City Directories and History: CAPT. JOSEPH JENKINS HOUSE; Constructed circa 1818; restored 1964
“Capt. Joseph Jenkins, owner of Brick House Plantation on Edisto Island, built this single house as a town residence shortly after purchasing these two lots in 1818. The building stands on a high masonry foundation and retains the features that are hallmarks of Harleston Village single houses. The weatherboarded facade, with two bays on the street side and nine-over- nine windows, terminates in a closed gable roof. It has side dormers and a central pediment with a lunette window. A one-story piazza supported by an arcaded stucco ground story is accessed from the street by a ground-level piazza door screen with a pilastered architrave and rectangular fanlighted transom. Jenkins sold the house to his nephew, and it remained in the family until 1838, when it passed to William Birnie. After the War Between the States the original lot was subdivided and new houses in the Queen Anne style were constructed at 55 and 57 Smith Street. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Woodward of Philadelphia, who restored 94 Rutledge Avenue a few years earlier, rehabilitated this dwelling, removing asbestos siding and the remnants of numerous rental units.”
Information from: The Buildings of Charleston – J.H. Poston – Author, for the Historic Charleston Foundation, 1997
“Capt. Joseph Jenkins of Brick House Plantation bought two large lots in 1818 and built this large single house as his town residence. Built for the climate, the house has high ceilings, from the brick basement upward. Rooms have windows on three sides to give cross ventilation and piazzas along the south and west sides add to the requisites of comfort. Between the Civil War and the turn of the century, five other residences were built on the Jenkins lot.” (Stoney, N&C, June 6, 1964; Stoney, This Is Charleston , p. 93) – CCPL
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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