Anchorage (William Elliott House) Beaufort, South Carolina
National Register of Historic Places Data
The Anchorage (William Elliott House) has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places with the following information, which has been imported from the National Register database and/or the Nomination Form . Please note that not all available data may be shown here, minor errors and/or formatting may have occurred during transcription, and some information may have become outdated since listing.
- National Register ID
- 71000743
- Date Listed
- November 23, 1971
- Name
- Anchorage, The
- Other Names
- Elliott, William, House
- Address
- 1103 Bay St.
- City/Town
- Beaufort
- County
- Beaufort
- State
- South Carolina
- Category
- building
- Level of Sig.
- local
- Years of Sig.
- c. 1776
- Areas of Sig.
- MILITARY; LITERATURE; POLITICS/GOVERNMENT; ARCHITECTURE
Description
Text courtesy of the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Parks Service. Minor transcription errors or changes in formatting may have occurred; please see the Nomination Form PDF for official text. Some information may have become outdated since the property was nominated for the Register.
This house has five floors including a ground floor and an attic. It is built of white clapboard on a four-foot wide tabby foundation. Across the front extended a wide piazza with six simple columns. A wide hall with two large rooms on each side leads from the front to the back on each floor.
In 1891 Admiral Beardsley bought the house, named it the Anchorage and spent approximately $80,000 remodeling, adding stucco to the exterior and much ornately carved wood work to the exterior and to the interior. A second story piazza, was built and the simple columns were exchanged for Corinthian.
Under the house there was a "storm" room built for security during hurricanes, remaining. Also there are sections of an old tunnel remaining.
Statement of Significance
Text courtesy of the National Register of Historic Places, a program of the National Parks Service. Minor transcription errors or changes in formatting may have occurred; please see the Nomination Form PDF for official text. Some information may have become outdated since the property was nominated for the Register.
The builder of this pre-Revolutionary house was Ralph Elliott, who willed it to his nephew, William, a prosperous planter in the district and a member of a prominent family which had been in the colony since the 1690s. In 1772 William Elliott was a representative to The Commons House of Assembly. He supported the cause of independence but died in 1778 before victory.
Prior to the Civil War his grandson William Elliott, III, lived here. He was an author, politician, agriculturist and poet. Although his political views differed from those held by most Southerners, he was highly respected. He was pro-Southern but opposed secession. However, when war broke out he joined with the Confederacy. During the Occupation of Beaufort the house was used as a hospital and designated the "Mission House."
In 1876 the famous General Wade Hampton spoke to the people of Beaufort from the porch.
