This version of the state seal of South Carolina is at the #WashingtonLightInfantry monument in Washington Square. The seal was created in 1776 with the declaration of South Carolina’s independence from England, and this version shows mythical figures representing the citizenry beside the two ovals with Latin versions of the state motto. On the left, the Palmetto tree with the inscription “Animis Opibusque Parati”, meaning “prepared in mind and resources” and on the right, the Greek goddess Spes, meaning hope, and the inscription “Dum Spiro Spero”, while I breathe I hope. We walk past version of the state seal on my tour. <img.src=”South Carolina History” alt=”State Seal”
Category: Curiosities
Bondage Badges
One of the most unusual artifacts from the slavery era are the copper badges that slaves would wear like a necklace when being hired out to work for someone else. The slave hire system began early in the history of #Charleston, as a brisk slave trade from West Africa increased population of those in servitude from just a few hundred in 1700 to more than 12,000 by 1720. Because some slaveowners eventually had more slaves than there was work for them to do, the hiring system became a common method of earning revenue from someone else who needed slave labor. The city of Charleston regulated the hiring system by at first issuing paper tickets that owners would purchase and slaves would carry, but the more durable copper badge became the accepted method by the 19th century. Each badge was stamped with an identification number, a date, and the skill for which the slave was hired. The more common badges were for unskilled positions such as servants and porters, but many slaves were also hired as apprentices in carpentry, ironwork and other trades, and because those badges were less common, today they are much more coveted as collectors items. We pass a collector’s shop on the tour, where guest can see and hold version of the badges. <img.src=”Slave Trade” alt=”Slave Badges”
Twisted Tale
As in any historic city, #CharlestonSC has its share of commonly-told legends and stories that are completely erroneous. One historic architectural detail that is consistently misrepresented is the twisted rope motif carved in wood around historic doorways. The most persistent tale is that the rope image represented the fact that the house was owned by a merchant, who presumably dealt in goods such as ropes. In truth, there is no symbolism in the rope motif at all, it is simply an exquisite detail that was very coveted in historic times before powered lathes and saws, when the skill of the artisan was on display. This detail has been used since the ancient Greeks to decorate doorways and the same helix shape was used throughout ancient Europe in columns as well, what is called a Solomonic Column. The rope motif is typically cut from a single piece of wood that, in historic times, was worked with rasp and chisel as the piece was slowly turned. Some helixes are more tightly-spaced than others and can be either left-handed or right-handed in spiral. Expertly done, the wooden spiral motif is a thing of beauty, and that is the only meaning it really has. <img src=”Charleston Architecture” alt=”Rope Spiral Doorways
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Curious Cupola
The John Ashe Alston House on #South Battery Street was completed shortly after the Revolutionary War and features a design that was very much in style at the time, including the distinctive cupola on the top. Cupola means “dome” in Italian, and was a detail originating from the Roman and Greek styles and made popular by Andreas Palladio in his “Four Books of Architecture” published in the 16th century, which influenced American builders and architects for many years. The idea of this centrally-located feature was both aesthetic and functional, gracing the looks of the building and allowing hot air to be released from within. This particular cupola also has a legend that it was used as a navigation light in the days when it faced South Bay, which was filled by the 1840’s to create White Point Garden. <img src=”Charleston Architecture” alt=”John Ashe Alston House ”>
Quintessential Queen
The eye-catching look of #Two Meeting Street Inn is very unique to Charleston in its very distinctive Queen Anne Style. This type of Victorian-era architecture was based on details that had become popular in the early 1700’s when Anne was Queen of England. What is notable are the asymmetrical shapes and bulging windows with rounded glass and extended spandrels, as well as gable roofing and wooden fish-scale cladding. The circa 1902 house was built as the honeymoon home of Waring Carrington and Martha Williams Carrington. According to legend the money came from a cash wedding gift of $75,000 given by Martha’s father George Walton Williams, a local banker who had built the Williams (now Calhoun) Mansion farther up Meeting Street, who reportedly left the money under Martha’s pillow. The house is now a popular inn, and surely guests must hope they’ll find a gift from the ghost of Mr. Williams under their pillows.<img src=”Charleston Architecture” alt=”Two Meeting Street Inn
