Haunts and Handiwork

We had surveyed all the things to do in Charleston and agreed we probably ought to do a tour or two. After all, we were tourists. We narrowed down to a horse tour and a haunted tour to fill our afternoon and evening. One of the haunted tours to consider was of the Old Jail where I imagined tortured souls of slaves still cried out to anyone paying the $20. However, while Jan shopped I read some reviews on Trip Advisor that said the Old Jail tour was not that spectacular and another advised you could see the jail free in the daytime because there was now a college that operated there. I checked my Google Maps and discovered the Old Jail wasn’t but a few blocks away from King Street.

We followed Google to the Old Jail at 21 Magazine Street. As we got closer we realized it was a good thing we weren’t striking out on our own at night as this still wasn’t the most genteel part of downtown Charleston. The jail filled imagination’s bill as to being imposing, a solid concrete structure with age blackened spots nestled in some oaks that had seen slavery themselves. This place obviously had some stories to tell.

The problem was we couldn’t find a door unlocked though this was supposed to be the American College of Building Arts. It was mid May, so we reasoned maybe school wasn’t in session. There was an emergency number on the door so Jan called and reached a young lady who consented to an impromptu tour when confronted by Jan’s charm.

There was nothing scary about the Old Jail in the morning light, but history oozed from the walls. The College of Building Arts was indeed adjourned but the students had left behind some wonderful projects. Our guide explained the students chose different disciplines from blacksmithing, timber framing, stonecarving, plasterwork and masonry. Some of the projects left behind were extraordinary. I was especially taken with some of the wood framing and masonry. The Old Jail had been greatly enhanced by different projects that had been worked into the building itself as both decoration and function.

In one room we discovered either a reminder of the original purpose of the building or a concession to the Haunted Tours, a large hangman’s noose dangling from the ceiling. Our gracious guide was sort of embarrassed and explained the display was more for the latter purpose. The maintenance of the structure was underwritten partially by a portion of the revenue from the Haunted Tours and the hangman’s noose was more for the impact of the modern day tourists than the original jail guests.