Joseph Manigault House facts for kids
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Joseph Manigault House
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U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Contributing Property |
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Joseph Manigault House
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 Location in South Carolina
Location in the United States
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| Location | 350 Meeting St., Charleston, South Carolina |
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| Built | 1803 |
| Architect | Gabriel Manigault |
| Architectural style | Early Republic |
| Part of | Charleston Historic District (ID66000964) |
| NRHP reference No. | 73001688 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | November 7, 1973 |
| Designated NHL | November 7, 1973 |
| Designated NHLDCP | October 9, 1960 |
The Joseph Manigault House is a special old house in Charleston, South Carolina. It's now a historic house museum, which means you can visit it to learn about life long ago. The Charleston Museum takes care of it.
This beautiful house was built in 1803. It was designed by a talented architect named Gabriel Manigault for his brother, Joseph. The house is famous for its amazing Adam style architecture. This style is known for being very elegant and detailed. Because it's so well-preserved, the house was named a National Historic Landmark in 1973.
Exploring the Joseph Manigault House
The Manigault House is in the middle of the Charleston area. You can find it where Meeting Street and John Street meet. It's a three-story building made of brick, sitting on a raised brick base.
The front of the house has a two-story porch. This porch covers the middle part of the house. It has fancy doorways on both floors. These doorways have thin pillars and windows on the sides. One side of the house has a round staircase sticking out. The other side has a curved porch. This makes the house look a bit like a unique, uneven shape.
Inside, the house has very detailed wooden decorations. You can see them on the fireplace mantels and around the doors and windows. These designs show the Adam style perfectly. This style used different sizes of decorations for homes and public buildings. There's even a small building near the entrance called a gatehouse. It's an architectural folly, which means it was built just for fun and decoration.
The House's Amazing Story
Joseph Manigault's house was finished in 1803. His brother, Gabriel, designed it. Gabriel Manigault had studied architecture in London before the American Revolutionary War. He learned a lot about Robert Adam's design ideas there.
This house was one of the first big projects where Gabriel used these new ideas. It was also one of the first houses in Charleston that didn't follow the usual "single house" or "double house" designs. The house also has special parts built to keep pests away.
After Joseph Manigault passed away, his house was sold in 1852 to George N. Reynolds, Jr. Later, in 1864, John S. Riggs bought it. In 1920, the house was almost torn down to build a gas station! But a group of people in Charleston worked together to save it. This group later became the Preservation Society of Charleston. Thanks to them, we can still visit and learn from this historic house today.
See Also