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Brand’s Brand
Charleston Artist Hampton Brand can paint on canvas or paper, but his preferred surface is slate. From his little shop in a colonial-era building on #East Bay Street, Brand creates amazing likenesses of historic, houses, gates, windows and doorways on the slates he uses. He is a natural, who had no formal artistic training, but clearly has an eye for detail and beauty in capturing some of Charleston’s most memorable landmarks and hidden gems. <img src=”Charleston Arts” alt=”Slate Paintings ”>
Longitude Landmark
Of the many old alleys that still grace historic #Charleston today, Longitude Lane certainly has the most interesting stories. Named for its east-west direction as longitude is measured, it once led to a massive cotton press factory built along the lane in 1853, where cotton bales were compressed to fit them in greater numbers on ships for export. And because the old cotton wagons would sometimes try t squeeze through the narrow west entrance, a bollard was placed there to prevent it. For many years, the bollard was an old Revolutionary War cannon planted muzzle down. But the city of Charleston announced plans to remove the gun to a public display, starting a battle with residents that infamously became known as the “War of Longitude Lane”. <img src=”Famous Charleston Streets” alt=”Historic Alley ”>
Southern Stonehenge
The bollards that grace lower Church Street are frequently misrepresented as being once used to tie boats plying an old creek that historically flowed near this spot. But in truth, the bollards were always used as a barrier or buffer to vehicle traffic in the days of carts and wagons. Horse-drawn vehicles can easily sway laterally and bang into structures, especially in a bending street such as this and property owners often put up bollards to keep the wagons and carts from smashing walls or gates. These bollards today are used mostly by wedding photographers, as #Charleston has become such a wedding event destination, and brides-to-be like the combination of winding street, leaning bollards and historic house and gate. <img src=”famous landmarks” alt=”historic streets”>
Revolution Remembrances
The John Stuart House on Tradd Street is one of the most storied houses in #Historic Charleston. Built in the 1760’s by Stuart, a Scottish immigrant who played a huge role in resolving conflicts with native Cherokees and whose house features a combination of historic wooden siding – beaded weatherboard on the sides and rear as well as shiplap on the front. But the most famous story involving the house occurred in the Spring of 1780, during the Revolution, when British forces were besieging Charleston. According to this legendary tale, officers of the 2nd South Carolina regiment defending the city met in the house to discuss strategy, finishing the meeting with heavy drinking, when one officer Francis Marion, a Calvinist who did not drink alcohol, refused to participate and when reverted from leaving, leapt from a window to escape, breaking his ankle. Retiring to his rural plantation to recuperate, Marion also escaped capture when the British took the city in May, 1780. He would recover and lead forces against the British from the swamps of coastal South Carolina, and famously became known as the “Swamp Fox”, eventually helping drive the English from South Carolina.<img src=”famous houses” alt=”Swamp Fox”>
Cobblestone Collection
The cobblestone streets of Charleston are very picturesque with stones of various sizes and shapes that are easy on the eye, but hard on the driver. Cobblestones are erosion-formed igneous rocks that get their name from the old English term “cob”, which is a lump. They should be distinguished from cut Belgian blocks, which can be found on other streets. These stones originally came in the bottom of sailing ships, as what is called ballast, that kept ships upright in the wind. But ship owners wanted as much valuable cargo in the ships that docked in Charleston in the sailing era, and often dumped the cobblestones on the wharves. Charleston was happy to have them, because we have no natural rock on the coast, and they were used to fill in lowlands and muddy streets. At one time, Charleston had 10 miles of #cobblestone streets, but today only 5 through-streets are surfaced in cobblestone. <img src=”Charleston curiosities” alt=”cobblestone streets”>