17 Archdale Street

• The property that is now known as 17 Archdale has a history that goes far beyond the ca. 1877 construction date of the building that now resides there.

• The lot of land on which 17 Archdale now sits, was originally a portion of the property that belonged to what is now 19 Archdale which is better known as the Philip Porcher House that was constructed in ca. 1773 which can be seen here. It was built by Mr. Porcher and his wife Mary Mayzck Porcher. They received the land from Mary’s father Issac Mayzck. Philip Porcher left the house to his daughter Mary when he died and stated “my daughter Mary Porcher shall have the free use and undisturbed enjoyment of my house and lot in the City of Charleston, situate on the corner of Archdale and Magazine Streets, so long as she shall remain single and unmarried and no longer” she never married and the house was sold in 1835 to August Gaillard - she was the first of multiple unmarried women who would own and reside in the house.

• 19 people have owned this property since 1698 and 8 people have owned the property since the 17 Archdale structure was built ca. 1877. There were notable citizens who owned the property, such as, Samuel Prioleau, Etienne Poincignon, who was a French tinsmith, and Thomas Ryan, who was an Irish "broker" (slave broker). Thomas Ryan ran the Ryan’s Slave Mart, which was located on Chalmers Street in Charleston, South Carolina. The structure now houses the Slave Mart Museum.   

3 men were recorded in the 1877 Charleston City Directory living at 17 Archdale - two whites in the main portion of the house and a black man living in the rear portion.

The 1880 U.S. Federal census recorded 17 individuals residing on the property. Again, we see the whites in the main portion of the house and the blacks living in the rear addition.

• A visual representation of 17 Archdale first appears on the 1888 Sanborn Fire insurance Map. We can see that it appears to be a 2 story Charleston Single house with a piazza and a rear addition. The property line is not drawn all the way through to separate 17 and 19 Archdale. (See on the slidecar below)

• On the 1902 Sanborn, 17 Archdale is now separated form 19 Archdale. It was listed as "FB", which was an acronym used for female boarding house (brothel), but this is most likely an error made by the map makers. The Downing family were renting the property at this time and the head of the family, Mike Downing, was a policeman for over 50 years. A daughter and niece in the family who unmarried and unemployed resided on the property. (See on the slidecar below)

A 1917 article shows that there was a woman who was described as an "inmate and a disorderly person" living near 17 Archdale. For a short period of time Archdale Street changed to Charles Street. Citizens of the neighborhood signed a petition to kick her out of the neighborhood including men of the Downing family who at this time were living in the Philip Porcher house and Kate F. Cleary who was the owner and occupant of 17 Archdale at this time. During this time period neighbors were not very accepting of the female boarding houses and prostitutes as they had been in years prior. This is when we see a push to evict them from the neighborhood.

In 1973 John Webster Thomson III purchased the property and his Trust sold the property in 2011 to Charleston Day School Inc. for $825,000. Charleston Day School currently owns the property.

Sources

"17 Archdale," Property Vertical File, Board of Architectural Review, Charleston, SC.

 “19 Archdale,” Property Vertical File, Historic Charleston Foundation, Charleston, SC.

1880 U. S. Federal Census, Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina; Roll: 1222; Page: 177D; Enumeration District: 061, Ancestry.com.

“Advertisement,” 1906 January 4, News & Courier, Charleston, SC.

Charleston City Directory, 1877, Charleston, SC, Ancestry.com.

Drie, C. N. Bird's eye view of the city of Charleston, South Carolina. [N.P, 1872] Map.  https://www.loc.gov/item/75696567/ 

E. & H.T. Anthony , Copyright Claimant. The ruins of Charleston, S.C., showing the Sister Churches. South Carolina Charleston United States, ca. 1865. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2011646743/.

“Interactive Maps.” Historic Charleston, SC Interactive Fire, zoning, district maps. Accessed December 3, 2022. https://www.historiccharleston.org/research/maps/.

 Petrie, Edmund, Adam Tunno, and Phoenix Fire-Company Of London. Ichnography of Charleston, South-Carolina: at the request of Adam Tunno, Esq., for the use of the Phœnix Fire-Company of London, taken from actual survey, 2d August. [London: E. Petrie, 1790] Map.  https://www.loc.gov/item/80692362/ .

R. P. Bridgens and F. Allen, An Original Map of the City of Charleston (Hayden Brothers and Co., 1852). Map. From the South Carolina Room, Charleston County Public Library.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Company. Map of Charleston, SC. New York, NY: Sanborn Fire Insurance Co., 1888  p.7.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Company. Map of Charleston, SC. New York, NY: Sanborn Fire Insurance Co., 1902  p. 54.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Company. Map of Charleston, SC. New York, NY: Sanborn Fire Insurance Co., 1929  p. 54.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Company. Map of Charleston, SC. New York, NY: Sanborn Fire Insurance Co., 1944 vol. 1 p.54.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Company. Map of Charleston, SC. New York, NY: Sanborn Fire Insurance Co., 1951  vol. 1 p.54.

 Sanborn Fire Insurance Company. Map of Charleston, SC. New York, NY: Sanborn Fire Insurance Co., 1955 vol. 1 p.54.