Nathaniel Russell House facts for kids
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Nathaniel Russell House
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U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Contributing Property |
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| Location | 51 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina, United States |
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| Built | 1803–1808 |
| Architectural style | Federal-style |
| Part of | Charleston Historic District (ID66000964) |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000750 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | August 19, 1971 |
| Designated NRHP | November 7, 1973 |
| Designated NHL | October 9, 1960 |
The Nathaniel Russell House is a beautiful old home in Charleston, South Carolina. It was built in 1808 by a very rich merchant named Nathaniel Russell. This house is famous for its amazing neoclassical style. It is considered one of the most important houses of its kind in the United States. In 1973, it was named a National Historic Landmark.
Contents
History of the Russell House
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Nathaniel Russell moved to Charleston from Rhode Island in 1765. He became very successful as a merchant. In 1788, when he was 50 years old, he married Sarah Hopton. Her family was also very wealthy in Charleston.
Since Russell was a very important person in Charleston, he needed a grand house. He started building his home in 1803. It took five years to finish, and he was 70 years old when it was done!
Nathaniel and Sarah Russell had two daughters. One of them, Sarah Russell Dehon, inherited the house. She lived there until she passed away in 1857. After her death, her children sold the house.
A famous rice farmer named Robert Allston bought it next. He even lived there while he was the governor of South Carolina. In 1870, the house was sold again. The Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy used it as a school for girls until 1905. Then, two families, the Mullally and Pelzer families, turned it back into a private home.
In 1953, the owners wanted to sell the house. When they couldn't find a buyer by 1955, they thought about dividing the property. But the Historic Charleston Foundation, a group formed in 1947 to save old buildings, stepped in. They decided to keep the house whole. They raised $65,000 and bought the house and its land. Soon after, they opened it to the public as a museum.
In 1995, the foundation started a big project. They researched and rebuilt parts of the house. Their goal was to make it look just like it did in 1808. This included all the small details and colors inside.
Thanks to gifts and donations, the foundation has collected many old items. These items are from Charleston and the time the Russell family lived there. This helps visitors imagine what life was like for rich merchants in the early 1800s.
The Nathaniel Russell House was first recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1960. It was then added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
In late 2023, the Historic Charleston Foundation thought about selling the house. They wanted to use the money for other projects. But many people who care about history were upset. So, in early 2024, the foundation decided to keep the house as a museum.
The House and Its Surroundings
House Design and Look
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Nathaniel Russell hired an unknown architect to build his large home. He wanted it in the popular Federal style of the time. The house is a rectangle shape and has three stories. It is made of gray brick from Carolina.
A decorative edge and a fancy railing hide the low roof. This makes the house look like it's made of simple, perfect shapes.
The most important sides of the house are the front (east) and the garden side (south). These sides look very formal and balanced. The windows on the second floor are the tallest. This floor was the most important, like a main living area. All 11 windows have marble tops. They are set into spaces with red brick arches. A stone line connects all these windows, like a necklace around the house.
The front of the house has a special door. It looks like wood grain but is painted. It has eight panels and a fan-shaped window above it. Four tall, grooved pillars stand next to the door. Above this, on the second floor, is a beautiful iron balcony. It curves out and has the letters "NR" for Nathaniel Russell.
The south side of the house has a cool, many-sided bay window. It goes up all three floors. Another light and elegant balcony wraps around this bay. It also shows how important the second floor was.
The north side of the house has a fancy three-part window. It is placed inside, between the landings of the house's curved staircase.
The house is very large, about 9,600 square feet (892 square meters). About 6,000 square feet (557 square meters) is living space.
Inside the House
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The inside of the house shows off the neoclassical style. This style was popular in the late 1700s and early 1800s. In this style, rooms often had different shapes, like squares, circles, or ovals. They were decorated with fancy plaster and bright colors. The Nathaniel Russell House has three main rooms on each floor. Each room has a different shape: a rectangle in the front, an oval in the middle, and a square in the back.
First Floor Rooms
The rectangular entrance hall has a black and white floor covering. It looks like a checkerboard with a leaf design around the edges. The room next to it was Russell's office, where he did business.
Large double doors separate the public rooms from the family's private rooms. These doors look like wood grain but are painted. They have glass designs and a fan-shaped window above them. They lead to the golden-colored stair hall. This hall shows off the house's most famous feature: the amazing spiral staircase. It seems to float as it goes up to the third floor.
A special three-part window lights up the hall. The walls are decorated with painted designs that look like real plaster. These were done by a Charleston artist named Samuel O'Hara. Off the central stair hall is the oval dining room. It has turquoise walls that look painted but are actually small squares of wallpaper. They have red and gold rings around them. The lower part of the walls is white cypress wood. The wooden floors and window shutters are original to the house. At the back of the house is a square parlor. This room was made bigger later to connect to the kitchen. The family used it for everyday meals.
Second Floor Rooms
The oval drawing room on the second floor is the most decorated room. Women of the house would go there after dinner. Its walls are apricot colored. The fancy plaster designs are covered in real 24-karat gold leaf. The bottom parts of the walls are painted to look like a blue stone called lapis lazuli. The fireplaces have very detailed decorations.
The curved doors into this room are painted to look like fancy wood on the outside. On the inside, they look like tortoise shells. Curved mirrors on one side of the room match the windows on the other. They help reflect light into the room.
The large rectangular withdrawing room is at the front of the house. It has soft gray walls and white lower walls. A fancy gilded border runs along the top of the walls. The windows have tall, slender pillars and overhanging decorations around them. This gives the walls a lot of character. With windows on three sides, this room was used mostly during the day. It let in lots of sunlight and cool breezes. At the back of the house is a square master bedroom. More bedrooms are on the third floor.
Most of the art and furniture in the house today did not originally belong to the Russell family. However, they are from the same time period. Many pieces were made in Charleston.
The Gardens and Yard
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A wrought iron fence on a low brick wall separates the house and yard from the street. The iron entrance gate has tall brick posts with round stone tops. To the south of the house is the garden. It used to have a formal design with flower beds and orange and grapefruit trees. Today, it is a formal English garden. It has gravel paths, boxwood hedges, and plants that were popular in the 1800s. At the back of the house is a two-story building. This was the slave quarters, where many of the house's estimated 18 enslaved people lived.
Gallery
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A view of the beautiful gardens
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