Walk Through Time by Exploring These 10 Historic Summerville Homes
Oct 09, 2019
It’s a town best known for flowers, but alongside those gardens stand some of the grandest and most historic homes known to the Lowcountry. From cottages and plantation homes to former inns and boarding houses, Summerville presents an array of structures encompassing a variety of architectural styles — many of them standing as testament to the town’s legacy as a place where the region’s wealthy got away from it all.
With no shortage of dining, drinking, and ecotourism options, Summerville is now a haven for visitors of all kinds. Many of its historic homes are clustered near downtown, making for an easy walking tour linking the town’s past and present. So grab a coffee or a sweet tea and meet at Azalea Park — an attraction itself, with flowers, sculpture, pathways and more — to begin this tour of 10 homes that provide just a sample of what Summerville has to offer.
1. Middleton-Minott Cottage
Few names are more synonymous with the Lowcountry than Middleton, the wealthy family of planters that made their home at nearby Middleton Place. This house at 104 West 6th Street stands on the former site of a much larger home owned by Henry A. Middleton, descendant of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The home was destroyed by the earthquake of 1886, and the cottage which replaced it was built for Harriott Minott, Middleton’s granddaughter, to whom he willed the property.
2. Oliver House
Perhaps best known for its much-photographed circular wrought iron gate, this two-story home at 114 Rutherford Street was built around 1888 by Henry Oliver, an architect connected with an icon of the Holy City — the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. Oliver purchased the land for the Summerville home in 1887 from Charleston merchant William Carrington. Two decades later Oliver oversaw the completion of the cathedral after the first builder of the church, Henry Cade, died during construction.
3. Brailsford-Browning House
Surrounded by a picturesque white fence and cradled by the boughs of live oaks, this home at 408 Sumter Street was originally archetypal of many early Summerville structures, which were constructed high off the ground and open underneath. Built around 1830, it was one of the original 29 homes comprising the village, and occupied around that time by Dr. W.M. Brailsford. The lower level was enclosed sometime after 1915.
4. William Prioleau House
One of many who moved to Summerville to take advantage of its climate, Charleston druggist Dr. William H. Prioleau built this distinctive Victorian at 302 Sumter Avenue in the Queen Anne style. The home has been occupied by the Bolen family since 1925.
5. Kinloch House
Built for Henry W. Kinloch around 1861, the property was purchased on June 4, 1861 from the Rev. Philip Gadsden, the first Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Summerville. The family was a large landowner in the area.
6. Purcell House
With architecture similar to those of the early hunting lodges or summer homes built by local planters, this home at 224 Sumter Avenue is one of over 700 Summerville buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Built sometimes between 1811 and 1828, the guest cottage is now a bed and breakfast.
7. Rhett House
A majestic two-story home framed by live oaks and manicured lawn, this house at 205 Sumter Avenue was built around 1882 by Dr. Benjamin Rhett, who had been a surgeon in the Confederacy and later served on Summerville’s Board of Health. Land titles for the property date back to the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company, which operated one of the first railroads in North America.
8. Elizabeth Arden House
Yes, that Elizabeth Arden — the founder of the cosmetics empire of the same name, who in 1938 bought this home at 208 Sumter Avenue as a winter residence, and retained it until 1954. Originally built in 1891 by Samuel Lord, it’s more reminiscent of homes on the Charleston peninsula with its double piazzas and three-story design.
9. The Teacherage
The home at 127 West 5th South Street was built around 1882 and features unusual interior architecture in the form of an octagonal great room topped by a skylight extending up 18 feet. Purchased by Pauline Rhett for $300, then by the Summerville school district to board teachers, it was sold in 1954 to the author Paul Hyde Bonner, who lived there for 10 years.
10. The Squirrel Inn
A throwback to Summerville’s days as a winter resort, this former inn at 116 West 5th South Street was built around 1913 by Raven Lewis, and continued to offer lodgings and fine cuisine under the ownership of Jeanne and Eugene Sutter until 1966. The building was renovated into condos in 1979, but the former inn can still be seen in its wide and welcoming exterior.
Interested in learning more about these, or any of the many other historic homes in and around Summerville?
Download the full walking tour, contact Visit Summerville at
(843) 873-8535, or visit their website at
VisitSummerville.com.
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