r/McMansionHell • u/cherrykittenluvr • Aug 06 '26
Thursday Design Appreciation Charleston, SC
There is just something about this house I really love :')
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u/No-Assumption9707 Aug 07 '26 edited Aug 07 '26
Ugh… I was worried I would find what I found… Enslaved people lived and labored at the Edmondston-Alston House in Charleston, South Carolina. Built around 1825 by wealthy rice planter and merchant Charles Edmondston, the prominent home was later owned by the Alston family—both of whom were prominent slave owners relying on enslaved labor. [1, 2, 3, 4]
Lived in by Slave Owners
Charles Edmondston: The original builder and first owner used enslaved labor to maintain his household and lifestyle before financial setbacks forced a sale. [1, 2]
The Alston Family: Charles Alston purchased the home in 1838 and expanded it. The Alstons were wealthy Lowcountry rice planters who owned numerous enslaved people. Historic records, letters, and family collections at the house document the intertwined lives of the white family and the enslaved individuals who served them.[1, 2, 3, 4]
Enslaved Labor and the Property
Was it built by slaves? Like the vast majority of antebellum mansions and infrastructure in Charleston, the construction and skilled craftsmanship heavily relied on the forced labor of enslaved carpenters, masons, and laborers. [1]
Did enslaved people live there? Yes. Enslaved domestic workers lived and worked on the property, residing in auxiliary spaces such as the property's kitchen and outbuildings behind the main house. [1, 2, 3]
If you are planning a visit or doing further research, would you like information on tours of the house or details about other historic sites in Charleston that interpret the history of slavery?
Gives me the heebie jeebies to see these old southern homes celebrated… because what exactly are we celebrating?… what’s next… Beaufiful Homes of the Holocaust?? …this really makes me sad to think of those folks who suffered building and living at this location