2. Harleston Village –Area Character Appraisal
Harleston Village is located in the heart of the Downtown Charleston
peninsula. Following the creation of the first Charleston suburb, Ansonborough, in
16961, Harleston Village was Charleston’s second and more prominent residential
suburb. Created from land granted to Henry Hughes and John Coming in 1961-622,
Harleston Village was built on the 17 acres of peninsular land left to Coming’s wife,
Affra Harleston Coming, following his death. This land covered the east portion to St.
Philip’s parish as “glebe” land (land titled to a church) while the northeastern
portion became the “Free School” lands which later became the College of
Charleston in the year of 17703. Harleston Village today includes these two sections
with the addition of the Mazyck lands located South of Beaufain St. and Wragg’s
pasture bound by St. Philip, King, Calhoun and Beaufain Streets. Affra Harleston
Coming died about the year of 1699. In her will, dated 28 Dec 1698, Affra
bequeathed her estate to her nephews John Harleston and Elias Ball, to be divided
equally between them4.
In 1770, John Harleston divided Harleston Village into lots along streets
which he named after important American Liberty men such as: American rights
1 "Ansonborough Real Estate | Charleston SC Homes for Sale." Ansonborough Charleston SC
Real Estate. N.p.,n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2014. <http://www.locountry.com/ansonborough.html>.
2 "CCPL - Charleston County Public Library - South, Carolina." CCPL - Charleston County
Public Library - South, Carolina.N.p.,n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
<http://ccpl.org/content.asp?id=15842&action=detail&catID=6062&parentID=6046>.
3 Poston, Jonathan H. The Buildings of Charleston: A Guide to the City's Architecte. Columbia,
SC: U of South Carolina, 1997. Print.
4 "Affra Harleston." Low Country Africana Affra Harleston Comments. N.p.,n.d. Web. 24 Nov.
2014. <http://www.lowcountryafricana.com/affra-harleston/>.
3. defender William Pitt, South Carolina Assembly members John Rutledge, Thomas
Lynch, and Christopher Gadsden, and Customs Collector/member of the Governor’s
Council Hector Beringer De Beaufain. With the opening of Glebe Street in 1797, 37
lots became open for lease with most still in the hands of the perish. The present day
Glebe lands contain a few pre-revolutionary dwellings such as the Minister’s (now
Bishop’s) House on 89 Wentworth Street with only a few pre-1775 homes
remaining5.
As previously mentioned, Harleston Village is located on the central Eastern
side of the Charleston Peninsula. Harleston village is bounded on the North by the
South side of Calhoun Street and bounded on the South by the North side of Broad
Street. From the East, Harleston Village is bounded by the Western side of king
street and ends on the West at Lockwood Drive (the western edge of the peninsula).
In this relatively square area of the peninsula, 9 streets laid out in a grid style, run
through the center of the village. These include Wentworth, Montagu, and Bull
Streets running from the East to West, and Pitt, Coming, Smith, Rutledge, Lynch
(Now named Ashley), Gadsden, and Barre Streets running from the North to South6.
The neighborhood that is Harleston Village has evolved considerably over
the time of its existence. With the exception of its industrial history of Thomas
Bennett Sr. and Daniel Cannon’s lumber mill in the late 18th century on the western
side of the neighborhood, Harleston Village owes much of its development to its
5 Poston, Jonathan H. The Buildings of Charleston: A Guide to the City's Architecte. Columbia,
SC: U of South Carolina, 1997. Print.
6 "The Downtown Charleston Neighborhoods: Harleston Village." Charleston SC Real Estate
Blog. N.p.,n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2014. <http://www.carolinajoe.com/blog/index.cfm/2010/6/9/The-
Downtown-Charleston-Neighborhoods---Part-1>.
4. diverse population. Harleston Village was built on the highest portion of land on the
peninsula and meant to be mainly residential. The College of Charleston attracted a
small professorial group to the neighborhood while Charleston’s antebellum
intellectuals also lived there including essayist and poet Hugh Swinton Legare,
author William Rivers, and progressive leader Christopher Gustavus Memminger.
Coming St., starting from the north of the peninsula and ending at Beaufain St.,
became the most popular street for Charleston’s “Free Black” (Mulatto Elites as they
called themselves) population in the years before 18617. The first census, in 1790,
found 8,089 white persons, 7,684 slaves, and 586 free blacks in Charleston. This
tells us that very early in Charleston's history free blacks constituted nearly 3.6% of
the city's population. By 1861 free blacks comprised 7.8% of Charleston's
population8. This growing population of free blacks before the Civil War shows how
progressive of a city Charleston was and added a lot to its diversity and culture
compared to any other South Carolina city.
