Name/Title
456 King Street (William Aiken House)Entry/Object ID
KING.456.1Scope and Content
Constructed 1811; addition ca. 1830s. This structure was purchased by William Aiken, Sr., in 1811 for $14,000. It was originally built as a brick single house with associated outbuildings located on the Ann Street side of the property. A ballroom addition was constructed sometime after Aiken's death in 1831, as was the Gothic Revival style carriage house at the rear. The property was extensively damaged in the 1886 earthquake. It remains a strong presence on King Street. Its fence was removed in the early-20th century and given to the Gibbes Museum of Art. Aiken, the father of South Carolina governor William Aiken, Jr., born in County Antrim, Ireland, is perhaps best remembered as the president of the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company, which was begun in 1827 in an attempt to regain a portion of the shipping trade lost to the port of Savannah. The railroad was completed to Hamburgh (now Aiken), South Carolina, by 1833. The company later became part of Norfolk Southern, which still operates its district sales office in part of the house, thus maintaining the long railroad history of the property. In 1977 the property was donated to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and now houses its Southern Regional Office. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.)
File contains building histories; building history, floor plan, and photos from Vernacular Architecture of Charleston; draft of National Register Nomination form, a separate description of physical appearance [source?], and related correspondence; newspaper articles; building history from Information for Guides of Historic Charleston; brief history of the South Carolina Railroad; National Trust and HCF correspondence and other documentation (including floor plans) about building usage, etc. (1987-1988); document from National Trust Design Quality Panel, Uptown District, regarding the development of the William Aiken House and associated railroad properties (1985); copy of 1st floor plan with dependencies (Phillips & Opperman, undated); drawing of ceiling medallion (Kimberly Jones, 2008); lease agreement between the National Trust and the Southern Railway Company (1978); Request for Proposals to preserve and redevelop the house, from National Trust (2003) (includes property history and description and information about the Upper King Street Commercial District); graduate student report "A View of the William Aiken House: Insights into the Commercial and Cultural Life in Antebellum Charleston (Michael Fenton, 1989); Aiken House Archaeological Survey (Arnold Cogswell Jr., Sr. Excavator, 1982); historical research notes from the City of Charleston Archives file; Aiken family history (compiled by a family member).Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
KING.456.Source or Donor
456 King Street (William Aiken House/Southern Railroad Company/Southern Railway)Acquisition Method
Collected by StaffLexicon
Search Terms
King Street, National Register of Historic Places, William Aiken House (Charleston, S.C.), Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston, Aiken-Rhett family, South Carolina RailroadArchive 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 BoxShelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentLocation
Container
PF Box 55Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Aiken FamilyRelated Entries
Notes
2010.002.077, 2011.002.099, 2011.022.6, 2014.014.08a-d, 2017.011.3, KING.456.2, KING.456.3, KING.456.4, KING.456.5, KING.456.6a-d, KING.456.7, KING.456.8, KING.456.9a-b
Related Units of Description: Aiken-Rhett House files
Preservation Consultants files (Part I and/or Part II applications and/or photos and/or miscellaneous documentation), 2011.022.1Related Publications
Notes
Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 389General Notes
Note
Notes: Photo in this record from Art Work of Charleston.Created By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
September 21, 2009Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023