Name/Title
70 Nassau Street and 70½ Nassau StreetEntry/Object ID
NASSAU.070.1Scope and Content
Constructed ca. 1840-50; addition before 1860. The present lot at 70 Nassau Street was part of a larger tract subdivided at the end of the 18th century by Tobias Bowles and sold to Thomas Severen. The property was eventually owned by Thomas S. Bonneau, a well-to-do free African American who operated the longest running and most famous school for blacks in Charleston between 1803 and 1831. Bonneau sold the property, probably without any structures thereon, to Rebecca Jackson in 1827 who in turn devised it to her son William Jackson. In William Jackson's conveyance in 1883, there is no mention of buildings on the site. The original portion of the house consists of two rooms at the front of the lot. Apparently a decade or so after construction, a room was added at the rear. The original kitchen building with a central chimney stack and another small dwelling survive on the property. The latter structure appears to have been used as a slave house before the Civil War. The second story was entered through a separate entrance and staircase. The property was rehabilitated by Historic Charleston Foundation for low-income occupancy. (Source: Vernacular Architecture of Charleston)
Files contain: Documentation of the purchase of the property by HCF and HCF's sale of the property (spans 1987-1996), including legal forms, sales contracts, property appraisal, application for/receipt of Charleston Heritage Housing Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. Documentation of the rehabilitation of the property, including descriptions and costs of repairs (architect Glenn Keyes, contractors included Herbert A. DeCosta, Jr.) and set of architectural drawings by Keyes (see also NASSAU.070.2 and 3). Historical and miscellaneous information including house history from Vernacular Architecture of Charleston; SC Dept. of Archives and History architectural survey form; historical/chain-of-title research including copies of deeds (1799-1857); copies of various plats; Community Development Block Grant newsletter (1991) with article about HCF's rehabilitation of the property; archaeological reports* "Vertebrate Faunal Remains from 70 Nassau Street" by Elizabeth J. Reitz (1990) and "Vertebrate Faunal Remains from 70 Nassau Street, 1991 Excavation" by Barbara Ruff and Elizabeth J. Reitz; description of Charleston Affordable Housing project.
*"Archaeological Excavations at 70 Nassau Street: 1990-1991" (Martha Zierden, Elizabeth Reitz, Barbara Ruff, 2014) cataloged separately, shelved with archaeological reports.Collection
Historic Charleston Foundation Property RecordsAcquisition
Accession
NASSAU.070.Source or Donor
70 Nassau Street, 70½ Nassau StreetLexicon
Search Terms
Nassau Street, Charleston Affordable Housing, Neighborhood Impact Initiative, Charleston Heritage Housing Program, Home Ownership Program (HCF Revolving Fund), East Side, Dwellings--South Carolina--CharlestonArchive Details
Archive Size/Extent
5 File FoldersArchive Notes
Date(s) Assembled: 1987-1998
Finding Aids: Index to Property Files
Level of Description: Folder
System of Arrangement: Purchase/sale files and rehabilitation/repair files arranged chronologically.Location
Location
Shelf
Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentDate
February 7, 2023Location
Container
PF Box 59Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentLocation
Container
PF Box 79Shelf
Prop File Shelves, Property File ShelvesRoom
Margaretta P. Childs ArchivesBuilding
Missroon HouseCategory
PermanentRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
DeCosta, HerbertRelated Entries
Notes
NASSAU.070.2, NASSAU.070.3, NASSAU.070.4, NASSAU.070.5, NASSAU.070.6a-jCreated By
admin@catalogit.appCreate Date
October 28, 2010Updated By
admin@catalogit.appUpdate Date
February 17, 2023