Name/Title
4 Gadsden Street (John H. Steinmeyer House)Entry/Object ID
GADSDEN.004.1Scope and Content
Constructed ca. 1852. John H. Steinmeyer, a member of a Charleston family with extensive real estate holdings, owned a steam sawmill nearby and probably built this house on land leased by Nathan Nathans, a King Street dry goods merchant. The Steinmeyers were living here by 1852 on land that had only recently been Ashley River marshes. As the family lumber business expanded in the 1850s, J.H. Steinmeyer continued to live at this site. The 3-story Greek Revival dwelling is of the side-hall, double-parlor plan. A Temple of the Winds portico shelters the front entry on the north end of the Gadsden Street elevation. The flat roofed is capped by a stucco parapet with dentiled cornice, while triple-tiered piazzas on the south overlook Beaufain Street. Heavily damaged in the hurricane of 1885 and the earthquake of 1886, the property was sold by the Nathans to George W. Egan, builder of the Charleston jetties. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.)
House was demolished in January 2017 due to significant structural issues.
File contains newspaper articles about the house and its demolition including DYKYC (1970, 1980); house history from Information for Guides of Historic Charleston; excerpt from Old Codgers' Charleston Address Book (20th century residents); captioned photograph of the house after the 1885 cyclone from a publication*; advertisement for Steinmeyer's sawmill from a publication.*
**Possibly "Views of Prominent Places in Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.A., Showing the Damage after the Cyclone of August 25, 1885," by Alexander Mack Cochram.Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
GADSDEN.004.Source or Donor
4 Gadsden Street (John H. Steinmeyer House)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
Gadsden Street, Harleston Village, Demolished buildings, lost buildings, Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, Lost architecture--South Carolina--CharlestonArchive 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, 2023Location
Container
PF Box 42Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentLocation
Container
2Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
2017.009.1, 2017.009.2, 2017.009.3, 2017.009.4, 2017.009.5, 2017.009.6, 2017.016.1, GADSDEN.004.2Related Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 521-522Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
May 15, 2008Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023