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William Seabrook House

Coordinates: 32°36′6″N 80°16′53″W / 32.60167°N 80.28139°W / 32.60167; -80.28139
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William Seabrook House
William Seabrook House in 1978
William Seabrook House is located in South Carolina
William Seabrook House
William Seabrook House is located in the United States
William Seabrook House
Nearest cityEdisto Island, South Carolina
Coordinates32°36′6″N 80°16′53″W / 32.60167°N 80.28139°W / 32.60167; -80.28139
Built1810
ArchitectHoban, James
Architectural styleEarly Republic
NRHP reference No.71000758[1]
Added to NRHPMay 6, 1971

The William Seabrook House, also known as the Seabrook[2] is a plantation house built about 1810 on Edisto Island, South Carolina, United States, southwest of Charleston.[3] It is located off Steamboat Landing Road Extension (South Carolina State Highway 10-768) close to Steamboat Creek[4] about 0.7 mi (1.1 km) from Steam Boat Landing.[5][6] It was named to the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1971.[1][3][7]

History

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William Seabrook was a Sea Island cotton planter and part-owner of the Edisto Island Ferry, which had a steamboat named the W. Seabrook. The house was built around 1810. His initials are on the ironwork of the front stairs.[3][8] Tradition indicates that James Hoban, the architect of the White House, was the designer.[3][9]

William Seabrook died in about 1837. His widow lived in the house until 1854 or 1855. The house was purchased by J. Evans Eddings.[10]

At the end of the Civil War, the Sea Islands below Charleston were abandoned to the Union Army forces. The house was used for staff headquarters and provost. After the war ended, freed slaves temporarily took refuge in the house.[8]

Around 1875 it was sold. At some point, Judge Smith purchased the house.[10] Later, the house was bought and restored by Donald D. Dodge.[8]

Architecture

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This house has been described as a classic plan for houses on Edisto.[8] It is an Early Republic or Federal style, 2+12-story frame house on a raised basement. It has a gabled roof with dormers. It has a double portico with pediment with a semielliptical fanlight, columns, and arched entablature. Double stairways rise to the first floor portico. The main door has sidelights and a semielliptical fanlight.[3] The windows on the main and second floors are nine over nine lights. The house originally had four rooms on the main floor divided by a central hall that extends to the smaller garden portico. Double stairways to the second floor go up a landing over the garden portico door.[3]

Additional pictures are available.[11] A floor plan and photographs taken before its restoration are also available.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ "William Seabrook House". South Carolina Plantations. SCI-way.net. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Ruhf, Nancy R. (December 10, 1971). "William Seabrook House" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form. National Park Service. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  4. ^ "Steamboat Creek". Geographic Names Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  5. ^ "Steamboat Landing". Geographic Names Information System. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  6. ^ "+32° 36' 6.00", −80° 16' 53.00". Google Maps. Retrieved 12 May 2009.
  7. ^ "William Seabrook House, Charleston County (off S.C. Hwy. 174, Edisto Island)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  8. ^ a b c d e Stoney, Samuel Gaillard; Simons, A.; Lapham, Samuel Jr (1989). Plantations of the Carolina Low Country (7th ed.). Mineola, New York: Courier Dover Publications. pp. 45, 78–79, 215–216. ISBN 0-486-26089-5.
  9. ^ "Life and Work in Charleston, South Carolina". James Hoban: Architect of the White House. White House. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  10. ^ a b Leiding, Harriette Kershaw (1921). Historic houses of South Carolina. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J.B. Lippincott Company. pp. 217–218. ISBN 9780722245705.
  11. ^ Bayless, Charles N. (November 1978). "William Seabrook House, County Road 768, Edisto Island, Charleston County, SC (Photographs)". Historic American Buildings Survey. National Park Service. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
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