I am always amused to read the dire weather predictions as to how some new hurricane is going to wash #Charleston away. There have been numerous significant storms that have struck this coastal city over its 349-year history, and yet buildings such as the 1850’s structure pictured, the Porcher-Simonds House, which overlooks the harbor and the Atlantic Ocean, are still standing strong. Yes, there have been fallen trees and power lines and flooded streets at times, but Charleston has always come back to life very quickly. In 1989, Charleston was the bullseye for category 4 Hurricane Hugo, but there were no houses in the old city that were washed away, and I was walking along the Battery the next morning in sunshine. It is well-advised to be prepared for some loss of power and to move away from low-lying barrier islands, but no need to evacuate homes on high ground that have seen storms of all kinds many times before. Tourists are often told the erroneous story that the house in the picture was a compromise design between a wife and husband. That is completely untrue, as the house was an antebellum structure modified in the 1890’s to look Victorian, and I point out similar looks in houses elsewhere on the tour. <img.src=”Charleston History” alt=”Hurricane Legacy
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