56 Society Street (Dr. Joseph Johnson House)

Archive

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Historic Charleston Foundation

56 Society Street: Origsize: 5x7; Origformat: Print-Photographic
56 Society Street

Origsize: 5x7; Origformat: Print-Photographic

Name/Title

56 Society Street (Dr. Joseph Johnson House)

Entry/Object ID

SOCIETY.056.1

Scope and Content

Constructed 1835-40; rehabilitated 1962, 1991. Dr. Joseph Johnson, one of South Carolina's leading medical scientists and an intendant (mayor) of Charleston, built this residence for his wife, Katherine Bonneau Johnson, a Charlestonian of French Huguenot descent. A versatile scholar, Johnson carried on extensive research into the causes of yellow fever and also authored a history book entitled Traditions of the American Revolution. Saved in 1960 by the Ansonborough Rehabilitation Project, the house was sold to the British author Gordon Langley Hall, who initially restored the residence, and later became the home of Josephine Humphreys, one of Charleston's premier late-20th century novelists. The Dr. Joseph Johnson House is similar to its westernmost neighbor, the J.C. Burckmeyer Building at 58 Society Street, which was rebuilt by its owner after the fire of 1838 and served as the primary residence until 1871 of a family that owned numerous properties in Ansonborough. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.) Two files contain original legal documentation of the covenant on the property; correspondence and other documentation related to the sale and management of the property; documentation related to the purchase of the property to HCF and HCF's rehabilitation of the property; annual inspection reports; requests for alterations; FOHG house histories (1962, 1981, 1997); building history from Landmarks in Use tour (3/7/1965; Fall Report presumably by Gordon Langley Hall (October 1963); Preservation Progress article (Nov. 1963); newspaper articles, including article about the death of Dawn Langley Simmons (f/k/a Gordon Langley Hall) in 2000; copy of HCF covenant information card. See Covenant/Easement Inspection Photo Files for inspection photography.

Collection

Historic Charleston Foundation Property Records

Acquisition

Accession

SOCIETY.056.

Source or Donor

56 Society Street (Dr. Joseph Johnson House)

Acquisition Method

Collected by Staff

Lexicon

Search Terms

Society Street, Ansonborough, Ansonborough Rehabilitation Project (ARP), Covenant Property, Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston

Legacy Lexicon

Object Name

Property File

Archive Details

Archive Size/Extent

1 Covenant/Management Folder 1 History/Miscellaneous Folder

Archive Notes

Finding Aids: Index to Property Files. Level of Description: Folder

Location

Location

Shelf

Property File Shelves

Room

Margaretta P. Childs Archives

Building

Missroon House

Category

Permanent

Date

February 7, 2023

Location

Building

Checked Out

Moved By

Summer 2018 Intern

Notes

Notes: Folder 2 - Katherine checked out for Susannah

Location

Container

PF Box 95

Shelf

Prop File Shelves, Property File Shelves

Room

Margaretta P. Childs Archives

Building

Missroon House

Category

Permanent

Relationships

Related Entries

Notes

SOCIETY.056.2, SOCIETY.056.3a-b, SOCIETY.056.4a-c Related Units of Description: Easement Manager's working files "Ansonborough" document box, Preservation Topics shelves Frances Edmunds files (correspondence with Gordon Langley Hall) Society Street streetscape (photo), SOCIETY.GEN.1

Related Publications

Notes

Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 467-468

General Notes

Note

Notes: House had been owned by Gordon Langley Hall (Dawn Hall Simmons), recipient of a gender reassignment operation. She married John Paul Simmons in Charleston's first legal interracial marriage.

Created By

admin@catalogit.app

Create Date

March 19, 2012

Updated By

admin@catalogit.app

Update Date

February 16, 2023