A Tour of Charleston's 4th Ward
An area intimately entwined with the history of vice and prostitution in 19th and 20th century Charleston.
During the Fall 2022 semester, students used information garnered from deeds, newspapers, plats, and other historic document sources to reveal the fascinating yet often difficult histories behind buildings in this often overlooked section of our city.
History of Ward Four
Ward Four did not begin development until around the 1730s when Charleston saw an influx of German immigrants from the Electorate of the Palatinate, in the southwest of what is modern day Germany. These settlers occupied the northwest corner of Charleston, which at the time, was primarily empty lots. From King Street in the east to Archdale Street in the west, a handful of investors purchased the ten plots of land that would become known as “Dutch Town.” Home to working-class families, as the population continued to grow, the neighborhood boundaries continued to expand until it encompassed the whole area “west of King – street, from Clifford’s – alley to Parsonage –lane.” By the early 1800s however, the neighborhood changed again as more people came to know it as the area “formerly called Dutch-Town.” While the name had changed and most of the original German inhabitants had moved outside of the neighborhood, its new residents continued to be those of the low to middle socio-economic bracket, the working class. As the population changed, so too did the neighborhood’s name. No longer home to a majority German population, the name slowly changed to Harleston Village, or specifically, Ward Four. Ward Four continued to be home to the workhouse, the jail, several churches, and of course, residential homes. These residential homes did not always serve as strictly domestic residencies. Instead, throughout the late nineteenth and into the twentieth century, many of these homes operated as brothels and came to form a large part of the city’s “red light” district.
Tour Instructions: Tap the circle and cross-hair symbol in the upper right-hand corner of the map and allow the app to show your location. Tap any symbol on the map for a brief description. The "See property research here" button links to an in-depth StoryMap for each property.
128 Logan
128 Logan Street is located on the east side of Logan Street in the Old and Historic District in the Harleston Village neighborhood of Charleston, South Carolina and is in the fourth ward. 128 Logan Street is a wonderful example of Charleston's Ward Four's history with ties to its history as Dutch Town, and a small connection to the ward's history of vice.
122 Logan
The property at 122 Logan Street has seen its fair share over the past 220 years. From its early beginnings as a residence and a boarding house, to its time used as a brothel under Madame Mattie Sherman, to acting as a bridge between the living and the dead as a funeral home for the last 100 years, 122 Logan Street's story is as long, and as illustrious, as Charleston itself.
12 Magazine
12 Magazine is one of the first residential properties in the Logan and Magazine block in ward 4. This classic Charleston Single home was created by the Mazyck family. Benjamin Mazyck originally purchased the land to separate it for his children and grandchildren. By the 1900’s, this area was more populated with other families and names buying the property, like John Smith.
31 Archdale
While the property's use as a brothel is significant in the story of vice and prostitution within Ward 4 in the early twentieth century, the history of 31 Archdale Street connects to a much broader scope of Charleston history. The property's near-continuous chain of women ownership from the late seventeenth century until 1964, which included two women of color, stands out in a time where women had very few property rights. Additionally, their ownership of this property provides examples of how when able, women used property ownership to solidify their own financial independence, that of their relatives, and in some cases, even that of charitable organizations. While the current house is modern construction, the 31 Archdale property unites the stories of both the women owners and renters to the larger picture of Charleston history.
11 Magazine
11 Magazine Street, also known as the Mary Porter Fowler House, is a Charleston Single House in the Harleston Village neighborhood, historically known as the Fourth Ward. The house was constructed circa 1821 by free woman of color Mary Porter Fowler. It was then subsequently sold to free man of color Simons Groning in 1823. In 1845 newspapers detail the disappearance of the one-year-old daughter of a free woman of color from the house. Though no later documentation of the incident could be found. The home was turned into a rental property in the 1920s and suffered from neglect and decay. After threats of demolition in 1977, the Preservation Society of Charleston negotiated a deal to sell the house to a preservation-minded buyer and thus the home has been protected ever since.
9 West
The property at 9 West Street exists today as a vestige of the structure that once housed a den of vice in Charleston's Fourth Ward. From 1931 to 1944, Mrs. Jacqueline C. Smith operated a brothel out of the structure at 9 West Street (then known as 11 West Street). Throughout this period, Smith was arrested time and again for charges relating to her work as a Madame, until her incarceration after the prohibition on vice in 1942.
7 Magazine
7 Magazine Street has helped to tell the story of the evolution of Ward 4, especially as it pertains to the shift from rental housing to owner occupied residential homes. This change is a reflection of the fabric of the neighborhood and the changes to the city overall. 7 Magazine Street, along with its occupants and owners, has a place in the history of Charleston.
3 Magazine
3 Magazine Street typifies Charleston history. Home to a diverse set of characters across the economic, cultural, and racial spectrum, its history helps conceptualize the larger patterns in Charleston’s history. From Dutch Town to gentrification issues, 3 Magazine has not only witnesses, but weathered and immortalized these moments. The stories contained within its fabric are the stories of the common Charlestonian. It is a beautiful window, not only into Charleston’s unique vernacular architecture, but into the lives and histories of its unique citizens.
