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1865. "Charleston Orphan Asylum, 160 Calhoun Street, used as a hospital for wounded Federal soldiers." From photographs of the Federal Navy and seaborne expeditions against the Atlantic Coast of the Confederacy, 1863-1865." Wet-plate glass negative, half of stereograph pair, photographer unknown. View full size.
My mother has told me some stories of her years in the orphan house.Memories that she has pasted down to her great great grandchildren and hopefully to many more generations.
A college dorm was built on part of the orphanage parcel and I had the pleasure of living there my freshman year of college. We always heard rumors of ghosts of the orphans and the soldiers roaming the hallways.
Broken glass notwithstanding, this is some kind of impressive edifice. I wonder what it did before it housed orphans?
[Found on the Web: "The Charleston Orphan House, built on the site of a Revolutionary War barracks, is the oldest municipal orphanage in the United States. It was completed in 1794." - Dave]
Looks like it had been commandeered by the Yankees at this point (and is rather the worse for wear, given all the broken windows). I wonder what happened to the orphans? I think there is a Wachovia Bank in this location now. The original building is no longer standing.
When I saw the broken windows I thought what senseless vandalism, then saw that part of the roof has been destroyed, orobably by artillery. Considering the fragility of window glass of that period I am surprised at how many panes survived.
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