West Point Rice Mill
Encyclopedia
West Point Rice Mill is a former rice mill building in Charleston, South Carolina
. It is at the City Marina at 17 Lockwood Drive. West Point Mill was one of three large rice mills in Charleston in the 19th century. This building was constructed in 1861 to replace a rice mill that had burned the previous year. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places
on January 20, 1995.
. This mill burned on November 20, 1860.
Construction of a new mill began quickly. Although hampered by the Union blockade
, the mill was capable of full operation in late 1863. When Charleston was occupied by the Union Army
in 1865, the mill was used as a food distribution center. Its neighbour the East Point Rice Mill had been rebuilt in the mid 1840's by engineer James McLaren and the Scottish merchant James Robb. The mill passed to Robb's sons James Jr and William on his death in 1859.
After the Civil War
, the mill resumed operations and its production increased. In 1886, it suffered damage from the 1886 Charleston earthquake. Brickwork was damaged and the gables were brought down. At some point before the 1920s, the entire roof was replaced except for the kingposts and truss
es.
In 1890, the three Charleston mills produced over 97,000 barrels of rice. Competition from western rice growers and a number of hurricanes caused rice production in South Carolina to fall. In 1888, West Point Mill Company purchased a share of Chisolm's Mill. In 1894, West Point and Bennett's Mill combined and bought Chisolm's Mill, which was closed. Rice production continued to fall. West Point Mill was closed in 1920, and the company began to sell its assets. Around 1925, the mill's steam engine was sold to the Henry Ford Museum
. The mill's property was sold to the City of Charleston in 1926.
In 1930, the U.S. Post Office
indicated its desire to build a seaplane
base for mail service at the site. Although this was never accomplished, it planted the idea of a seaplane terminal at the site.
In 1933, the Civil Works Administration
started building the Municipal Yacht Basin. Later that year, the building was leased to American Bagging Company as a depot and warehouse for jute
imported for its plant on Meeting Street.
The City of Charleston continued to explore opportunities for using the building as a seaplane terminal. In the spring of that year, flights from Germany to Charleston were proposed. In early 1937, the Works Progress Administration
started work to convert the mill building into the James F. Byrnes
air terminal. Pan American World Airways
hired the New York firm of Delano
and Aldrich
to plan for a passenger station. Reconstruction efforts were carried out on the exterior and first two floors.
With the start of World War II
in Europe, transatlantic service was abandoned. The City competed for a naval seaplane base, but it went to Jacksonville, Florida
. The building was occupied by the Charleston District of the Civilian Conservation Corps
. In 1941, the building was taken over for the administration of the Charleston Area Inshore Patrol of the Sixth Naval District. In 1946, it became the headquarters for the Sixth Naval District Mine Craft Base. It was used by the U.S. Navy through the 1950s when it was transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. From 1966 to around 1986, the Trident Chamber of Commerce was located in the building along with some commercial tenants. After that, the building was again vacant.
In the fall of 1989, the building suffered from a fire with significant damage to an addition. Then Hurricane Hugo
damaged the roof. After repairs, it was leased to the Bennett-Hofford Company. Bennett-Hofford performed a $3 million renovation to the building before the structure was added to the National Register, and several offices and restaurants have occupied the building since. The restoration received one of the Preservation Society of Charleston
's Carolopolis Awards in 1995.
. Although it was the largest of the Charleston rice mills, it lacked the architectural detailing of the other two buildings. The Flemish bond
brick building is three and one-half stories above ground level. There are eleven bays along the west or Ashley River elevation. The center three bays project slightly forward. It has a Palladian
style with stuccoed Doric
pilaster
s demarking the three bays of the main portico on the west elevation and pilasters on the either side of the last bay of both the east and west elevations. There are pairs of pilasters at the end of the north and south elevations. Two-story wings that are 36 ft (11 m) long and 26 ft (8 m) wide extend from the outer bays of the east elevation. The mill had two octagonal smokestacks on its east side.
The earthquake bolts
installed in after the earthquake in 1886 are still visible on the building and its wings. The damaged gables were patched with roofing materials.
