Name/Title
6 Chalmers Street (Old Slave Mart)Entry/Object ID
CHALMERS.006.01Scope and Content
Constructed ca. 1859; rebuilt in its present form 1870s. Through the 1850s, the city passed ordinances to attempt to centralize and regulate slave sales, and various privatized sales areas sprung up along Chalmers, State, and Queen Streets. One of these, Ryan's Mart on Queen Street, transformed a four-story brick double tenement into a private auction area and included a specialized room known as a "barracoon," as well as personal offices and sales rooms. Auctions were held in the rear yard of the house located on Chalmers Street. Z.B. Oakes, a transplanted New Englander, purchased the site in 1859 and created a shed for sales with a roof trussed to the building next door and supported by octagonal pillars. In the 1870s the structure was refitted as a tenement. In 1938 the property was established as a privately owned museum of African and American art and history by Charlestonian Miriam B. Wilson. The City of Charleston presently owns the structure and has opened it as a museum. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.)
File contains excerpt from Vernacular Architecture of Charleston; research report (Pat Sullivan, 2008); research report "Defining the Barracoon of Ryan's Slave Mart" (Kristina Poston, 2017); "Summary of Historical Documentation Supporting Architectural Concept for the Old Slave Mart" (Malcolm Brennan (1998) (includes article "The Old Slave Mart Museum: Rediscovery the Past" by Edmund Drago and Ralph Melnick); newspaper articles; National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form; advertisement for a sale of slaves (1852); report "Evaluation of the Old Slave Mart Museum" relating to its potential as a museum (unattributed, undated); correspondence (1999) in opposition to the redevelopment of 6 Chalmers as a museum; BAR application (2000) to restore the front facade to its 1800s appearance (no indication of approval status).
Also known as Old Slave Market, Ryan's Mart, The Mart, Slave Mart.Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
CHALMERS.006.Source or Donor
6 Chalmers Street (Old Slave Mart)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
Chalmers Street, National Register of Historic Places, Old Slave Mart (Charleston, S.C.), Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, Slave tradersArchive Details
Archive Size/Extent
1 File FolderArchive 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, 2023Moved By
Katherine SaundersDate
February 12, 2015Location
Container
PF Box 18Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
2004.020.083, CHALMERS.004.01, CHALMERS.004.02, CHALMERS.006.02, CHALMERS.006.03, CHALMERS.006.04, CHALMERS.006.05a-h, CHALMERS.006.06a-g, CHALMERS.006.07a-n, CHALMERS.008.01, CHALMERS.008.02Related Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 64-65Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
August 8, 2006Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023