The downtown district of Charleston, South Carolina is jam packed with historic sites, hence the name: Historic Downtown Charleston. However, when I visited this part of the city earlier in the month, I had no idea what I was walking into. While there is no way I could have seen everything Charleston has to offer in one short afternoon, through a short walk through an area of the historic district known as “South of Broad,” I was able to see and learn a great deal more than I ever expected to. South of Broad gets its name from the fact that is encompasses the entire portion of the historic district that is south of Broad Street — pretty simple, right?

A map of the historic South of Broad district in downtown Charleston.

What originally drew me to South of Broad was a row of colorful town houses known as Rainbow Row. Found along a stretch of East Bay Street between Tradd and Elliott Streets, it is the longest row of Georgian townhouses in the United States. Although the row of townhouses dates back to the 1740s, they weren’t given their unique color scheme until a little under a century ago. When the homes underwent restoration in the 1930s and 1940s, they were painted with the pastel colors we see them as today. Since then, this section consisting of fourteen historic homes has been known as “Rainbow Row” and is considered the be one of the most photographed parts of the historic downtown district. And for obvious reasons — it’s simply gorgeous.

The colorful stretch of town houses that make up Charleston’s iconic “Rainbow Row” on East Bay Street.

Not only is Rainbow Row beautiful but this spot has been witness to several centuries of American history. The earliest known structures built where Rainbow Row stands were erected as far back as 1680 and once full of the shops and homes which belonged to early Charleston’s most high-profile merchants. They would run their businesses out of the ground floors of theses homes and live with their families on the second floors of the same buildings. Additionally, not too far from Rainbow Row today is the Cooper River waterfront. Back then, the waterfront would have been lined with several wharves to which these businessmen would have had easy access.

Yet, as previously noted, most of the structures seen today on Rainbow Row do not date back to 1680. Those older homes were mostly destroyed during a fire in the early 18th century. However, the homes we see today that were constructed in their place have seen their fair share of American history as well — even being shelled by Union artillery during the Civil War. Despite this, at the turn of the 20th century, many of the homes along Easy Bay Street had fallen into disrepair. Their restoration and subsequently their new, colorful paint jobs were prompted by Susan Pringle Frost, founder of the Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings. Frost was able to purchase several of these homes in order to repair them and turn them into the beautiful stretch we know today as Rainbow Row. In fact, the organization she founded went on to become the Preservation Society of Charleston and still continues to work in the city today.

A close-up of Rainbow Row’s multicolored homes.

After viewing the colorful homes, I decided I wanted to explore the streets of Charleston even further and wandered into the blocks surrounding Rainbow Row to see what other treasures lie beyond. And I wasn’t disappointed. After taking a left down Elliott Street at the very top of Rainbow Row, I found myself walking down yet another charming street. It was a quiet yet gorgeous road, filled with quaint snapshots of beauty. However, despite how unassuming these streets might look in comparison to the vividly colored townhouses of Rainbow Row, they are dotted with historical markers — each one of them telling visitors about a small yet important chapter of Charleston’s story.

A glimpse of the scenery that the streets in South of Broad have to offer, taken along Elliott Street heading towards Church Street.

As I took another left onto Church Street, not only was I confronted by whimsical scenes of residential Charleston but I was able to catch several glimpses into the city’s past and how it tied into the greater American story. The small stretch of Church Street that runs parallel to East Bay Street is jam packed with historical homes. Four of these homes sit right next to each other in a row and the one that stood out most to me was the Thomas Bee's House at 94 Church Street. Thomas Bee had been an active player in the American Revolution, serving as a member of the Continental Congress from 1780-1782 before which he had served as the Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina in 1780. He had built the home sitting at 94 Church Street in 1730 and the home was later owned by Joseph Alston, governor of South Carolina from 1812-1814.

In 1801, Alston was married Theodosia Burr, the daughter of then Vice President Aaron Burr. Despite having studied law and been admitted to the bar, Alston opted not to practice and was instead the owner of several rice plantations as well as 204 enslaved people. Originally having no political ambitions, Alston’s father-in-law, Vice President Burr, convinced him to enter politics. He did so by serving as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1802 to 1812 during which he was Speaker of the House from 1805 to 1809. Even though he was successfully elected governor in December 1812, it was a tragic year overall for the Alston-Burr family.

Those of you who know your early American history will know that Aaron Burr was put on trial for treason in 1807 and although acquitted of the charges, he had gone into self imposed exile. He had newly returned to the United States in June 1812, but Theodosia had been unable to visit him. Not only had she fallen ill with malaria that month but her and Alston’s only child, Aaron Burr Alston, died of malaria at only 10 years old. As a result of Theodosia’s illness and grief, she had been unable to visit her father. However, just days after Alston’s election as governor in December, she would board the Patriot and departed from Georgetown, South Carolina so she could finally visit her father in New York. It was on this journey that Theodosia went missing at sea at the age of 29. Alston, presumably weakened by heartbreak due to the both the loss of his son and wife, died in September 1816.

