four enslaved people lived in the complex. [7]

The front piazza, built over the sidewalk, was added by Branford's grandson, Elias Horry, in about 1830. [9] Horry served as mayor of Charleston from 1815-1817, during which time the house served as the mayoral mansion. [4]

Preservationist Eliza D. Simons Kammerer owned the house from the 1940s to the 1960s, conducting an extensive restoration of the interior. [4] She brought national attention to the home. [4] The house was showcased in a National Geographic article in 1939. [4]

The house was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. [1]

In 1988, a speeding car crashed into the house, knocking out two of the columns and sending one into the front door of the house. [10]

Author Edward Ball stayed at the Branford-Horry House while researching his 1998 book Slaves in the Family. [7] In the book, he describes the mansion as "run-down and neglected" after its owners had defaulted on a mortgage. [7] He refers to the rooms as "moldering, the air thick and bacterial" with "peeling paint and water-stained plaster" and "beige stucco that was cracked and chipping." [7]

The house was extensively rehabilitated in 2001-2002 "in a historically accurate manner, except modernizing kitchen and bathrooms." [11] Interior and exterior historic preservation easements were granted in 2002 and 2004. [4] In 2018, the home, in "exquisitely preserved" condition, sold for $6.2 million. [5]

In about 1900, the two dependencies in the side yard to the north (closer to the photographer) could still be seen. 59-61 Meeting c. 1900.jpg
In about 1900, the two dependencies in the side yard to the north (closer to the photographer) could still be seen.

Today (Nov. 2025), it remains privately owned. [12]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ↑ Fant, Mrs. James W. (August 29, 1970). "Branford-Horry House" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  3. ↑ Stockton, Robert (September 15, 1975). "Additions Give House 'Zip'". Charleston News & Courier. pp. B1. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "59 Meeting Street: The Branford-Horry House" (PDF). Charleston Real Estate. William Means Real Estate. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 18, 2025. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Ro, Lauren (February 7, 2018). "1750s colonial with exquisite original details asks $6.2M in Charleston". Curbed. Christie’s International Real Estate. Archived from the original on January 18, 2025. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  6. ↑ Hunt, Stephanie (December 14, 2023). "A Historic Charleston Residence Rediscovers Its Youth—and, Yes, It Still Has Swag-and-Tail Curtains". Veranda. Archived from the original on December 24, 2024. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ball, Edward (2001). Slaves in the family. New York, NY: Ballantine Books. pp. 16–18. ISBN   0345431057.
  8. ↑ Smith, Alice R. Huger; Smith, D.E. Huger (2007). The Dwelling Houses of Charleston. Charleston: The History Press. pp. 58–64. ISBN   9781596292611.
  9. ↑ "Branford-Horry House, Charleston County (59 Meeting St., Charleston)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  10. ↑ Sosnowski, Chris (June 1, 1988). "Man In Critical Condition After Car Runs Into Historic Charleston Home". Charleston News & Courier. pp. 7B. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
  11. ↑ Keyes, Glenn. "William Means Branford-Horry House 2002 restoration" (PDF). Charleston Real Estate. William Means Real Estate. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 18, 2025. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  12. ↑ https://www.redfin.com/SC/Charleston/59-Meeting-St-29401/home/68900690?msockid=2718a1415ee06c1f027fb5065fe26dca

Further reading

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