Charleston is a city with a plethora of homes to visit. The Nathaniel Russell House stands out as one of the finest. Built by the Rhode Island-born shipping magnet, Nathaniel Russell, it is now operated by the Historic Charleston Foundation. Russell became known as the King of the Yankees, a group of Northerners who had moved to Charleston to make their fortunes.
He was one of the wealthiest men in the United States when he decided to build his home on Meeting Street very close to the docks where he had made his fortune. He had two daughters of the marrying age who needed to be shown off to their advantage. It must have worked because both of them made very fine marriages.
Nathaniel came south to Charleston in 1765 at the age of 27. At the age of 50, he married a wealthy Charleston heiress, Sarah Hopton. They had their first daughter a year later and a second daughter 3 years after that. The Russell’s and their 78 slaves moved into the Meeting Street House in 1808. When he died, the house passed to his wife, and at her death, to their younger daughter Sarah. At her death in 1857, the house was sold to the Allston family. The Russell House is one of the lucky ones, as it never has been neglected. After the Allston’s sold it, it became a Catholic girls school.
You must take a tour to visit this house. Though guests would have entered through the front door, we had to enter through the gift shop on the side. Our docent, Mary Ann, was very knowledgeable about the house and family. We learned that it is the best example of the Federal-style townhouse in Charleston. The oval rooms on each floor are the most important and done in the Adams style. All of the doors in the house are original, and they are made of pine and painted to look like mahogany and satinwood. This was a common practice of the time period.
The cantilever stairs are the real showcase of the home. They sweep effortlessly from the first-floor entrance up three floors with no visible support. The furniture in the house, though from the correct period, is not original to the house, except for one Windsor chair. The colors in the house are exceptionally bright, and the woodwork and crown molding are spectacular. The music room is done in a color called verditer blue, which is a very bright aqua, and the baseboard is painted to look like lapis - a striking contrast. As you ascend the stairs, look for the George Romney portrait on the stair landing.
Even in January, the gardens of the Nathaniel Russell House are beautiful and they have been returned to the form they would have had during the time the Russell’s lived in the house.
He was one of the wealthiest men in the United States when he decided to build his home on Meeting Street very close to the docks where he had made his fortune. He had two daughters of the marrying age who needed to be shown off to their advantage. It must have worked because both of them made very fine marriages.
Nathaniel came south to Charleston in 1765 at the age of 27. At the age of 50, he married a wealthy Charleston heiress, Sarah Hopton. They had their first daughter a year later and a second daughter 3 years after that. The Russell’s and their 78 slaves moved into the Meeting Street House in 1808. When he died, the house passed to his wife, and at her death, to their younger daughter Sarah. At her death in 1857, the house was sold to the Allston family. The Russell House is one of the lucky ones, as it never has been neglected. After the Allston’s sold it, it became a Catholic girls school.
You must take a tour to visit this house. Though guests would have entered through the front door, we had to enter through the gift shop on the side. Our docent, Mary Ann, was very knowledgeable about the house and family. We learned that it is the best example of the Federal-style townhouse in Charleston. The oval rooms on each floor are the most important and done in the Adams style. All of the doors in the house are original, and they are made of pine and painted to look like mahogany and satinwood. This was a common practice of the time period.
The cantilever stairs are the real showcase of the home. They sweep effortlessly from the first-floor entrance up three floors with no visible support. The furniture in the house, though from the correct period, is not original to the house, except for one Windsor chair. The colors in the house are exceptionally bright, and the woodwork and crown molding are spectacular. The music room is done in a color called verditer blue, which is a very bright aqua, and the baseboard is painted to look like lapis - a striking contrast. As you ascend the stairs, look for the George Romney portrait on the stair landing.
Even in January, the gardens of the Nathaniel Russell House are beautiful and they have been returned to the form they would have had during the time the Russell’s lived in the house.
