Old Slave Mart facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Old Slave Mart
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Old Slave Mart facade
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| Location | 6 Chalmers Street, Charleston, South Carolina |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1830s <updated 7/26/21 source slave auction paper found in attic |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival, Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 75001694 |
| Added to NRHP | May 2, 1975 |
The Old Slave Mart is a historic building in Charleston, South Carolina. It was once a place where enslaved people were sold during the time before the American Civil War. Built in 1859, it is thought to be the last building of its kind still standing in South Carolina.
In 1975, the Old Slave Mart was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This was because of its important role in the history of African Americans in Charleston. Today, the building is home to the Old Slave Mart Museum.
The Old Slave Mart was originally part of a larger market called Ryan's Slave Mart. This market covered a big area between Chalmers and Queen Streets. A city councilman named Thomas Ryan started this private auction place in 1856. This happened after the city stopped public slave auctions. Slave auctions took place here until about 1863. In 1865, the Union Army took control of Charleston and closed Ryan's Mart. The Old Slave Mart Museum has been open at different times since 1938.
Building Design and Features
The Old Slave Mart is a brick building about 67 feet (20 meters) long and 19 feet (5.8 meters) wide. Its front is covered in stucco and faces Chalmers Street, which has cobblestones.
The building was first 44 feet (13 meters) long and 20 feet (6.1 meters) wide. An addition in 1922 made it its current size. The front of the Old Slave Mart looks special. It has tall, eight-sided pillars at each end. There is also a large, curved archway in the middle that serves as the entrance.
When it was first built, the building had one big room with a 20-foot (6.1-meter) high ceiling. In 1878, a second floor was added, and the roof was changed. The arched entrance used to have an iron gate. In the late 1870s, simple doors were put in its place. Later, walls were added inside, dividing the first floor into three rooms. Today, an iron gate is back in the archway.
History of the Slave Mart
In the early 1800s, enslaved people brought to Charleston were sold at public auctions. These auctions happened near the Exchange and Provost building. In 1856, the city stopped these public sales. Because of this, private slave markets were set up on streets like Chalmers, State, and Queen.
One of these markets was Ryan's Mart. It was started by Thomas Ryan, a city councilman and broker, and his partner James Marsh. Ryan's Mart first had a closed area with three buildings. These included a four-story building for holding enslaved people, a kitchen, and a "dead house" or morgue.
In 1859, a person who ran auctions named Z. B. Oakes bought Ryan's Mart. He built the Old Slave Mart building to be an auction gallery. Inside, there was an auction table that was 3 feet (0.9 meters) high and 10 feet (3 meters) long. It was just inside the arched doorway. Besides enslaved people, the market also sold land and other goods. Auctions at Ryan's Mart were advertised in newspapers in the 1850s. Some ads even appeared as far away as Galveston, Texas.
When the U.S. Army took over Charleston in February 1865, the people still enslaved at Ryan's Mart were freed.
In 1878, the Old Slave Mart was changed into a place where people lived, with a second floor added. In the 1920s, a car dealership used the building. They added an extension to the back of the building.
Becoming a Museum
In 1938, Miriam B. Wilson bought the building. She opened the Old Slave Mart Museum. At first, it showed art from Africa and African Americans. Wilson ran the museum with very little money until she passed away in 1959.
The museum closed in 1987 because of money problems. In the late 1990s, the City of Charleston and the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission fixed up the Old Slave Mart. The museum now teaches about the history of the slave trade in the city. The area behind the building, which once held the slave holding building and kitchen, is now a parking lot.
In 2018, the College of Charleston bought 47 boxes of documents from the museum's early years. These documents cost $5,400.
See also
- Antebellum South Carolina
- Slave trade in the United States
- List of buildings and structures used in the slave trade in the United States
