I have been concentrating on the major portion of my block…Market, Archdale, West, and Logan…which is now Canterbury House one and two and parking for both and the city. But that leaves one corner unaccounted for…at Logan and West Streets.

Most Charlestonians know and most Canterbury people know, the house on the corner of their campus, 138 Logan, is the home of the Huguenot Society of South Carolina. And most know that the Huguenots were a group of very early settlers, French Protestants, who came to the New World from France to escape religious persecution.

I don’t think they planned to come to Charleston…it was an English commercial enterprise…but ended up here…and made the most of it. There were enough of them, and they built homes next to each enough that we still have a “French Quarter” today.

An Odd Discovery

Looking closely at this map…one of many when you search on-line for Charleston city maps…shows Archdale to Beaufain Street and St. Philips Street continuing Archdale up to Calhoun Street…as not part of an historic section but the borderline between two, Harleston Village and the Business District…ha…a new perspective! Not only are we on or close to the highest elevation on the peninsula but now, a dividing line!  I get excited by things like that.  But it also puts my block directly in Harleston Village…will have to investigate that…

The map also puts The Huguenot Society directly in Harleston Village…a place with a history of its own that I will get into later.

But back to the point of this post. If you, like me, are new to the Huguenots of Charleston or elsewhere in the world…which they are…check out their Website and their Facebook page.

(2) Facebook

The Huguenot Society…a closer look

About 5 — Huguenot Society of SC

“The Huguenot Society of South Carolina was founded in 1885 to preserve the memory of the French Protestants (Huguenots) who left France prior to the promulgation of the Edict of Toleration on November 28, 1787. Today, the Society has nearly 2,000 members from across the United States and several foreign countries who descend from these Huguenot refugees.”

The Huguenot Church is one of the must-see tourist sites of old Charleston. From their website:

The building at 138 Logan

I have walked by the Society building many times when I circle “my” block” for some exercise and to see what I can find. My timing must have been off because, according to their Face Book page, they had lots of things going on there and a store and can assist you with your Huguenot genealogy research.

Going through their sites, I saw an email link to “Contact Them.” I did, right then. I quickly received an answer to my question: “When did the Society move into 138 Logan Street?” The Registrar said that it was in “the 1990’s, probably 1991.” Coincidentally, she had deed papers for the building laid out on her desk right then. She suggested that I look up the deed…later…

The year 1991, is coincidentally, the year that behind-the-scenes work began on building the second Canterbury Building. And it was still three years before Sax… see previous posts…began to prepare to build their mega store at the corner of King and Market Streets and the area spruced up for its expected clientele.

The earliest photos I could find of the building are from 2013 when a photo survey of the area was done….get….That would have been, believe it or not, 22 years after the Society moved in. If they painted and all then, it was beginning to show its again again. As was Canterbury House…we saw that when the Sax renovation hit the neighborhood…in 1994 it was already 24 years old.

According to the Society’s Face Book page, they had just recently refurbished the place and it is looking pretty good. The first photo of the front of the Society shows the upgrade.

There will be more later…the Registrar gave me a hint of what to look for….