The Thomas Bee's House at 94 Church Street as it appears today.

However, the story of 94 Church Street does not end there. Just a few decades after the tragic losses of Theodosia Burr Alston and her son, the home bore witness to a crisis that split the nation. I know you’re thinking: crisis that split the nation, Charleston in the 1800s…the Civil War right? Not quite! Although, the Nullification Crisis of the 1830s can be seen as an eerie precursor to the Civil War, as it sowed the seeds of disunion between federal and state governments. So what was the Nullification Crisis? And what does the home of Thomas Bee and Joseph Alston have in connection to it?

In order to protect American industries against foreign competition, the federal government had utilized tariffs — taxes on imports or exports — since the early 19th century. The unpopular Tariff of 1828 was enacted by President John Quincey Adams. The following year, Andrew Jackson took over the presidency alongside his Vice President, John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. Calhoun vehemently opposed the tariff, which became known as the Tariff of Abominations for the negative impact it had on the economies of Southern states. Around the same time, he had anonymously published the South Carolina Exposition and Protest in which he argued that states did not have to enforce federal laws within their own boundaries if said laws were unconstitutional.

Later, Congress would pass the Tariff of 1832 in an attempt to quell the anger of the Southern states but South Carolina was not satisfied. The state would adopt the Ordinance of Nullification, which echoed the same sentiment which Calhoun had anonymously expressed just a few years earlier, declaring that both tariffs were “null, void, and no law, nor binding upon this State, its officers or citizens.” What does this have to do with a house on 94 Church Street however? It was in this home that Vice President John C. Calhoun, then Governor of South Carolina Robert Hayne, and other state leaders drafted the documents declaring the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null and void — thus, prompting the Nullification Crisis.

The historic marker for the Thomas Bee’s House along Church Street telling any curious passerby of its storied history.

There was another building along Church Street that caught my attention however. Just up the road from the Thomas Bee’s house sits a larger brick structure, standing slightly apart from the rest of the homes on the street. This Georgian style home, known today as the Heyward-Washington House, was built in 1772 and belonged to one out of the four signers of the Declaration of Independence that hailed from South Carolina — Thomas Heyward, Jr. As a notable Revolutionary War leader in Charleston, Heyward was a part of the South Carolina militia before he was captured when the British took the city in 1780 before eventually returning the following year. A decade later in 1791, this home played host to President George Washington when he visited Charleston for a week hence the home being known today as the Heyward-Washington House.

Later on, Heyward would sell the property to a fellow Revolutionary War officer named John Grimké. Both the Heyward and Grimké families were members of the Charleston elite thus, they were able to gain their wealth and prestige through the institution of slavery. Families such as this would often have plantation homes as well as homes within the city of Charleston that they would divide their time between. John Grimké was the father of Sarah and Angelina Grimké, some of the first prominent female abolitionists in American history. The Grimké sisters had grown up bearing witness to slavery as their father was a prominent slave owner. In 1819, Sarah was exposed to Quakerism upon visiting Philadelphia with her father and would later convert in 1821 with younger sister Angelina following in 1829. Both sisters would eventually relocate to Philadelphia and become outspoken advocates against slavery, standing their ground in this cause despite knowing that they would be shunned by the communities in which they grew up.

Not only were the Grimké sisters outspoken women during a time where that was considered taboo, they were outspoken on an extremely controversial issue. Their gender and the challenges it presented did not deter them however, as evidenced by what Angelina Grimké wrote in 1836:

“I know you do not make the laws, but I also know that you are the wives and mothers, the sisters and daughters of those who do; and if you really suppose you can do nothing to overthrow slavery, you are greatly mistaken.”

— Angelina Grimké, Appeal to the Christian Women of the South

The Heyward-Washington House, built in 1772, as it appears today in the South of Broad neighborhood.

Unfortunately, that is all I was able to see through a short afternoon stroll in South of Broad but rest assured, this is just a minuscule slice of what Charleston has to offer. Regardless, it’s hard to believe that all these stories from American history stemmed from just one city block in Charleston. That is the beauty of history though, it surrounds us every where we go and in places we don’t expect. Should you ever find yourself in Charleston, take some time to walk through its historical neighborhoods. Allow yourself to not only get lost in the picturesque beauty of the streets and pastel colored homes of Historic Downtown Charleston, but in the stories they have to tell as well.

Walking a Block of Historic Downtown Charleston

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