17 Archdale
The property that is now known as 17 Archdale has a history that goes far beyond its ca. 1877 construction date. The lot of land on which 17 Archdale now sits, was originally a portion of the property that belonged to what is now 19 Archdale which is better known as the Philip Porcher House that was constructed in ca. 1773. The 1880 U.S. Federal census recorded 17 individuals residing on the property and it appears that white individuals resided in the main portion of the house and while individuals blacks lived in the rear addition. On the 1902 Sanborn 17 Archdale was listed as "FB", which was an acronym used for female boarding house (brothel), but this is most likely an error made by the map makers because the Downing family were renting the property at this time and the head of the family, Mike Downing, was a policeman for over 50 years.
24 Clifford
The property at 24 Clifford Street is a contributing piece in the larger history of this area on the peninsula in Charleston South Carolina. Researching such a building helps to tell the untold stories of the German immigrants a part of Dutch town as well as the women in what was later a center for prostitution and vice.
16 Archdale
The property of 16 Archdale Street tells an evolutionary history in housing from rentals to a luxurious multi-million dollar residence. The evolution of Ward 4 has affected the fabric of the City over time with its storefronts and potential brothel use. The stories of the individuals who kept residence at 16 Archdale Street, no matter how big or small, are yet all the same in a matter of importance to keep the long lived historic of the City of Charleston alive.
18 Archdale
Once a part of Dutch Town, the abandoned residence at 18 Archdale Street is now located within Harleston Village. It is a two-and-a-half story Charleston Single House with a two-story piazza. The property has previously been home to German immigrants and free people of color.
9 Fulton
9 Fulton Street, formerly Beresford, existed within Charleston's 4th Ward and was constructed sometime between 1846 and 1852 by Abraham Ottolengui, a local well-established Jewish-Italian immigrant. The house was never a family residence during this time and instead operated as a brothel with numerous madams running the establishment from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. Beginning in the 1940s, new laws were enacted that illegalized the act of prostitution within Charleston, marking a transition for the property from brothel to residence. It would remain a dwelling until its eventual demolition and destruction in the early 90s, having been neglected some years prior.
12 Clifford
The history of 12 Clifford Street is closely intertwined with the history of the building’s twin, 10 Clifford Street, as well as the street on which it is located. Therefore, this paper seeks to tell the story of 12 Clifford Street alongside that of 10 Clifford Street and the surrounding area. These two properties play an important role in the history of Ward 4, as brothels within Charleston’s Red Light District.
10 Clifford
The history of 10 Clifford Street coincides with the history of 12 Clifford Street and the surrounding neighborhood of ward four. 10 Clifford Street has been recorded to be sold with its neighboring property 12 Clifford Street. This amalgamation of addresses has led to a shifting of property addresses such as 10 Clifford being 8 Clifford and 12 Clifford being 10 Clifford. Throughout this inconsistency, the property lends itself to the complex surroundings of St. John’s Lutheran Church and Charleston’s Red Light District.
11 Jacob's Aly
This StoryMap details the history and evolution of the property located at 11 Jacob's Aly in the city of Charleston, South Carolina. While there is no direct association with vice in Ward 4, this property does give insight into the lives of working class African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th century.
128 Logan
128 Logan Street is located on the east side of Logan Street in the Old and Historic District in the Harleston Village neighborhood of Charleston, South Carolina and is in the fourth ward. 128 Logan Street is a wonderful example of Charleston's Ward Four's history with ties to its history as Dutch Town, and a small connection to the ward's history of vice.
122 Logan
The property at 122 Logan Street has seen its fair share over the past 220 years. From its early beginnings as a residence and a boarding house, to its time used as a brothel under Madame Mattie Sherman, to acting as a bridge between the living and the dead as a funeral home for the last 100 years, 122 Logan Street's story is as long, and as illustrious, as Charleston itself.
12 Magazine
12 Magazine is one of the first residential properties in the Logan and Magazine block in ward 4. This classic Charleston Single home was created by the Mazyck family. Benjamin Mazyck originally purchased the land to separate it for his children and grandchildren. By the 1900’s, this area was more populated with other families and names buying the property, like John Smith.
31 Archdale
While the property's use as a brothel is significant in the story of vice and prostitution within Ward 4 in the early twentieth century, the history of 31 Archdale Street connects to a much broader scope of Charleston history. The property's near-continuous chain of women ownership from the late seventeenth century until 1964, which included two women of color, stands out in a time where women had very few property rights. Additionally, their ownership of this property provides examples of how when able, women used property ownership to solidify their own financial independence, that of their relatives, and in some cases, even that of charitable organizations. While the current house is modern construction, the 31 Archdale property unites the stories of both the women owners and renters to the larger picture of Charleston history.
