Marshlands makeover

The crack in a western interior wall of Marshlands, the grand Federal-era mansion that serves as offices for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, showed a need for a significant restoration.

But it also showed something more.

The recent crack was fresh evidence of a far more ambitious effort to preserve this house, a reminder of one of Charleston's greatest preservation victories in the 1960s.

Planter Edward Ball built the 2 1/2-story mansion around 1810, but a century and a half later, the surrounding land had been completely transformed.

The impoundments where rice once grew had become a highly industrialized part of the Charleston Naval Base and Shipyard.

The Navy, which once used Ball's grand home as officers' quarters, planned to tear it down.

Photo Gallery

Marshlands

While the recent preservation work on the Marshlands plantation home might not be as dramatic as what was done to save it in 1961, when it was moved by barge from North Charleston to James Island, the house is looking much better these days. Click here for a closer look.

The preservation community rallied, and after much discussion, newspaper articles and dealings with the city of Charleston and the College of Charleston, the large home was put on cribbing, moved onto a barge and floated down the Cooper River to a new site at Fort Johnson, where it was later restored.

That was in 1961. Fast forward almost another half century, and the home has held up well but was beginning to show more signs of age.

The mansion's two symmetrical chimneys were removed for its trip down the river, and they were never rebuilt. However, their interior hearths and fireboxes were left intact.

When Marshlands was placed on new creosote pilings on James Island, only the eastern chimney remnants were given adequate support, hence the recent cracking in the house's western walls, said Robbie Meyer, DNR's physical plant director.

"They didn't put any stabilization downstairs. It was just free floating on the structure," he said. "It had been like that since the 1960s. It just shows how well the house was built."

The recent renovation done by IPW contractors and overseen by Liollio Architecture and structural engineers 4SE addressed that cracking by adding fresh support on the ground floor.

The work also included a new metal roof, newer and more efficient air conditioning units and a new paint job that also removed caulk between the clapboards, allowing them to breathe so any interior moisture would escape before it led to rot.

The job cost about $500,000, which the Legislature approved a few years ago, just before the state in general and DNR in particular began grappling with a budget meltdown.

One intriguing aspect of Marshlands today is that it's not so much a grand showpiece for the agency but rather a working office.

One sees a paper cutter, a copier and other mundane items immediately upon entering the wide front door. Rooms with gorgeous gougework also contain fish tanks, economical office partitions, even plats of plants.

The best aesthetic upgrade, aside from the new paint inside and out, probably was the removal of the screens that muddied the grandeur of the five-bay piazza.

Now, on a clear day, this freshly opened space provides an excellent glimpse north, toward Charleston Harbor, the Ravenel Bridge and this home's old home.

Marshlands is one of several to be honored Thursday as the Preservation Society of Charleston presents its annual Carolopolis Award.

The event begins at 7 p.m. at the Riviera Theatre and also will honor the restoration work or new construction of the following properties: 18 Lamboll St., 37 Hasell St., 434 King St., 50 Warren St., 4 Carolina St., 42 Gadsden St. and 1 Cool Blow St.

The Carolopolis Award program was created in 1953, and for whatever reason, Marshlands didn't receive an award after its memorable move, even though the society had played a big role in saving it.

That omission ends this year.

Robert Behre may be reached at 937-5771 or by fax at 937-5579. His e-mail address is rbehre@postandcourier.com, and his mailing address is 134 Columbus St., Charleston, SC 29403.