|32 Legare Street Sword Gate House Legare Street is named for
goldsmith Solomon Legare “the Huguenot,” who built the first
house on this property. Before the lot left the family in 1803,
his descendants had become wealthy plantation owners and
commission merchants. This large U-shaped house was built in at
least four stages. The earliest section (front right) is part of
the eighteenth century dwelling that replaced Legare’s original
house. Merchants Jacob Steinmetz and Paul Lorent retained this
three story, one room wide section when they constructed what is
now the central portion ca. 1803. By 1818 they had added long
brick wing (left), which boasts one of Charleston’s most elegant
ballrooms, and the separate kitchen house facing Tradd Street.
In about 1849 George Hopley added a rear wing to the right side.
From 1819 through 1848, Anne Talvande kept a “select academy for
young ladies” here. One of South Carolina’s best-known literary
women, Mary Boykin Chesnut, was educated by Madame Talvande. The
Sword Gate