The Heyward-Washington House is a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

at 87 Church Street in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. Built in 1772, it was home to Thomas Heyward, Jr., a signer of the

United States Declaration of Independence The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...

, and was where

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

stayed during his 1791 visit to the city. It is now owned and operated by the

Charleston Museum The Charleston Museum is a museum located in the Wraggborough neighborhood in Charleston, South Carolina. It is one of the oldest museums in the United States. Its highly regarded collection includes historic artifacts, natural history, decora ...

. Furnished for the late 18th century, the house includes a collection of Charleston-made furniture. Other structures include the carriage shed and 1740s kitchen building. The house was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1970. and

History

Built in 1772, this Georgian-style double house was the town home of

Founding Father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

Thomas Heyward, Jr., one of four South Carolina signers of the Declaration of Independence. A patriot leader and artillery officer with the South Carolina militia during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Heyward was captured when the British took Charleston in 1780. He was exiled to St. Augustine, Florida, but was exchanged in 1781. The City rented this house for

's use during the President's week-long Charleston stay, in May 1791, and it has traditionally been called the "Heyward-Washington House." Heyward sold the house in 1794 to John F. Grimké, also a Revolutionary War officer and father of Sarah and Angeline Grimke, the famous abolitionists and suffragettes. In 1824, it was purchased by Mrs. Margaret Munro, who operated a boarding house. Margaret Munro left the house to her granddaughter, Elizabeth Jane Hervey, who married Tobias Cambridge Trott in 1857. The couple resided at 87 Church Street after their marriage. Tobias Trott died unexpectedly in 1863, and with the Union bombardment of Charleston at the onset of the Civil War, Elizabeth fled to the upstate with her three young children. After the city fell, Union soldiers were billeted at 87 Church Street. The property was acquired by the museum in 1929, opened the following year as Charleston's first historic house museum, and was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1978. The museum features a collection of historic Charleston-made furniture including the priceless Holmes Bookcase, considered one of the finest examples of American-made colonial furniture. The property also features the only 1740s kitchen building open to the public in Charleston as well as formal gardens featuring plants commonly used in the South Carolina Lowcountry in the late 18th century.

References

External links

Heyward-Washington House, Charleston County (87 Church St., Charleston)
at South Carolina Department of Archives and History
The Heyward-Washington House, at The Charleston Museum
{{National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina National Historic Landmarks in South Carolina Houses in Charleston, South Carolina Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina Houses completed in 1771 Museums in Charleston, South Carolina Historic house museums in South Carolina National Register of Historic Places in Charleston, South Carolina Historic district contributing properties in South Carolina

History

See also

References

External links