When we imagine old plantations in the South,
we might picture expansive lands, but not all looked like this. Hi everyone, Ken here,
welcome to "ThisHouse" Today we are taking a look at an urban plantation in Charleston,
South Carolina. Make sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss an episode of "ThisHouse"!
Charleston, South Carolina is famous for its unique style of residential
architecture known as Charleston Single Houses which line the streets on narrow
lots. This style was popular in the early 1800’s with large porches, called piazzas,
welcoming guests to the property. Perhaps the most elaborate of the Charleston Single Houses
was that of Governor William Aiken Junior. It had been built in 1820, and when he purchased it,
he began extensive renovations to greatly expand it. Unlike urban dwellings in the north which
employed staff to run great estates, Governor Aiken labored 19 enslaved people at his city house
for day to day operations while nearly 900 labored in his fields outside the city. With forced labor,
the house was expanded to include slave quarters branching off the main home to be concealed by a
bricked in court yard. These alterations to the original house plan lead to some truly unique
interior spaces as we can glimpse the general layout of the main house in its floorplan.
The piazza, due to its locked entrance, should be considered the first interior
space of the home offering a hybrid of indoor / outdoor living. The summer sun would heat
the interior of the house to excruciating temperatures, so residents would utilize
their south facing porch as secondary living room where they could catch a cool breeze.
But this entrance was removed during renovations,
turning the piazza into a veranda. The new entrance of the house was situated at the
north west corner where guests would pass through a keystone archway to arrive in the split foyer.
The stairs rounded out with cast iron balustrade sweeping below a candle lit chandelier, centered
on two supporting, fluted doric columns. Overhead, the ceiling created a square dome, trimmed with a
wave pattern which we will see playout as a subtle motif throughout the mansion. Heading
downstairs would take you to the housekeeper’s room, storage rooms and
the cellar. But heading upstairs would take you to the main living quarters.
To the left sat the gallery, where Governor Aiken would have displayed his fine art
collection. While the room was square in plan, the walls were octagonally arranged
with niches cut into the corners, creating the illusion that the room was not, in fact square.
To the right of the stair landing, you would find the drawing rooms,
arranged as a double parlor perfectly mirroring each other with identical window surrounds,
wall panels, and fireplaces in each. Overtime, a portrait replaced the rear facing window
which would have otherwise overlooked the slaves quarters. In a 3D model created by
the Historical American Building Survey, we can see how these two rooms relate to each other.
Next to the rear facing drawing room sat the dining room with dark,
old growth furniture contrasting with lightly colored walls and millwork broken up by a
gilded mirror extending from the fireplace’s stone mantel all the way to the cornice.
Just to the side of the dining room, beyond a glass paned door,
a staircase rose towards the second floor.
Arriving at the second floor landing, you would pass below a keystone archway,
the thickness of the interior walls, to enter the central hall which extended towards the
second level of the verandah, dividing each bedroom and their respective dressing rooms.
Each bedroom boasted a south facing window with elaborately
carved millwork and formal furnishings – as well plaster medallions suspending
chandeliers from the ceiling, centered elaborate fireplaces.
Following the staircase up to the third floor, we can look up to see an elaborate plaster medallion
centered on the voidal space between the curving banisters. Up here we will see one of the few
slave quarters incorporated into the main house with decorative window surrounds and a fireplace,
standing in stark contrast to the rest of the slave quarters extending from the rear of the
house, many of which were not sealed off to the elements with dirt floors.
This extreme duality of living conditions continued all the way through the American
Civil War, after which the house began to fall into disrepair without forced labor maintaining
it. The plaster began falling from the humid walls as water leaked in through the ignored roof. The
Aiken Family lived in the house for 142 years seeing their living conditions reduced through
each generation until it became essentially uninhabitable, though still considerably
better than their original slave quarters. In 1975, the house was too far gone to sell,
the family donated it to the Charleston Museum which then sold it to the Historic Charleston
Foundation. Since then, several archaeological efforts have uncovered remnants, piecing together
the lives of the enslaved families to paint a better picture of what life would have really
been like on an urban plantation. In present day, the house is open to the public as a house museum.
What did you find most interesting about the Governor William Aiken House? Let me
know down below in the comments. And while you’re there, make sure to hit that subscribe
button so you never miss an exciting episode of "ThisHouse" I’ll see you next time on "ThisHouse"