The renovations starting in 1937 were relatively minor on the exterior and major for the interior. The smokestacks were removed and a new entry was built on the east elevation. The ground level was rebuilt on a concrete slab. The gable brickwork was restored, but the brickwork was poorly matched. Demilune windows were put in the gables. Oculus
windows were put in window openings on third level of the central gable on the west side. Cast-stone sills were installed in the first-floor windows. Only the first and second floors were completed.
After 1946, a first floor lobby was constructed in front of the central bays of the west side. This had a balcony on its roof with iron railing. After the 1989 fire, the balcony railing was removed and the west elevation rebuilt with three arched openings.
An elevator was installed in the 1960s on the east side entrance.
After the damage from Hurricane Hugo, the roof was replaced with standing-seam copper. Four shed dormers were added to the west side of the roof.
Additional pictures are available.
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. It is at the City Marina at 17 Lockwood Drive. West Point Mill was one of three large rice mills in Charleston in the 19th century. This building was constructed in 1861 to replace a rice mill that had burned the previous year. It was named to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on January 20, 1995.
History
In 1840, Jonathan Lucas III built a four-story brick, steam-powered rice mill on the Ashley RiverAshley River (South Carolina)
The Ashley River is a blackwater / tidal river in South Carolina, rising from the Wassamassaw and Great Cypress Swamps in western Berkeley County. It consolidates its main channel about five miles west of Summerville, widening into a tidal estuary just south of Fort Dorchester...
. This mill burned on November 20, 1860.
Construction of a new mill began quickly. Although hampered by the Union blockade
Union blockade
The Union Blockade, or the Blockade of the South, took place between 1861 and 1865, during the American Civil War, when the Union Navy maintained a strenuous effort on the Atlantic and Gulf Coast of the Confederate States of America designed to prevent the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms...
, the mill was capable of full operation in late 1863. When Charleston was occupied by the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
in 1865, the mill was used as a food distribution center. Its neighbour the East Point Rice Mill had been rebuilt in the mid 1840's by engineer James McLaren and the Scottish merchant James Robb. The mill passed to Robb's sons James Jr and William on his death in 1859.
After the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the mill resumed operations and its production increased. In 1886, it suffered damage from the 1886 Charleston earthquake. Brickwork was damaged and the gables were brought down. At some point before the 1920s, the entire roof was replaced except for the kingposts and truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
es.
In 1890, the three Charleston mills produced over 97,000 barrels of rice. Competition from western rice growers and a number of hurricanes caused rice production in South Carolina to fall. In 1888, West Point Mill Company purchased a share of Chisolm's Mill. In 1894, West Point and Bennett's Mill combined and bought Chisolm's Mill, which was closed. Rice production continued to fall. West Point Mill was closed in 1920, and the company began to sell its assets. Around 1925, the mill's steam engine was sold to the Henry Ford Museum
The Henry Ford
The Henry Ford, a National Historic Landmark, , in the Metro Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, USA, is a large indoor and outdoor history museum complex...
. The mill's property was sold to the City of Charleston in 1926.
In 1930, the U.S. Post Office
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
indicated its desire to build a seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
base for mail service at the site. Although this was never accomplished, it planted the idea of a seaplane terminal at the site.
In 1933, the Civil Works Administration
Civil Works Administration
The Civil Works Administration was established by the New Deal during the Great Depression to create manual labor jobs for millions of unemployed. The jobs were merely temporary, for the duration of the hard winter. Harry L. Hopkins was put in charge of the organization. President Franklin D...
started building the Municipal Yacht Basin. Later that year, the building was leased to American Bagging Company as a depot and warehouse for jute
Jute
Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, which has been classified in the family Tiliaceae, or more recently in Malvaceae....
imported for its plant on Meeting Street.
The City of Charleston continued to explore opportunities for using the building as a seaplane terminal. In the spring of that year, flights from Germany to Charleston were proposed. In early 1937, the Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
started work to convert the mill building into the James F. Byrnes
James F. Byrnes
James Francis Byrnes was an American statesman from the state of South Carolina. During his career, Byrnes served as a member of the House of Representatives , as a Senator , as Justice of the Supreme Court , as Secretary of State , and as the 104th Governor of South Carolina...
air terminal. Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
hired the New York firm of Delano
William Adams Delano
William Adams Delano , an American architect, was a partner with Chester Holmes Aldrich in the firm of Delano & Aldrich. The firm worked in the Beaux-Arts tradition for elite clients in New York City, Long Island and elsewhere, building townhouses, country houses, clubs, banks and buildings for...
and Aldrich
Chester Holmes Aldrich
Chester Holmes Aldrich was an American architect and director of the American Academy in Rome from 1935 until his death in 1940.-Early life:...
to plan for a passenger station. Reconstruction efforts were carried out on the exterior and first two floors.
