3 Magazine Street, Charleston, SC

Originally platted by the Lords' Proprietor and gifted to an unknown English colonist in the late seventeenth century, the earliest extent record of the land that became 3 Magazine Street comes in the form of a 1742 plat ordered by Isaac Mazyck Sr. for the distribution of his lands to his children.

Marked simply as #20, at this time, there were no structures on the site that would become 3 Magazine Street. Instead, plot #20 marks nearly the entire south side of Magazine Street from Archdale Street. It, along with plots 4, 5, 12, 13, 23, 28, and 31 belonged to Isaac Mazyck Jr.

Visible on the map as well are the locations of the Powder Magazine, the Work House, and the cemetery which confirm that although the neighborhood was beginning to develop, it was still very rural and sparse in the 1740s, which is why all of these structures were placed away from the more populated town center.

By 1790, 3 Magazine Street appeared in the newspapers and city directories. In the 1790 Charleston city directory, a Mr. Jacob Strobel, butcher, is listed at 3 Magazine Street. His name and address also appear in a newspaper advertisement in the February 9, 1791, addition of the City Gazette wherein Strobel and an M Maria Yoar are listed as executor and executrix for the estate of one Andrew Redmond. Elizabeth Strobel was married to Jacob Strobel and was also Andrew Redmond’s daughter-in-law along with Margaret Maria Yoar. Strobel lived at 3 Magazine Street for at least four years as a renter. The Charleston city directories alternate during this period between listing the exact address on Magazine Street and simply listing “Magazine Street”. Although this makes tracking the occupants of 3 Magazine Street harder, it reinforces the idea that Ward Four was slow to develop. Homes and businesses in the area were sparse enough that to locate someone, a person only needed to know they lived on or worked on Magazine Street to be able to find them.

The first recorded land transfer or sale for the plot was in 1812 when it passed from Mary Lingard to her great-grandsons Ralph, Thomas, and Edward Griffeth. Little is known about Mary Lingard. She had been in Charleston from at least 1790 and owned several properties around the Charleston area. Her will, dated April 8, 1812, left her various properties to an assortment of her grandchildren including Violetta Wyatt and John Lingard Hunter. To each of them she leaves specific lots with set dimensions and cross streets. However, when it comes to the land on which 3 Magazine Street would later be built, her will read simply, “It is my Will that the remainder of my Lot of Piece of Land on Magazine Street shall be divided into three equal Parts one of which I give to each of my Great Grand Sons Ralph Griffeth Thomas Griffeth & Edward Griffeth.” Following her will, no further action was taken for almost a decade and the property was presumably rented out.

Then, in 1818, newspapers began recording liquor licenses for 3 Magazine Street. John Neville held the first recorded liquor license for the property from 1818 until 1823. A liquor license appears as late as 1841 as well, suggesting that if 3 Magazine was not in continual use as a tavern, it did at the very least ebb and flow over time. While 3 Magazine was operating as a tavern, it was also being slowly bought up by William Aiken. Over the course of four years beginning in 1820 and finishing in 1823, William Aiken Sr. began buying out each of the Griffeth men.

Below is an image of the Halsey Map. Created in 1949, it depicts all of the major events and businesses throughout Charleston's history. #44 is referencing a brewery on Magazine Street in the early 1800s. Although 3 Magazine Street is technically a little further to the right, it is highly probable this is what #44 was mentioning. The liquor licenses listed in the newspapers for 3 Magazine Street further this notion as well.

The first recorded deed still accessible for 3 Magazine Street is Ralph Griffeth’s sale of his portion of the inheritance from his great-grandmother to William Aiken on July 28, 1820. This deed, along with those for Thomas and Edward Griffeth’s sales to William Aiken Sr., does not mention the smaller modern dimensions for 3 Magazine Street. Instead, they mention only the “undivided” land they inherited from their great-grandmother Mary Lingard. Although there was some structure, either in the form of a butcher shop or home prior to this sale which Jacob Strobel occupied, the land was split equally between Mary’s three sons and it seems could not be divided.

