City Directories and History: LAURENS-RUTLEDGE HOUSE
Constructed circa 1760; altered circa 1885-90, 1935; Miller & Fullerton, architect-builders
“Built in the Georgian style for James Laurens, brother of Henry Laurens, this house retains only a portion of its original eighteenth-century appearance. Nonetheless, it has long been celebrated due to its purchase in 1788 by Edward Rutledge, signer of the Declaration of Independence. The five- bay main block with a projecting pediment supported by console brackets and a
steep pitched roof survives from the building’s early construction as a Georgian double house. Greek Revival piazzas, added first to the east and later to the west end, survive, although the former was partially removed when a wing was added after 1885 by the Wagener family, who made other exterior and interior renovations. Frederick Wagener, who held one of Charleston’s largest grocery companies
(headquartered at 163 East Bay Street), established the South Carolina West Indian Exposition and maintained this residence; he also used the eighteenth-century house at Lowndes Grove in the upper peninsula. When the house was remodeled again in 1935 it acquired its present Colonial Revival exterior.”
Information from: The Buildings of Charleston – J.H. Poston for the Historic Charleston Foundation, 1997
“Edward Rutledge House. This large two story wooden house on a high brick basement was built, c. 1760 by James Laurens, on the Broad Street end of the former Orange Garden. Laurens, a merchant and brother of Henry Laurens. the President of the Continental Congress, died in France about the end of the Revolution. In 1788, his executors sold the property to Edward Rutledge, a signer of the Declaration of independence. The younger brother of John Rutledge, he was also a delegate to the Continental Congress and a captain of artillery during the Revolution. He was captured by the British in 1780 and deported to St. Augustine. After the Revolution he developed a lucrative law practice. Politically he was first a Federalist, then turned Republican, but was moderate enough to appeal to both parties, which led to his election as Governor of South Carolina in 1798. He introduced the bill in the South Carolina Assembly to abolish primogeniture. In 1790, President George Washington offered him a Federal judgeship, but he declined it. He died in 1800 and is buried opposite the south door of St. Philip’s. Surprisingly, the very full inscription on his stone does not mention his signing the Declaration. Originally a Georgian house, said to have been built by a Mr. Miller, of the Miller & Fullerton building partnership, the house was expanded and Victorianized by Capt. Frederick W. Wagener, whose family acquired it in 1885. Capt. Wagener was a wealthy wholesale grocer, a horse breeder and racer at Lowndes Grove, then known as the Wagener Farm, and president of the South Carolina interstate and West Indian Exposition. The house was purchased in 1935 by Dr. Josiah Smith, who remodeled the exterior in the Colonial Revival style. In 1965, it was purchased by the Bishop of Charleston for use as a convent. Subsequently, it once again became a private home.” (Stockton, unpub. notes; Smith & Smith, Dwelling Houses, 247-248; Rogers, Charleston in the Age of the Pinckneys, 60; Ravenel, Architects, 40; Ravenel, Charleston, The Place and the People, 185, 193-194, 228, 261, 288, 400-401; Wallace, 347-349.) – CCPL
(Carter-May House) The Edward Rutledge House is significant as the residence in 1787 of Edward Rutledge, a signer of the Declaration of Independence for South Carolina, lawyer, politician, soldier, and governor of South Carolina. This is the only existing structure that can be associated with Edward Rutledge. Rutledge studied law at the Middle Temple in 1767 and was admitted to the English bar in 1772. Rutledge’s political career began in July 1774, when he was elected a delegate to the First Continental Congress. In November 1776 Rutledge left the Continental Congress and returned to Charleston to resume the practice of law. From 1780 to July 1781 he was a prisoner of war. From 1782 to 1796 he represented Charleston in the state House of Representatives. In 1796 and 1798 he was elected a state senator. In 1798 he was also elected Governor. He died in Charleston on January 23, 1800. The house is a large, two-story frame structure over high basement with hipped roof. Except for a wing, the exterior of the house is little altered. Almost square, the structure is five bays wide and four bays deep. A two-story porch supported by columns extends along the west side and around the south elevation. A central modillioned pediment with circular window rises from the main roof on the street façade and covers the three center bays. This pediment is tied into the façade by means of consoles. A two-story clapboard wing was added to the east side of the house in the last quarter of the 19th century. Listed in the National Register November 11, 1971; Designated a National Historic Landmark November 11, 1971.
View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property. (Courtesy of the SC Dept. of Archives and History)
Also see the second listing for this address – 117 Broad St., “Too”
Other sources of interest: Charleston Tax Payers of Charleston, SC in 1860-61 and the Dwelling Houses of Charleston by Alice R.H. Smith – 1917 The HCF may also have additional data at: Past Perfect and further research can be uncovered at: Charleston 1861 Census Schedule or The Charleston City Guide of 1872
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