City Directories and History: CAROLINA RAILROAD COMPLEX (BLOCK BOUNDED BY MEETING, JOHN, KING, AND MARY STREETS) – Constructed between 1849 and 1853
“Most of these structures were built by the Camden line of the South Carolina Railroad in the mid-nineteenth century. The complex stretches from the depot (the shell of which survives at 37 John Street), along the rail line, through various warehouse complexes, to the carpentry shops several
blocks northward at the city line. Other surviving associated structures include the William Aiken House at 456 King Street; the Gas Engine Building, constructed in 1858 (now 81 Mary Street, used as offices for the Chamber of Commerce); the Dean’s Warehouse, 375 Meeting Street (now in use as the Charleston Visitor Center); and the Martschink— Warehouse, surviving as a structural frame and covering the present visitor transportation mall. Charleston was at the center of an ambitious scheme developed in the 1820s to link the port with the cotton transport of the Savannah River and perhaps farther west. With 133 miles of track between Charleston and Hamburgh (now Aiken), South Carolina, the city had the distinction of being the longest railroad operation in the world at that time. Later a second line was developed in Camden, South Carolina. Various problems in the antebellum years, such as rising operating costs and its inefficiency as a passenger station, spelled change in just a few short years, and the complex shifted to warehouses for freight.”
Information from: The Buildings of Charleston – J.H. Poston for the Historic Charleston Foundation, 1997
” The Tower Depot, built 1849-50 as a passenger station of the South Carolina Rail Road. It was designed by Charleston architect Edward C. Jones The Gothic Revival style originally had a tower which projected into John Street and a main entrance large enough to admit a train. Subsequently, the building became part of the Charleston Bagging & Manufacturing Company plant, which incorporated most of this block and the building was sadly remodeled.”(Stockton, unpub. M.S.) – CCPL
Other sources: Charleston Tax Payers of Charleston, SC in 1860-61, Dwelling Houses of Charleston by Alice R.H. Smith – 1917, Charleston 1861 Census Schedule, and a 1872 Bird’s Eye View of Charleston, S.C. The Hist. Charleston Foundation may also have additional data at: Past Perfect
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