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Born in Bristol, Rhode Island, in 1738, Nathaniel Russell came to Charlestown in 1765 at the age of 27 as an
agent for Providence merchants. For the next 15 years, Russell rode the tide of economic prosperity in the city
and rose to a position of wealth and prominence in the mercantile industry. In 1779, Russell purchased lot no.
247 of the Charlestown Grand Modell, now known as 51 Meeting Street.
In 1788, at the age of 50, Russell married the 36-year-old Charleston heiress, Sarah Hopton. Their first daughter,
Alicia, was born the next year, followed by Sarah three years later. With a healthy family and a successful career
well established by the turn of the nineteenth century, Russell made plans to construct a grand new residence at the property he owned on Meeting Street.
Construction began in 1803 and continued for five years. Completed in 1808, Russell's elegant new Neoclassical-style
residence was considered to be among the finest dwellings in Charleston. Nathaniel Russell was 70 years old and a
well-respected member of the community when the Russells, with 18 enslaved African Americans, moved into their new house.
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The Russell family was described by contemporaries as "excessively devout," as evidenced by them "attending the
services in the Church morning, noon, & night" as well as by their numerous contributions to charitable organizations on the city.
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As was the case with large-scale urban dwellings in Charleston, slaves were an essential part of the household and
responsible for daily operations. Most enslaved residents lived in the upper rooms of the auxiliary buildings, generally
the kitchen/laundry and stable buildings.
Mr. Russell, "a fervent and exemplary Christian," was a member of the Congregational Church and also served for a time
as the treasurer of the Charleston Bible Society. Mrs. Russell was a member of St. Michael's Episcopal Church and founded,
with her two daughters and sister, the Ladies Benevolent Society, which provided health care to the sick and the poor.
Mrs. Russell also participated in the founding of St. Stephen's Episcopal Chapel, the first church in America that did
not require attendees to purchase their pews.
In 1809, at the age of 20, Alicia Russell was married to Arthur Middleton of Bolton Plantation in the drawing room of the
Russell House. The couple lived with the Russells for ten years until purchasing their own town home in 1819. Younger daughter
Sarah Russell was married in 1813 at the age of 21 to the Right Reverend Theodore Dehon, Second Episcopal Bishop of South Carolina.
At Nathaniel Russell's death in 1820, the house passed to his wife, Sarah, and at her death in 1832 to daughter Sarah Dehon. Sarah
remained in the house with her descendants until her own death in 1857, at which time the house was sold to the Allstons.
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LOCATION
Downtown at 51 Meeting Street, two blocks south of the "Four Corners of Law" (intersection of Broad and Meeting streets)
Click the map above for Driving Directions.
HOURS OF OPERATION
Monday - Saturday : 10 a.m. - 5 p.m
Sunday : 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Last tour begins at 4:30 p.m.
PURCHASE TICKETS
$10 or visit both the Nathaniel Russell House and the Aiken-Rhett House for $16. Tickets may be purchased at either site.
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
INFORMATION
Phone: (843) 724-8481
Email: vperry@historiccharleston.org
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