Tag Archives: Charleston County

-South Carolina, Cemeteries, National Register of Historic Places, Symbolism

William B. Smith Mausoleum at Magnolia Cemetery-Charleston, South Carolina

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William Burroughs (Burrows) Smith was one of the wealthiest men in Charleston. He built his fortune as a cotton trader. When he died, he stayed in the receiving vault for two years while the pyramid designed by Edward Jones was built.

The Georgia School of Technology built the doors. During this time, Georgia Tech ran a contract shop where they would build items to specifications. These doors cost $300 to build. This shop only lasted until 1896.

The entryway illustrates several different symbols. The upside-down torches represent a “life extinguished. The hourglass at the top of the door represents time is ending. The wings combined with an hourglass means that our time is fleeting.

The stained glass window that can be seen through the windows in the door
Another view of the side
The view of the back side

The Historic American Building Survey was commissioned to create the architectural drawings of the Mausoleum.

-South Carolina, Historic Photos, Houses

Archdale Hall-Lambs, South Carolina

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The Archdale House was featured in the 1895 book, Examples of colonial architecture in South Carolina and Georgia: Charleston, S. C., and Savannah, Ga. by Edward Crane and E. E. Soderholtz. Lambs, South Carolina, is now considered a part of Dorchester, and the ruins of the home can still be seen. It is believed the home was built in the early 1700s. It stood until the 1886 Charleston earthquake. The land and home stayed in the Richard Baker family for decades. A full description of the house’s history and the family is available here.

-South Carolina, Abandoned, Houses

Farmhouse-McClellanville, South Carolina

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Information on this house is limited, but I believe it was built in 1824.

-South Carolina, Cemeteries, National Register of Historic Places, Symbolism, Uncategorized

Rosalie Raymond White at Magnolia Cemetery-Charleston, South Carolina

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Rosalie Raymond White, who died at seven months old in 1882, was one of seven children of Blake and Rosalie White. Only two of their children lived to see adulthood.

Rosalie was the White’s first child. Her likeness is carved in relief on a bassinet. Some suggest this is a death mask, which is a likeness created directly from a mold of the person’s face. At any point of the year, different flowers are planted in the bassinet.

The Victorians often used symbols and words to indicate someone “sleeping.” The bassinet represents this concept.

-South Carolina, Cemeteries, Churches and Temples

The Story of Julia Legare-Edisto Island, South Carolina

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The graveyard next to the Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island is the location of one of South Carolina’s most famous ghost stories. The story is shared that at 22, Julia Seabrook Legare died of diphtheria and was buried in her husband’s family tomb. A few years later, her brother passed away, and when they opened up the tomb, a pile of bones was found inside of the tomb. The belief was that Julia had been buried alive. Hence, this is why there is no door on the tomb today.

I love a good ghost story, but I also like thoughtful debunking. Writer Jaime Rubio dove deep into the family records of the Seabrook and Legare families to determine that there is limited truth to the story, but it is a ghost story that continues to be perpetuated.

-South Carolina, Cemeteries, Churches and Temples, National Register of Historic Places, Symbolism

Presbyterian Church-Edisto Island, South Carolina

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The front facade of the church is largely unchanged.

Established in the 1680s, the Presbyterian Church on Edisto Island is one of the oldest Presbyterian churches in the country. The current church building was built in 1831 and has largely stayed the same in its almost 200-year history.

The church’s graveyard contains graves as old as 1787. The headstones illustrate this long history ranging from slate markers to more modern granite ones. The most famous burial is Julia Legare.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.

Some of the lovely ironwork is draped with Spanish moss.
One of several obelisks in the cemetery. The torches pointing downwards represent a life “snuffed out” or ended.
Cornelia Adelaide Seabrook, d. 1856-The symbol with the child riding on the back of an angel means the child heading towards heaven.