City Directories and History: WILLIAM JOHNSON HOUSE
Constructed circa 1858
“This dwelling was built around 1858 on land that had remained in the same family since 1771, when the first leases were granted for this area by St. Philip’s Episcopal Church. This three-story house still retains its original Greek Revival style influences; however, some changes were made after the earthquake of 1886, including the large Italianate windows with pedimented crowns on the first floor and the pressed metal decoration on the facade. Perhaps the most notable occupant was Dr. William Henry Johnson, a leading orthopedist who introduced X-ray technology to Charleston. Dr. Johnson made his own splints and braces in a blacksmith shop that he had built behind the house. This interest in blacksmithing led him to experiment with an unusual exercise regimen: throwing his anvil around the yard. At least one of Johnson’s inventions, a pressure cooker attached to the radiator of his car, earned him a certain degree of notoriety in Charleston. Today the dwelling is a College of Charleston fraternity house.”
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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