City Directories and History: ANTHONY TOOMER HOUSE
Constructed circa 1797; additions circa 1840
“Anthony Toomer, a Revolutionary War veteran and master builder, erected this dwelling as a tenement investment soon after acquiring a 40-by-296-foot lot on Legare Street in 1796. First containing a simple two-bay house with beaded weatherboarding and a low pitched roof at a substantial distance from the street line, the property was described in an 1811 advertisement as having “a two story wooden dwelling house, brick kitchen, etc. thereon.” Apparently Thomas F. Purse added a two-story masonry addition to the front of the house, as well as a one-story piazza with a Greek Revival transomed screen. Most of the interior of the original house, including Neoclassical wainscoting, mantel, and staircase, remain.”
Information from: The Buildings of Charleston – J.H. Poston for the Historic Charleston Foundation, 1997
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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