With the start of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Europe, transatlantic service was abandoned. The City competed for a naval seaplane base, but it went to Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
. The building was occupied by the Charleston District of the Civilian Conservation Corps
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
. In 1941, the building was taken over for the administration of the Charleston Area Inshore Patrol of the Sixth Naval District. In 1946, it became the headquarters for the Sixth Naval District Mine Craft Base. It was used by the U.S. Navy through the 1950s when it was transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. From 1966 to around 1986, the Trident Chamber of Commerce was located in the building along with some commercial tenants. After that, the building was again vacant.
In the fall of 1989, the building suffered from a fire with significant damage to an addition. Then Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo
Hurricane Hugo was a classical, destructive and rare Cape Verde-type hurricane which struck the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe, Montserrat, St. Croix, Puerto Rico and the USA mainland in South Carolina as a Category 4 hurricane during September of the 1989 Atlantic hurricane season...
damaged the roof. After repairs, it was leased to the Bennett-Hofford Company. Bennett-Hofford performed a $3 million renovation to the building before the structure was added to the National Register, and several offices and restaurants have occupied the building since. The restoration received one of the Preservation Society of Charleston
Preservation Society of Charleston
Founded in 1920, the Preservation Society of Charleston is the oldest community-based historic preservation organization in the United States. Miss Susan Pringle Frost founded the organization, known at first as the Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings, in 1920 along with a small group of...
's Carolopolis Awards in 1995.
Architecture
The original building is 142 ft (43 m) long and 42 ft (13 m) wide with a gabled roofGable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
. Although it was the largest of the Charleston rice mills, it lacked the architectural detailing of the other two buildings. The Flemish bond
Brickwork
Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar to build up brick structures such as walls. Brickwork is also used to finish corners, door, and window openings, etc...
brick building is three and one-half stories above ground level. There are eleven bays along the west or Ashley River elevation. The center three bays project slightly forward. It has a Palladian
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
style with stuccoed Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s demarking the three bays of the main portico on the west elevation and pilasters on the either side of the last bay of both the east and west elevations. There are pairs of pilasters at the end of the north and south elevations. Two-story wings that are 36 ft (11 m) long and 26 ft (8 m) wide extend from the outer bays of the east elevation. The mill had two octagonal smokestacks on its east side.
The earthquake bolts
Anchor plate
An anchor plate or wall washer is a large plate or washer connected to a tie rod or bolt. Anchor plates are used on exterior walls of masonry buildings, for structural reinforcement. Being visible, many anchor plates are made in a style that is decorative.One popular style is the star anchor—an...
installed in after the earthquake in 1886 are still visible on the building and its wings. The damaged gables were patched with roofing materials.
The renovations starting in 1937 were relatively minor on the exterior and major for the interior. The smokestacks were removed and a new entry was built on the east elevation. The ground level was rebuilt on a concrete slab. The gable brickwork was restored, but the brickwork was poorly matched. Demilune windows were put in the gables. Oculus
Oculus
An Oculus, circular window, or rain-hole is a feature of Classical architecture since the 16th century. They are often denoted by their French name, oeil de boeuf, or "bull's-eye". Such circular or oval windows express the presence of a mezzanine on a building's façade without competing for...
windows were put in window openings on third level of the central gable on the west side. Cast-stone sills were installed in the first-floor windows. Only the first and second floors were completed.
After 1946, a first floor lobby was constructed in front of the central bays of the west side. This had a balcony on its roof with iron railing. After the 1989 fire, the balcony railing was removed and the west elevation rebuilt with three arched openings.
An elevator was installed in the 1960s on the east side entrance.
After the damage from Hurricane Hugo, the roof was replaced with standing-seam copper. Four shed dormers were added to the west side of the roof.
Additional pictures are available.