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"N" is for the Nathaniel Russell House

South Carolina From A to Z
SC Public Radio

"N" is for the Nathaniel Russell House (Charleston). Located at 51 Meeting Street, the Nathaniel Russell House is one of America’s finest examples of domestic architecture. Completed in 1808, it was built for Nathaniel Russell, a successful Charleston merchant. Unlike most of Charleston’s early urban dwellings, the three-story brick house is set back thirty feet from the street and has a front garden. The architect is unknown. All cornices, chair rails, mantels, and window and door frames are embellished with cast plaster or carved wooden ornament. The large, gracefully proportioned rooms and superbly executed decorative work make this one of Charleston’s most stunning interiors. The Historic Charleston Foundation purchased the house in 1955 and, today, it is operated as a museum. In 1974, the Nathaniel Russell House was designated a National Historic Landmark. 

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.