Name/Title
900 King Street (William Enston Home)Entry/Object ID
KING.900.001Scope and Content
The William Enston Home, a complex constructed between the initial acquisition of the property in 1882 and 1933, is an early example of benevolent and philanthropic efforts to provide housing for the elderly. Funded by an 1859 bequest from William Enston, an Englishman who immigrated to Charleston in the early 19th century, the home was intended to house the aged and inform in a manner similar to the home in Enston's native Canterbury. As such, the Home may be one of the oldest such complexes in the South. The home was established on the north end of the Charleston peninsula on the former Storen farm, in an area which the City of Charleston hoped to redevelop as a model suburb. The initial portions of the Enston Home complex were built between 1884 and 1888, with additional buildings and structures built in 1893, 1927, and 1933. With its neat rows of detached double cottages set amid spacious landscaped grounds, the Home provides an unusual and well-preserved example of 19th century picturesque suburban-planning concepts adapted to a charitable and institutional function. In architectural terms, the Home is significant as a preeminent example of the Romanesque Revival style, a style rare in Charleston.
Folder 1 contains National Register nomination form (1996); newspaper articles from 1932-1996 (including 1932 and 1983 DYKYC); reduced-size copy of architectural drawing by C. Gamache, Mary Washington College (see Related tab for full-size drawing); color photocopy of the grounds, possibly from a postcard or brochure, entitled "The William Enston Home to make old age comfortable (see image attached to this record); copies of photographs of various buildings (unattributed, undated); narrative history by Keith L. Eggener from The Vernacular Architecture of Charleston and the Lowcountry; description of William Enston Home (undated, unattributed); packet of architectural drawings, engineering survey, and photos (2004-2005); excerpt (with photograph) from A New Guide to Modern Charleston (1912); excerpt (with photograph and ground plan) from 1897 City of Charleston Yearbook; photocopy of transcription of deed "Hannah Enston, et al. to William A. Courtenay, Isaac Hayne, William Enston Butler" (1882).
Folder 2 contains documentation related to HCF's collaboration with the Charleston Housing Authority to rehabilitate the property and get HABS documentation, as well as HCF's submittal of the National Register Nomination form.Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
KING.900.Source or Donor
900 King Street (William Enston Home)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
King Street, Uptown, Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, Old age homes--South Carolina--CharlestonArchive Details
Archive Size/Extent
2 File FoldersArchive Notes
Finding Aids: Index to Property Files
Level of Description: FolderLocation
Location
Shelf
Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentDate
February 7, 2023Location
Container
PF Box 56Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Enston, WilliamRelated Entries
Notes
2004.020.109, 2009.013.24, 2021.017.13, KING.900.002, KING.900.003A-B, KING.900.004a-h, KING.900.005a-h
Related Units of Description: Preservation Consultants files (Part I and/or Part II applications and/or photos and/or miscellaneous documentation), 2011.022.1General Notes
Note
Notes: Image in record is from small poster in property file.Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
December 16, 2004Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023