Name/Title
William Pitt Statue, Washington Square ParkEntry/Object ID
2004.021.071Description
Statue of William Pitt in Washington Square Park, prior to it being moved to the Charleston Judicial Center.Context
William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, championed the cause of the American colonies against the Stamp Act. The work of Joseph Wilton, an English sculptor, the statue was erected at the crossing of Broad and Meeting Streets on July 5, 1770, and was this country's first monument erected to a public man. New York's marble statue of Pitt was erected two months and one day later (Sept. 7, 1770) and her bronze statue of King George III on August 16, 1770. Virginia's statue of Lord Botetourt, a royal governor (still standing at the College of William and Mary) arrived in 1773.
Charleston's statue of Pitt cost $1,000, a sum voted in May, 1766 by the Commons of the Assembly. In typical 18th century style, the statue portrays Pitt as a Roman orator clad in a toga, with one arm holding a scroll. The other arm, which was upraised, was broken off in 1780 by a shell fired from a British battery on James Island. The head was broken off accidentally when the statue was removed from the intersection in 1794, when it was considered an obstruction to traffic. It was first stored and later set up in the yard of the Orphan House, where the children described the figure as "George Washington just getting out of bed." In 1891, the statue was moved to Washington Square. (Source: CCPL website)Collection
Sams Photograph CollectionAcquisition
Accession
2004.021.Source or Donor
Family of Franklin Frost SamsAcquisition Method
GiftMade/Created
Artist
Sams, Franklin FrostDate made
circa 1898 - circa 1912Lexicon
Nomenclature 4.0
Nomenclature Primary Object Term
PhotographNomenclature Sub-Class
Graphic DocumentsNomenclature Class
Documentary ObjectsNomenclature Category
Category 08: Communication ObjectsLOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials
Monuments, StatuesSearch Terms
Pitt, William, Earl of Chatham, 1708-1778--Monuments, Washington Square Park (Charleston, S.C.)Other Names and Numbers
Other Numbers
Number Type
Other NumberOther Number
64-1-SLocation
Location
Container
PhotoBox 2Shelf
AV MaterialsRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentDate
February 7, 2023Location
Building
Missroon/Archives/Photo Collection ShelvesCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
2004.020.019, 2004.021.070, 2004.021.072a-b, 2006.007.12, 2006.007.24, 2006.010.302-304, 2007.003.3, 2007.005.1f, 2009.010.1.40, 2013.026.10, 2014.015.12, BROAD.068.001, BROAD.068.002.Copyright
Copyright Details
Public domain.General Notes
Note
Notes: Other ID# is that given by Mrs. Levkoff, as well as some of the scene identifications of some of the photos. Other photo identification was provided by a member of the Sams family at some unknown time. See Accession Record for more details.Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
March 20, 2006Updated By
sferguson@historiccharleston.orgUpdate Date
June 22, 2023