One major urban planning event that impacted Harleston Village significantly
(and positively) was the filling of Bennett Mill Pond between 1880 and 19009. This
allowed for an extension of Rutledge and Ashley (Lynch) Avenues, which gave rise
to the creation of Cannon Park. Numerous new lots became available and
development occurred around the new public space including the famous Colonial
7 Poston, Jonathan H. The Buildings of Charleston: A Guide to the City's Architecte. Columbia,
SC: U of South Carolina, 1997. Print.
8 "Charleston SC Free Blacks – A Demographic Overview." South Carolina SC.N.p.,n.d. Web.
24 Nov. 2014. <http://www.sciway.net/hist/chicora/freepersons.html>.
9 "CCPL - Charleston County Public Library - South, Carolina." CCPL - Charleston County
Public Library - South, Carolina.N.p.,n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
<http://ccpl.org/content.asp?id=15649&action=detail&catID=6026&parentID=5747>.
5. Lake, which has brought the city much positive attention. Also, the Harleston Green
Club, the first organized golf club in America played their first game in this area of
Harleston Village. Evolution of the village continued into the 20th century with the
filling of areas after World War II along the Ashley River. The College of Charleston
has had a major impact in the development of Harleston Village. The college has
expanded across the Glebe lands and into the eastern end of Harleston Village. Over
the years, The College of Charleston has restored numerous buildings across the
campus, closed streets such as College and Green Streets, and demolished buildings
along St. Philip and George Streets.
Since its creation in 1770, Harleston Village has gone through thousands of
redevelopment, preservation/restoration, and urban planning projects. Dating back
to May of 1961, all property west of coming street, through east side of Rutledge to
South side of Calhoun to broad, was available for commercial uses. According to a
flyer entitled “Selling Out” found in the Harleston Village vertical file at the
Charleston County Public Library, apparently the residents of Harleston Village did
not think this was a fantastic idea. “…the signatures of more than 200 property
owners who have requested the re-classification of this area from “B” to “A”
residential should be the first and most important consideration of the authorities.
Who knows more about the proper use of a building than the man who owns it?10”
This flyer is significant to understanding the city preservation initiatives because it
shows the expressed concern of development by the residents of this area and how
10 Postand Courier article fromMay 1961 found in the CCPL South Carolina History Room
vertical file.
6. an influx of commerce and industry would impact the “A” classification of the
residential neighborhood.
Also found in the Harleston Village Vertical File was a Post and Courier
article from May 14th, 2008 entitled “30 new Homes for Old City.” This article
discussed the proposal from Developer Warren Irving’s plans of the construction of
30 new homes on the old Lumber yard property by Alberta Long Lake ranging in
size from 2,500 to 4,000 square feet of heated area. “Irving has worked with Atlanta-
based Summerour & Associates Architects Inc. to design a project he feels is in
keeping with Harleston Village.” Irving’s plans received very much positive feedback
from the community and the Harleston Village Neighborhood Association.
A newer concern in the city stems from an ordinance amending the city's
zoning regulations to add a new section, Section 54-946 “Regulating Government-
Initiated Downzoning.” The ordinance would require the City of Charleston to “pay
property owners compensation in the amount of the reduction in fair market value
of real property caused by any future, new or amended zoning ordinances and land
use regulations, even if those values end up rising later.11”
Since 1931, the City has been managed through a planning and zoning
ordinance that included the nation's first historic preservation ordinance that
became a model for the nation. Over time, the zoning ordinance has changed as
Charleston has changed. The historic districts have expanded; new ideas such as
height ordinances have emerged; the locations of hotels are regulated; the hours of
11 "Preservation Society of Charleston South Carolina." Preservation Society of Charleston South
Carolina. N.p.,n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.preservationsociety.org/program_currentdetail.asp?icID=65>.
7. operation of certain businesses are restricted; the uses of properties are controlled
to ensure compatibility with adjacent properties and neighborhoods12. All
neighborhoods in the Historic District of Charleston all remain under the same law.
The Urban Design and Preservation division is responsible for administration of the
Board of Architectural Review (BAR) within Charleston’s historic districts and
Landmark Overlay properties. It investigates new proposed projects and violations
of the preservation ordinance within that purview. The division is also responsible
for the administration of the Design Review Board (DRB), which oversees the design
and alterations of properties outside the city’s historic districts. The Urban Design
and Preservation division assists and offers guidance for the community on matters
of historic preservation and urban design13.
The Architectural aspect of Harleston Village is relatively diverse.
