Jackson Street Cottages

The Jackson Street cottages were built in the early 1890's to accommodate low to middle income families during urban expansion north from Charleston's city center due to population growth. The cottages are of high significance due to their construction methods and materials and ties to the African American culture of the Low Country. Their construction tells an important socio-economic story which contributes to the African American story in antebellum Charleston. The cottages depict how newly freed African Americans started building structures and communities away from the white elite of Charleston. The Jackson Street cottages are the largest intact grouping of Charleston Freedman's Cottage left in the city.

Due to the advanced deterioration of the cottages at the start of construction, much historic and non-historic materials were removed in order to restore structural integrity. All salvageable historic materials were saved and put back into place or repurposed elsewhere in the cottages. For example, most of the historic siding was removed, saved, and put back into place while non-historic plywood that covered portions of the cottages was replaced with siding that matches the historic material. There was similar treatment of the piazzas with as much of the historic material being preserved and the rest being replaced in kind.