Timeline
1703
In 1703 a discussion began in the Common House of Assembly about providing a safe place to store powder near Charle Towne. The matter continued to be mentioned in the record until the present building was completed by 1713. The land on which it stands had been laid out to Alexandre Thésée de Chastaigner, Sieur de l'Isle, in 1693 at which time the land was described as bounding "upon a marsh at the head of Maj. Daniells Creek." Chastaigner and his brother Henri, Sieur de Cramahe, arrived in Carolina in 1686 and were among the first French Protestants who settled French Santee in 1687. It is not known whether Chastaigner sold the land to someone else prior to its use for the Powder Magazine, since one entry in the 1703 records refers to building the Powder House "neare ye Galloss on a Lott yt Capt. Parris will give the Publick." Whether or not this is the land upon which the present building stands is not clear.
Huguenot Footprints: Journey to America,
Robert Means Prioleau, Harriott Cheves Leland & Diane W. Ressinger
1712
The SC legislature ratified a law to initiate the construction of the much-needed powder magazine. Public ammunition and powder were still being kept in various bastions along the defensive curtain wall in 1712, when £50 was allotted from the public treasury to build a powder magazine. The law directed commissioners to build a brick magazine on a piece of vacant land at what was then the northern edge of town. The land in question formed part of Peter Burtell’s Lot No. 180, but the government exercised its right of eminent domain and built the magazine where it saw fit for the defense and security of the community in general.
1713
With the passing of Act No. 217, The Powder Magazine was completed in 1713, 43 years after the triple-masted Carolina arrived with 130 passengers to step aground at Albemarle Point.
1744-1745
By the 1740s, the city had expanded north and west towards the Powder Magazine and the citizens of Charleston complained to the legislature in 1744 about the proximity of the magazine to their homes and churches. Meanwhile the heirs of the original property owners submitted a petition in 1745. That January, the government agreed to pay the heirs of Peter Burtell £100 currency annually “for the hire of the magazine until the same shall be delivered into their possession.”
1746
The government finally transferred the stockpile of gunpowder to a new magazine near Magazine Street in the summer of 1746, but continued to use the old magazine for less dangerous purposes.
1780-1782
With the passing of Act No. 217, “In March, 1780, preparing for the British attack, Charleston's Powder Receiver paid Richard Peronneau £286.15.0 for ‘boards and carpenters work’ to repair the Magazine behind the old Church." There was a near disaster during the British siege of the city, when a 13” British shell burst nearby on May 7th,1780. General William Moultrie wrote in his Memoirs, "In consequence of that shell falling so near, I had the powder (10,000 pounds) removed to the northeast corner under the Exchange, and had the doors and windows bricked up. Not withstanding the British had possession of Charleston so long, they never discovered the powder, although their Provost was the next apartment to it, and after the evacuation when we came into town we found the powder as we left it.”
1820
The Magazine was briefly used for powder storage once again.
1821
With the passing of Act No. 217, “In March, 1780, preparing The Magazine Guard was dismissed and the building was no longer a military installation.
Private Ownership
Ownership of the Magazine Lot remained in Ralph Izard's family, passing to his daughter Margaret Izard [Mrs. Gabriel Manigault], to her son Charles Izard Manigault (1795-1874), and finally to Dr. Gabriel E. Manigault (1833-1899).
1830-1890
The old magazine building was rented and used for a number of purposes including as a livery stable, print shop and even functioned in the mid-19th century as the Manigault family’s wine cellar, storing a prized collection of madeira.
1897
The vacant building was described in the News and Courier on January 10, 1897, in unstable condition, “gradually falling to pieces." Dr. Gabriel Manigault told the newspaper's editor that he felt the "time has almost come when it must be removed altogether.”
1902
In June of 1902, The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of South Carolina (NSCDA-SC) purchased The Powder Magazine from the estate of the late Gabriel Manigault.
1903
In April, the NSCDA-SC opened the building with a reception from 5-7pm and an entry fee of ten cents. Early restoration and renovation including re-tiling the roof, installing tile for a floor as there was no floor at the time, two small square windows resembling port holes were opened and fitted with glass, and a third opening near the rear of the room was enlarged. A rear door was raised a foot in height. These were practically the only changes made to the structure. As to the exterior, years of ivy growth had actually eaten its way through parts of the three foot thick walls. A Colonial period wrought iron fence and two handsome gates were secured to install to enclose the property.
1908
The NSCDA-SC hosted an exhibit of china and silver from private Charleston homes in the magazine as a fundraiser to appoint it as a proper display for Colonial items. Included in the items shown was a ladle from St. James Church Goose Creek dated 1710, silver pieces of Landgrave Thomas Smith from 1694, and several pieces of Crown Derby china from 1701. By this point, the roof had been re-tiled and the floor was re-laid with tile.
1910-1990
Described as the “Old Powder Magazine” the building was opened to tourists for many years, featuring a collection of colonial era furniture, decorative arts and textiles.
1972
National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (NPS).
1989
The Powder Magazine was designated a National Historic Landmark on September 27, 1989.
1993-2003
In 1993, the NSCDA-SC leased the building to the Historic Charleston Foundation for ten years. The Foundation undertook a complete renovation directed by architect Glenn Keyes and contractor Richard Marks. Archaeology was undertaken by Martha Zierden from The Charleston Museum. HCF returned the Old Powder Magazine to the NSCDA-SC in 2003 with exhibits that focused on the building’s early colonial and military history.
2013
Awarded the inaugural Lamar Award for Excellence by the NSCDA for The Powder Magazine Tricentennial Project. The Clarinda Pendleton Lamar Awards for Excellence recognize and honor state projects and programs in three mission activity areas: Museum Properties, Historical Activities and Patriotic Service.
2013
NSCDA-SC Awarded the Susan Pringle Frost Award for Lifetime Achievement in Historic Preservation. Susan Pringle Frost was the organizer and first president of the Preservation Society of Charleston founded as the Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings in1920. She was a leader in the suffrage movement in Charleston, South Carolina and an important proponent of the preservation of Charleston's historic buildings.
2019
Member organization of the NSCDA’s Great American Treasures Museum Alliance. The Great American Treasures are more than 60 historical sites that tell the complete story of how America became America. You’ll feel the drama, the humanity, the rhythms of everyday life, and the thrill of our greatest triumphs so deeply, you’ll never see history the same way again. The Curated Collections of Great American Treasures give context to who we are and how America came to be.
This map from 1739 shows its position within the walled city.
2023
Gift shop and entryway renovation completed by The American College of the Building Arts, Charleston, SC thanks to the generous donations to Lanny’s Legacy Fund by members of the NSCDA-SC.