William Aiken Sr. was a wealthy cotton and rice producer who founded the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company and was one of the wealthiest Charlestonians of the time. He owned properties throughout Charleston and the state. His interest in owning property in Ward Four demonstrates its economic appeal. The neighborhood still housed the jail  and the Work House, but even though the wealthier members of society did not want to live near those locations, the neighborhood’s overall location was appealing enough to draw investors like Aiken. Interestingly, John Neville’s liquor licenses stopped appearing in the newspapers after 1823, suggesting that once William Aiken Sr. acquired the property he changed its use, at least for a time. Aiken most likely rented the property out as a multi-family residence.

Sometime between 1823 when Aiken gains possession of all three pieces of the land and 1837, he either sold or gifted the land to a Mrs. Henry Edwards though nothing more is known about her, her relationship to the family, or her death. On March 20, 1837, William Aiken Jr. and Robert Martin, acting as her trustees, sell the property to John Smith. John Smith holds on to the property, renting it out as a commercial and residential space. In 1841, the Southern Patriot recorded a liquor license granted to Nicholas Burger.

On January 1, 1856, 3 Magazine Street is sold to John Kennedy. Kennedy appears to be the first owner to live in the actual property for several years before he sells it to Thomas Ryan on October  12, 1859. A 1856 McCrady plat (below) records the building as a two story dwelling with a two-story detached kitchen in the back of the lot.

Thomas Ryan was, another wealthy and infamous Charlestonian, was Charleston’s sheriff and an alderman as well as the owner of the largest slave market in Charleston: Ryan’s Slave Mart. His participation in the purchase and sale of 3 Magazine reinforces the popularity of the area in the real estate market. His quick turnover suggests that 3 Magazine was a quick venture solely for profit and was never meant to be a part of his long-term real estate holdings. Instead, Thomas Ryan made most of his profit off this particular property by also backing John Artman’s mortgage. Artman purchased the property in 1869 and lived in the property for several years, using it as his primary residence until around 1876.

A help wanted advertisement appears in the January 28, 1879, edition of the News and Courier looking for a “woman to cook and do general housework.” Those interested were asked to apply at 3 Magazine Street. Although the occupant is unknown, the property was still being rented out. At this time, the renter was someone with enough money to pay for the services of a cook or housekeeper. This was not always the case and suggests that 3 Magazine Street at this point may have been a commercial business once again such as a tavern or boarding house. The majority of the residences in the neighborhood were not occupied by well-to-do Charlestonians. The neighborhood was still majority working class who would have worked as cooks or housekeepers rather than keep them themselves. Only those who either needed them such as a boarding house, would hire housekeepers or cooks at this time in Ward Four.

In 1880, Louisa Buerhaus comes into possession of 3 Magazine Street. In 1882 Louisa Buerhaus builds a new house at 3 Magazine Street. This one is also made of wood (see 1888 Sanborn Map below). Throughout the 1880s, Louisa Buerhaus lived at 19 Archdale, just around the corner from 3 Magazine Street. She lived with Caroline and George McNulty, her relations. Throughout this period, advertisements attempting to rent out 3 Magazine Street appear in the News and Courier in 1887 and 1891 (see above). Up to this point, only white Charlestonians have lived in 3 Magazine Street. In 1891, the last advertisement until the property is sold again in 1906 appeared in the News and Courier.

Throughout this same period, Ward Four built a reputation as the “red light” district where prostitution ran rampant. By the 1850s, the Ward Four was well-known for its brothels. Madames such as Grace Peixotto and Fanny Cochran made it their home and their place of business. Although there is no definitive evidence during this period that 3 Magazine Street operated as a brothel, it was in close proximity to other brothels throughout the neighborhood. Its residents such as Artman and Kennedy would have passed by brothels filled with both the prostitutes who lived and worked there as well as their customers, daily.  