Throughout the early 19th century, lots were divided from larger tracts and
dwellings, mostly of the single house plan, were constructed. In the 1840s and
1850s, Harleston Village experienced an Architectural boom with the construction
of many residences in Greek revival, Gothic, Italianate, antebellum/neoclassical and
Georgian styles based on side-hall, double parlor plans14. One of the few rows of
townhouses in Charleston, Bee’s Row, was constructed on Bull Street. Churches such
as the Grace Episcopal Church built on St. Michael’s portion of the Glebe lands, and
12 "Preservation Society of Charleston South Carolina." Preservation Society of Charleston South
Carolina. N.p.,n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.preservationsociety.org/program_currentdetail.asp?icID=65>.
13 "Welcome to an Engaged Community." Charleston, SC. N.p.,n.d. Web. 24 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.charleston-sc.gov/index.aspx?nid=292>.
14 Poston, Jonathan H. The Buildings of Charleston: A Guide to the City's Architecte. Columbia,
SC: U of South Carolina, 1997. Print.
8. the Old Bethel United Methodist Church marked the North and South boundaries of
the neighborhood. Postbellum industrialists, following the lead of William Ashmead
Courtenay, often lived in Harleston Village either retrofitting old homes with
Victorian details and materials or constructing new residences. There are a myriad
of significant buildings and dwellings in the Harleston Village neighborhood. Some
include the Old City Jail on Frankin Street, the Minister’s (bishop’s) House at 87-89
Wentworth St. (connected homes), the William Blacklock House at 18 Bull St., the
Isaac Jenkins Mikell House at 94 Rutledge, and the College of Charleston’s Randolph
Hall, all of which were built in a melting pot of different styles/cultures during a
wide range of generations and have greatly impacted this city and the world of
preservation.
9. Appendix
Maps:
Parks/ Landmarks:
Google Map of Harleston Village’s present
day boundaries
Halsey Map drawing of Harleston Village
including Harleston Land, Glebe land, free
school land, Wragg’s Pasture, and Mazyck
land
Colonial Lake built after the filling of
Bennett Mill Pond between Rutledge
and Ashley avenues
Cannon Park on Rutledge Avenue. Also the site of the
Charleston Museum, which mysteriously burned
down in October 1981
The Old City Jail at 21 Magazine St., which was
operational from1802 until 1939, housed
Charleston's most infamous criminals, and
then during the Civil War, Federal prisoners of
war.
10. Churches:
Important Buildings/ Dwellings:
Grace Episcopal Church at 98
Wentworth Street- Glebe Land
Old Bethel United Methodist
Church at 222 Calhoun
Street- North boundary of
Harleston Village.
Constructed in 1797 by the
congregation of the church
on Cumberland Street but
later moved to make way for
a new Bethel United
Methodist Church
Randolph Hall, built in 1828–29, is one of the
oldest college buildings still in use in the U.S.
Named for the 11th president of the College
(Harrison Randolph), Randolph Hall served as the
main academic building on campus for many
years. It was built in Greek Revival Style and has
been featured in a couple major motion pictures
and tv shows such as The Patriot, The Notebook,
Dear John, General Hospital, etc. due to its historic
look and beauty.
In 1881, a wealthy cotton merchant named
Francis Silas Rodgers set out to build an
elegant home in Charleston, S.C., worthy of
his family of 13 and he did just that. This
Second Empire Victorian style Mansion,
now called Wentworth Mansion, is now an
elegant Charleston Hotel and restaurant
for tourists to endure just what Rodgers
had in mind for a Charleston lifestyle.
After the old Bethel
United Methodist Church
was moved, this new
Bethel was constructed
in a simple temple form
Greek revival church
featuring 6 Doric
columns supporting a
pedimented portico
11. This set of elegant Italianate row houses,
called Bee’s Row is the only row of
townhouses in Harleston Village.
Located at 87-89 Wentworth St. is the
Minister’s (Bishop’s) House, which is actually
two connected homes constructed at the same
time and is one of a few pre-1775 dwellings
left in Harleston Village.
The Isaac Jenkins Mikell House is a massive Greek revival
residence in the style of grand Italian villa that was built in 1853-
1854 at 94 Rutledge Avenue by Edisto Island cotton planter Isaac
Jenkins Mikell for his third wife, Mary Martha Pope. It is now
home to the stars of Bravo TV’s SouthernCharm.
Named After William Blacklock and
located at 18 Bull St., this mansion was
built in 1800, and is one of the United
States' most important
Federal/Adamesque houses. The house is
two stories of brick on a high brick
basement. The facade features a large
lunette in the pediment, openings in blind
arches, delicate tracery, and a double flight
of iron-railed steps.
