The South Carolina State Arsenal ("The Old Citadel") 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 ...

was built in 1829 in response to the alleged 1822 slave revolt led by

Denmark Vesey Denmark Vesey (also Telemaque) ( July 2, 1822) was an early 19th century free Black and community leader in Charleston, South Carolina, who was accused and convicted of planning a major slave revolt in 1822. Although the alleged plot was dis ...

. The alleged uprising never came to fruition and Vesey was publicly hanged in 1822. In 1842 the

South Carolina Military Academy The South Carolina Military Academy was a predecessor, two-campus institution to The Citadel. It was established in 1842 by the South Carolina Legislature. South Carolina had constructed a series of arsenals around the state after the Denmark Vesey ...

, a liberal arts military college, was established by the state legislature, and the school took over the arsenal the following year as one of 2 campuses, the other being the

Arsenal Academy The Arsenal Academy was a military academy in Columbia, South Carolina, originally established in 1842 as an independent school by the state of South Carolina. In 1845, the academy became a component of the South Carolina Military Academy (now T ...

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the cit ...

. The school became known as the Citadel Academy because of the appearance of its building. From 1865 to 1881, during

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology * Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

, Federal troops occupied the Citadel, and the school was closed. Classes resumed in 1882 and continued in this building until the school was relocated to a new campus on the banks of the Ashley River in 1922. Frederick Wesner and

Edward Brickell White Edward Brickell White (January 29, 1806 – May 10, 1882), also known as E. B. White, was an architect in the United States. He was known for his Gothic Revival architecture and his use of Roman and Greek designs. Life Edward Brickell White w ...

are credited with the Citadel's design. The original State Arsenal building was a two-story brick building around a courtyard, designed by Wesner. White was responsible for changes to the building about 1850, and added the third floor and wings. A fourth floor was added in 1910. The building was lightly damaged by the

1886 Charleston earthquake The 1886 Charleston earthquake occurred about 9:50 p.m. local time August 31. It caused 60 deaths and $5–6 million ($ million in ) in damage to 2,000 buildings in the Southeastern United States. It is one of the most powerful and da ...

, but suffered more serious damage from an 1892 fire which is believed to have begun in a chimney that was cracked in the earlier tremor.

Charleston County Charleston County is located in the U.S. state of South Carolina along the Atlantic coast. As of the 2020 census, its population was 408,235, making it the third most populous county in South Carolina (behind Greenville and Richland counties). ...

used the building for government offices during much of the 20th century. In 1994 a local development firm renovated the building for use as a hotel.

References

National Register of Historic Places in Charleston, South Carolina Old Citadel Arsenals American Civil War forts {{CharlestonCountySC-NRHP-stub