Chesnut Cottage

National Register Listing

Street Address:

1718 Hampton St., Columbia, SC (Richland County)

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NRHP Nomination

Record Number:

S10817740016

Description and Narrative:

The Chesnut Cottage is significant architecturally as an example of a “Columbia Cottage,” an adaptation of the standard Classical or Greek Revival-based cottage to local conditions and requirements. Historically, the Chesnut Cottage is significant as the home of General James and Mary Boykin Chesnut during the Civil War period. General Chesnut served on Jefferson Davis’s staff. Mary Chesnut provided future generation with eyewitness accounts of happenings during the 1860s with her Diary from Dixie, edited by Ben Ames Williams and published in 1905. In the fall of 1864, Davis was entertained at the Chesnut Cottage and from its front steps made a speech to a large crowd of the citizens of Columbia. Built ca. 1855-1860, the cottage has retained its original appearance. The one-and-one-half-story frame house, with a central dormer with an arched window has an unusual balustrade combining ironwork and wood. The portico, supported by octagonal columns, shelters a front doorway with sidelights and transom. Listed in the National Register May 6, 1971.

Period of Significance:

circa 1855 – 1860

Level of Significance:

State

Area of Significance:

Architecture;Politics/Government

National Register Determination:

listed

Date of Certification:

May 6 1971

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