City Directories and History: “Several splendid craftsmen collaborated on the construction of the late-Neoclassical, three-story single house at 32 Charlotte Street. John Casken built the house in trust for Catherine Wegman. It has a three-story, Flemish-bond brick facade and a two-story wood piazza with a galleried second-story and pedimented door architrave. In 1849 William C. Holmes, partner in the paint manufacturer firm of Holmes, Calder and Co., bought the property. His descendants owned it until 1931. The Holmes family made Victorian style changes to the building, including a large rear addition and piazza enclosure with a substantial bay window. This later addition created a family sitting and dining area, a typical add-on for some Charleston single houses following the Civil War. Considering the residence’s tie to a leading color manufacturer, paint research was conducted on the building in recent years and revealed the survival of interior doors grain-painted to imitate mahogany and exterior wooden elements painted a cream tan with yellow green finishes applied to the shutters and blinds.”
Information from: The Buildings of Charleston – J.H. Poston – Author, 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
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