11 Magazine
11 Magazine Street, also known as the Mary Porter Fowler House, is a Charleston Single House in the Harleston Village neighborhood, historically known as the Fourth Ward. The house was constructed circa 1821 by free woman of color Mary Porter Fowler. It was then subsequently sold to free man of color Simons Groning in 1823. In 1845 newspapers detail the disappearance of the one-year-old daughter of a free woman of color from the house. Though no later documentation of the incident could be found. The home was turned into a rental property in the 1920s and suffered from neglect and decay. After threats of demolition in 1977, the Preservation Society of Charleston negotiated a deal to sell the house to a preservation-minded buyer and thus the home has been protected ever since.
9 West
The property at 9 West Street exists today as a vestige of the structure that once housed a den of vice in Charleston's Fourth Ward. From 1931 to 1944, Mrs. Jacqueline C. Smith operated a brothel out of the structure at 9 West Street (then known as 11 West Street). Throughout this period, Smith was arrested time and again for charges relating to her work as a Madame, until her incarceration after the prohibition on vice in 1942.
7 Magazine
7 Magazine Street has helped to tell the story of the evolution of Ward 4, especially as it pertains to the shift from rental housing to owner occupied residential homes. This change is a reflection of the fabric of the neighborhood and the changes to the city overall. 7 Magazine Street, along with its occupants and owners, has a place in the history of Charleston.
3 Magazine
3 Magazine Street typifies Charleston history. Home to a diverse set of characters across the economic, cultural, and racial spectrum, its history helps conceptualize the larger patterns in Charleston’s history. From Dutch Town to gentrification issues, 3 Magazine has not only witnesses, but weathered and immortalized these moments. The stories contained within its fabric are the stories of the common Charlestonian. It is a beautiful window, not only into Charleston’s unique vernacular architecture, but into the lives and histories of its unique citizens.
17 Archdale
The property that is now known as 17 Archdale has a history that goes far beyond its ca. 1877 construction date. The lot of land on which 17 Archdale now sits, was originally a portion of the property that belonged to what is now 19 Archdale which is better known as the Philip Porcher House that was constructed in ca. 1773. The 1880 U.S. Federal census recorded 17 individuals residing on the property and it appears that white individuals resided in the main portion of the house and while individuals blacks lived in the rear addition. On the 1902 Sanborn 17 Archdale was listed as "FB", which was an acronym used for female boarding house (brothel), but this is most likely an error made by the map makers because the Downing family were renting the property at this time and the head of the family, Mike Downing, was a policeman for over 50 years.
24 Clifford
The property at 24 Clifford Street is a contributing piece in the larger history of this area on the peninsula in Charleston South Carolina. Researching such a building helps to tell the untold stories of the German immigrants a part of Dutch town as well as the women in what was later a center for prostitution and vice.
16 Archdale
The property of 16 Archdale Street tells an evolutionary history in housing from rentals to a luxurious multi-million dollar residence. The evolution of Ward 4 has affected the fabric of the City over time with its storefronts and potential brothel use. The stories of the individuals who kept residence at 16 Archdale Street, no matter how big or small, are yet all the same in a matter of importance to keep the long lived historic of the City of Charleston alive.
18 Archdale
Once a part of Dutch Town, the abandoned residence at 18 Archdale Street is now located within Harleston Village. It is a two-and-a-half story Charleston Single House with a two-story piazza. The property has previously been home to German immigrants and free people of color.
9 Fulton
9 Fulton Street, formerly Beresford, existed within Charleston's 4th Ward and was constructed sometime between 1846 and 1852 by Abraham Ottolengui, a local well-established Jewish-Italian immigrant. The house was never a family residence during this time and instead operated as a brothel with numerous madams running the establishment from the late 19th century to the early 20th century. Beginning in the 1940s, new laws were enacted that illegalized the act of prostitution within Charleston, marking a transition for the property from brothel to residence. It would remain a dwelling until its eventual demolition and destruction in the early 90s, having been neglected some years prior.
12 Clifford
The history of 12 Clifford Street is closely intertwined with the history of the building’s twin, 10 Clifford Street, as well as the street on which it is located. Therefore, this paper seeks to tell the story of 12 Clifford Street alongside that of 10 Clifford Street and the surrounding area. These two properties play an important role in the history of Ward 4, as brothels within Charleston’s Red Light District.
10 Clifford
The history of 10 Clifford Street coincides with the history of 12 Clifford Street and the surrounding neighborhood of ward four. 10 Clifford Street has been recorded to be sold with its neighboring property 12 Clifford Street. This amalgamation of addresses has led to a shifting of property addresses such as 10 Clifford being 8 Clifford and 12 Clifford being 10 Clifford. Throughout this inconsistency, the property lends itself to the complex surroundings of St. John’s Lutheran Church and Charleston’s Red Light District.
11 Jacob's Aly
This StoryMap details the history and evolution of the property located at 11 Jacob's Aly in the city of Charleston, South Carolina. While there is no direct association with vice in Ward 4, this property does give insight into the lives of working class African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th century.