From about 1891 until it is sold again in 1906, there is evidence that 3 Magazine Street operated as a brothel. The last rental advertisement is in July of 1891, suggesting that the property is occupied continuous from that point forward. This time period would also coincide with the heyday of ward four’s red light district past. In 1902, the Sanborn Fire Insurance Company released their updated map of Charleston which listed buildings and their fire risk. Occasionally, the maps would also list businesses and dwellings. The 1902 map broke the usual pattern and went a step further. Rather than simply listing buildings as a dwelling or business, it also took into female boarding houses. These are simply marked “F.B.” on the map and were often a euphemism for a brothel. The 1902 map clearly lists 3 Magazine Street as a female boarding house. This, coupled with fact that most brothels in this time period in Charleston operated out of Ward Four strengthens this idea. 1902 was also the year of the South Carolina and West Indian Exposition which drew a crowd from around the world. As Charleston expected a large tourist population, a “blue book” was circulated around this time as well which listed many of the brothels tourists could visit, although 3 Magazine Street was not listed.

Then, in 1904, Josephine Black and Mary Evans, both women of color, were arrested for “disorderly conduct at the premises 3 Magazine street”(see article below). Often, because prostitution itself was such a legally gray area in Charleston, women were not arrested for it outright. Rather, they were arrested for “disorderly conduct” or other nuisance charges. This also marks the first instance of women of color potentially living at 3 Magazine Street.

In 1906, 3 Magazine Street is sold again. This time to Rena Baynard who lives there from about 1906 until 1913 when she sells the home to Arnold Schultz who rented it out for the next several decades. 3 Magazine Street had many occupants during this time. This shift seems to mark the end of the brothel era for 3 Magazine. Its occupants throughout the rest of the twentieth century now fell in line with the rest of the working class that make up the neighborhood. No longer able to hire help, they are the help looking for hire.

 Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, 3 Magazine Street and the larger area around it fell on to harder times. Newspaper articles mark the shift in the neighborhood as 3 Magazine Street appears almost solely in relation to attacks, muggings, and other petty crime.

In one memorable series of articles, 3 Magazine Street was mentioned as the home of one James Washington when he was arrested in March of 1932 and arraigned in December of 1932 along with three other men for running a bootlegging still out of Goose Creek.

From 1945 onwards, Ellie Vroome lives in the home as her primary residence until she sells in 1960 to Adele Mikell. Adele Mikell lives in the home from then until 1988 when she passes and wills the home to her daughter, Helen Mikell. 3 Magazine Street is sold again in May of 2007 to Mark and Karen Stephenson who completely restore the home. Permits filed with the Board of Architectural Review for the City of Charleston show that the Stephensons demolished the old rear building that originally served as the kitchens and rebuilt it as a single family dwelling in 2007. Additionally, they de-converted the building from a multi-family dwelling back to a single family dwelling as it had been originally. They replaced the roof on the house, the front siding, and added the piazza back to the home and returned 3 Magazine Street to life. Most recently, 3 Magazine Street was sold in 2016 by the Stephensons for just over one million dollars.

“Advertisement.” City Gazette. Charleston, South Carolina. February 9, 1791: [2].  https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=image/v2%3A1089C6C0AF0CEFE8%40EANX-108C133FC069D5C0%402375249-108C13400D783E00%401-108C134186C1EF48%40Advertisement&hlterms=%223%20Magazine%22&f=basic ”

"Advertisement." City Gazette (Charleston, South Carolina) XLIV, no. 13950, June 4, 1823: [4]. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current.  https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=image/v2%3A1089C6C0AF0CEFE8%40EANX-12948B6078782188%402387051-12948B6286764048%407-12948B655B4F8808%40Advertisement 

"Advertisement." Southern Patriot (Charleston, South Carolina) XLVI, no. 7053. November 3, 1841: [3]. NewsBank: Access World News – Historical and Current.  https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=WORLDNEWS&docref=image/v2%3A10FF2B6D82402430%40EANX-1106E02A5D08F008%402393778-1106E02ADED090A8%402-1106E02C3B088898%40Advertisement .

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