7 Magazine Street
A history of a house in Charleston, South Carolina chronicling property ownership, structural changes, and important events.
Property Overview
Google Maps image of the surrounding area
7 Magazine Street is a Charleston Single style house situated on the south side of Magazine Street, facing north, with Archdale Street to the east and Logan Street to the west. The house is located in the Harleston Village neighborhood of the city. This residential area of the neighborhood is surrounded by a few businesses as well. The building is a linear plan, situated on a rectangular shaped lot with no setback from Magazine Street. On the west side of the lot next to the building, there is a brick paved driveway extending to the back of the building, with an iron gate at the end towards the south end of the property.
These Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps provide a comparison of the structure on the lot between 1888 (left) and 1955 (right)
Significant Ownership and Property Changes from 1742 to 2000
1742 - 1852
Present-day 7 Magazine Street was previously part of a large parcel of land originally granted to James Moore in 1698, who then then sold the land to the Mazyck family in 1712. The land on Magazine Street was on plot 20, which was allotted to Isaac Mazyck Jr. It is unclear how that land passed to Stephan Peak, but in 1762 he then willed his hundreds of acres of land throughout South Carolina to his children, including his daughter Mary Lingard and her husband James.
Photo Source: South Carolina Department of Archives and History
In Mary Lingard’s will, dated February 27 th , 1812, she deeded the entire plot of land on Magazine Street to her grandsons Ralph, Thomas, and Edward Griffith. Since the land was equally divided, it is hard to determine which grandson was willed the particular plot that coincided with 7 Magazine. At various points in the time, the great-grandsons sold the land to William Aiken; Ralph in 1820, Thomas in 1821, and Edward in 1823.
William Aiken, along with Robert Martin and the Trustees of H Edwards, then sold the property to Ann Mey February 7, 1837, for $1,220.
Photo Source: Ancestry.com
After Ann Mey died in 1847, the property passed to her children Mary Long, Elizabeth Long, Florian H Long, and Lydia Long per her will. Florian H Long and Mary Long deeded their portion of the land to Eliza Long and Lydia long in May 1849 and Eliza sold her portion of the title to Lydia Long in August 1850, granting Lydia sole ownership of the property. The 1852 Charleston City Tax Assessment Ward Book for Ward 4 lists free people of color E. Long, "now Lydia S Frost", and H. M. Frost as the owners of the two-story wood structure.
Photo Source: Charleston County Register of Deeds Office
1852 - 1948
1886 Earthquake
City of Charleston’s Executive Relief Committee for the Earthquake of 1886: Money Vouchers for Work Done from the Charleston County Public Library
On August 31 st , 1886, Charleston was hit with a powerful earthquake that severely impacted many parts of the city. Around two thirds of the city’s structures sustained damage with an overall estimate of five million dollars. The city provided vouchers to homeowners to cover the cost of building repairs and improvements. These vouchers were first issued to homeowners who then passed them to contractors to complete the work. The contractors then passed them to the city for payment. For 7 Magazine Street, there was very little structural damage to the building. In the City of Charleston Division of Records Management Earthquake files, the frame house, owned by L. Frost, had a shingle roof and the conditions of the walls were listed as “good”. At some point in the life of the house, the roof was changed to metal, as evidenced by later records and the current materials present. The records note that the Condition of the Chimneys or Flues was “rebuilt from 1st story”. Lydia S Frost received a voucher for 7 Magazine Street for $115 on October 22, 1886, with the note “Frost resided at St. Phillips St., 77. Accepted under Resolution 19 Nov. 1886; objections: chimneys roughly put up.”
1910 Census for 7 Magazine Street from Ancestry.com
According to the 1904 – 1914 and 1918 Charleston City Directories, a woman named Josephine Gibbons lived at 7 Magazine. This was during the time period when Lydia Frost and then her daughter Martha R DaCoster owned the property, but they did not live there. In a few of the City Directories, Josephine Gibbons was listed as a seamstress. On the 1910 Census, Josephine Gibbons was listed as a renter at 7 Magazine Street as the head of the household, a single 36-year-old woman. She was born in Georgia and did not have a recorded occupation. Her father was born in New York and her mother was born in Georgia. Also living at the property were Ernest Gawdon (sic), Josephine’s 67-year-old widowed aunt born in Georgia.
In 1905 Martha Raven DaCoster was willed the property from her mother, Lydia Frost. Martha died June 29 th , 1939; she was listed as living at 77 St. Philip Street. She was a widowed black women and 88 years old at the time of death, which resulted from chronic interstitial nephritis, inflammation of the kidneys due to bacterial infection. Martha willed her estate, including this property, to her nieces and nephews, Marion Raven Wilkinson, Richard Birnie Jr, and the Trustees of Anna Louise Birnie. Her estate then sold 7 Magazine to Edward Jones for $3,000 in 1948.
Photo Source: Ancestry.com, Certificate of Death
Martha DeCoster willed her estate to Marion Raven Birnie Wilkinson who was a prolific social reformer and black women’s club leader. While she never lived at 7 Magazine Street, she played a role in South Carolina History. She was the niece of Martha DaCoster as her mother Ann Frost was Martha’s sister. Both Ann and her father Richard Birnie “were descendants of antebellum free black families and members of Charleston’s black elite” as her father was a cotton shipping agent. Marion worked with middle class African American women to share resources with those less fortunate and she served as the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) advisor at South Carolina State. She was also the president of the South Carolina Federation of Colored Women’s Club where women could share skills to improve social and racial conditions. She created the Marion Birnie Wilkinson Home for Girls in Cayce, South Carolina.
