54 Montagu Street (Isaac Motte Dart House a/k/a Edward Washington North Estate)

Archive

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Historic Charleston Foundation

54 Montagu Street: Origsize: 4x6; Origformat: Print-Photographic
54 Montagu Street

Origsize: 4x6; Origformat: Print-Photographic

Name/Title

54 Montagu Street (Isaac Motte Dart House a/k/a Edward Washington North Estate)

Entry/Object ID

MONTAGU.054.001

Scope and Content

Constructed ca. 1806; porches added 1820s, back porch enclosed and second story added 1840s-50s; restored with new addition 1994-95. In 1795 eleven lots on the estate of the late John Harleston were divided among his three surviving daughters. On July 21, 1801, Isaac Motte Dart, a Charleston attorney and factor, purchased the two halves of one lot, although he is listed as residing on Hasell Street until 1806. Dart built the typical Charleston single house now known as 54 Montagu between 1806 and 1809. It is uncertain when Edward Washington North, a Charleston physician, purchased the house, but Dart disappears from the directories by 1824 and North is listed on Montagu by 1829. It is possible that North added the large rear addition, which dated to the 1820s, and built the surviving dependency. North was elected mayor of Charleston in 1833 and served until 1835. In 1845, North sold the house and land to Ann Simons, wife of Sedgewick Simons. This 2½ story wooden building on a raised basement has a front staircase or portico, and is reminiscent of plantation construction. Nineteenth century changes including the large rear (northern) addition, removed after Hurricane Hugo. Also of note is its early Gothic Revival carriage house at the rear of the property. The main building was purchased by the American Missionary Association in 1930 and retained by the organization until the 1950. The property was then used by a local nursing school as a dormitory. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.) Three files contain documentation of the covenant on the property; annual inspection letters and reports; requests for alterations; correspondence and other documentation related to the sale and management of the property; documentation of HCF's purchase of the property; historical/chain-of-title research information, including list of "Negroes" (compiled by HCF staff?), will, and inventories of Edward North Washington; FOHG house histories (1994, 2004); FOHG garden histories (1997, 2007); narrative history from Charleston's Federal Architecture (1994); house history from Vernacular Architecture of Charleston and the Lowcountry; realtor's illustrated house history; newspaper articles (including undated and 1972 DYKYC); magazine article (Traditional Home, 2003); application for 1997 Great American Homes Award (denied); measured drawings (first and second floors); plat of 54 and 56 Montagu Street (1994); photocopies of elevation and interior detail photographs by Preservation Consultants (1983); captioned photograph of iron work (1937 pictorial exhibit, N&C). See Covenant/Easement Inspection Photo Files for inspection photography.

Collection

Historic Charleston Foundation Property Records

Acquisition

Accession

MONTAGU.054.

Source or Donor

54 Montagu Street (Isaac Motte Dart House)

Acquisition Method

Collected by Staff

Lexicon

Search Terms

Montagu Street, Covenant Property, Harleston Village, Before and after, Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston

Legacy Lexicon

Object Name

Property File

Archive Details

Archive Size/Extent

2 Covenant/Management Folders 1 History/Miscellaneous Folder

Archive Notes

Finding Aids: Index to Property Files. Level of Description: Folder

Location

Location

Shelf

Property File Shelves

Room

Margaretta P. Childs Archives

Building

Missroon House

Category

Permanent

Date

February 7, 2023

Location

Container

PF Box 77

Shelf

Prop File Shelves, Property File Shelves

Room

Margaretta P. Childs Archives

Building

Missroon House

Category

Permanent

Relationships

Related Entries

Notes

2011.022.51, MONTAGU.054.002, MONTAGU.054.003, MONTAGU.054.004, MONTAGU.054.005, MONTAGU.054.006a-c, MONTAGU.054.007, MONTAGU.054.008 Related Units of Description: See also Easement Manager's working files for more information.

Related Publications

Notes

Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 538-639 An Illustrated Glossary of Early Southern Architecture and Landscape by Carl Lounsbury (photos of interior architectural details illustrate several terms throughout the Glossary).

General Notes

Note

Notes: Featured on "Bob Vila's Home Again" during its 1994-1995 season. Regarding Media tab documents: The underlined line of section 8a of the sales contract (HCF's purchase) is "whited-out" in the carbon copy.

Created By

admin@catalogit.app

Create Date

December 14, 2005

Updated By

admin@catalogit.app

Update Date

February 17, 2023