Photo Source: findagrave.com
1948 - Present
According to the 1950 census, Edward Jones lived at 7 Magazine with his wife Ella and his granddaughters Hilder (sic) and Barbara Jones. He was a listed fireman at the Mining Craft Base. This marks the first time within the research where the homeowner lived at the location and did not rent out the property to the working class. This could be reflective of a change in the neighborhood, potentially due the closure of the nearby jail in 1939.
Photo Source: Ancestry.com
Five years later in 1953, Edward Jones sold the property to Rutledge White for $3,000. Rutledge White owned and lived at 7 Magazine Street from May 1953, when he purchased the property from Edward Jones, until his death in 1966. According to his 1940 war draft card, he previously lived at 12 Radcliffe Street and worked at the Honey Boy Café at 241 East Bay Street. According to his death record, Rutledge died of a gunshot wound of the chest at the Ocean View Café on Market Street at 6:15am, which he operated.
Photo Source: Ancestry.com
His death was announced in a Charleston News and Courier article on June 7 th 1966. The article states that “White appeared in the Court of General Session last Monday as a key witness for the state in a murder trial”. On April 4 th , 1964, Christopher Polite, a soldier from Ft. Bragg was shot in front of the Ocean View Café and White testified that Samuel Gilchrest fired the fatal shots at his former brother-in-law. Gilchrist was sentenced to 15 years in prison based on White’s testimony. There was very little follow-up reporting on the murder, with a few additional articles in various newspapers confirming this was most likely murder.
Photo Source: Charleston News & Courier, June 7th 1966; accessed through Charleston County Public Library
Hurricane Hugo 1989
On September 21 st , 1989, Hurricane Hugo hit Charleston and cause substantial damage to the city and the surrounding region. In a letter from the City of Charleston Records Management Division, the Preservation Society of Charleston provided an evaluation of the roof of 7 Magazine Street after Hurricane Hugo and offered a solution to the deteriorating condition. The letter read:
“The house was originally roofed in terne standing seam metal, applied over cypress shingles. The current condition of the structure is such that the imposition of the weight of terne roofing could cause the collapse of the roof rafter structure and eventually the collapse of the entire structure. Rot and termite damage is so advanced as to necessitate complete rebuilding of the entire structure. Currently, the shingle skin and the chimney structure are the major ingredients holding the entire frame member in position. The house is owned by Irene White, a widow of advanced age who has no economic resources. She has been featured on the television news and has received assistance from the County Raise the Roof program and the Interfaith Ministry. The Mennonite are donating their labor, have limited resources and are not familiar with the application of standing seam metal. The Preservation Society is prepared to provide technical assistance and training for the installation of a standing seam roof. However, it is our opinion that this cannot be accomplished in the current condition of the structure. It is also impractical to use roll roofing as a temporary measure to the grossly uneven shingles serving as a subroof. We recommend that five v-crimp metal roofing panels of 20-pound weight be installed immediately as a means of preserving the remainder of the structure. This recommendation is made with the understanding that all parties agree that this is a temporary measure only. The owner/occupant is of deteriorating health and may not be able to occupy the structure for a long length of time. It is our hope that the use of v-crimp temporary roof will allow her to stay in her home and provide an intermin (sic) answer to the preservation of the structure. We recommend immediate application of the v-crimp metal roof.”
May 31, 1990 News and Courier Article
An article in the Charleston News and Courier in May 1990 told the story of how the two Mennonite women, Susie and Edith Hershberger, painted the kitchen of 7 Magazine Street after the hurricane for 88-year-old Irene White. The article noted that the Interfaith Recovery Ministry and the Mennonite Disaster Service assisted at 7 Magazine through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Social Services. Irene White refused to leave her house for the hurricane, which was in despair prior to the event as well. She previously received $10,000 for repairs; however, she did not have anyone to help her fix her home. After the storm, she was borrowing a bucket of water each day from her neighbors because she did not have any running water or electricity. Interfaith stepped in to provide assistance and connect her with local contractors. “While the house is a ways from being totally refurbished, there are signs that things are improving for Ms. White. Her room upstairs has delicate blue wall paper and new carpeting and she expresses excitement and appreciation about the efforts the Mennonites have put into the project.” Irene White passed away on July 26 th , 1992 and her funeral was held at Fielding Home for Funerals on August 1 st 1992.
September 10th, 1992 Post and Courier Article
A Post and Courier article on September 10 th , 1992, reported Thelma Smith, 46, died “after being beaten in the head at least 30 times with a hammer and a broken chair leg” and was also stabbed in the abdomen at her residence at 7 Magazine Street. Her boyfriend Gregory D. Johnson found her in a second-floor bedroom. According to the article, she “grew up in Charleston, then moved to Cleveland where she lived for about 25 years” but returned a few years prior to care for Irene White, her grandmother who had recently passed. At the time of her death, she was working at the Vendue Inn in downtown Charleston. In a September 13 th Post and Courier article, Michael Harrison was charged with her murder. Harrison was married to a cousin of Thelma Smith.
Rutledge and Irene White's daughter Mary E Morrison ultimately inherited the 7 Magazine Street on May 6 th, 1993. Mary Morrison and her husband Robert Morrison Jr. immediately sold the inherited property to Paula J and Raymond J Durocher in 1993 for $75,000. Mr. and Mrs. Drocher immediately filed building permits to restore 7 Magazine Street, a building that was in desperate need of repair at the time.
Conclusion
The property of 7 Magazine Street has helped to tell the story of the evolution of Ward 4, especially as it pertains to the shift from rental housing to owner occupied residential homes. This change is a reflection of the fabric of the neighborhood and the changes to the city overall. 7 Magazine Street, along with its occupants and owners, has a place in the history of Charleston.
Sources
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