Architectural Treasures of South Carolina:
The Marx E. Cohen House, c. 1845
85 King Street, Charleston, South Carolina
Text and photographs by Richard N. Côté
Research by Richard N. Côté and Rose M. Tomlin
Revised September 28, 2007
By commissioning the construction of his 2-1/2 story Greek Revival Single House in 1845, Marx E. Cohen told us several things about himself: that he was a practical man, a member of Charleston's middle class, and that he had very good taste.
The Marx E. Cohen House is one of the historic properties often featured on the Preservation Society of Charleston's annual Candlelight Tour of Homes, held in the fall. The owners also make the house available to the Historic Charleston Foundation for their Spring Tour of Homes. All proceeds from these tours are used by the two non-profit organizations to further historic preservation in Charleston. The house is also listed with INTERVAC, an international registry which permits homeowners to exchange homes for vacation use.
It is our goal to use this site to document the history, construction, and occupancy of the Marx E. Cohen house (and its predecessors on this lot) from 1693 to the present. The construction of this web site commenced on October 1, 1998. Please consider this site a perpetual work in progress. As quickly as we can, we will be adding further information on:
THE BUILDER
Marx E. Cohen (1808-1881), who commissioned the building of the present house at 85 King Street, was the son of Mordecai Cohen (1763-1848), a Jew who emigrated from Poland and lived in Charleston for about sixty years. Mordecai was known for his wealth, his extensive public service, his "unblemished reputation," and his philanthropy. Among many other public duties, he served as a Commissioner of the Orphan House from 1838 to 1844, of which institution he was a generous benefactor." A plaque to Mordecai's honor, which originally hung in the Orphan House, is now preserved at Beth Elohim Synagogue. Mordecai had three daughters and two sons, Marx E. and David Cohen.
Marx E., the eldest son, was educated at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. He used some of the wealth accumulated by his father to become a planter. Marx owned Clear Spring Plantation on the Ashley River, fourteen miles upstream from his house. There, his 30 slaves produced about six to eight 550-pound bales cotton each year, plus and a variety of foods for his table. He served St. Andrews Parish as magistrate (1843-1845) and as a member of the Charleston Board of Health (1846-1849). After the Civil War ended, he and his family moved to Sumter, South Carolina, where he died in 1881.
During his residence in Charleston, Marx E. Cohen was a member of K. K. Beth Elohim, the first Jewish Reformed congregation in the United States. Both Beth Elohim Synagogue and Marx E. Cohen's house were built in the Greek Revival architectural style.
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THE LOT AND ITS STRUCTURES
The house that Marx E. Cohen had built at what is now 85 King Street sits on the piece of land known as Lot 187 on the 1680 Grand Modell of Charles Town. The lot is currently 42 feet wide and 78 feet deep. Immediately behind the house is a two-story cookhouse / slave quarters, which was attached to the main house in the twentieth century. The privy, or outhouse, probably sat on the far left corner of the lot.
His King Street house was but a short walk from the river, where Cohen could board a small boat and have his slaves row him to the plantation as the tide came in. When he wished to return to Charleston, the trip would be repeated, but on the outgoing tide.
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THE BUILDER'S LIFESTYLE
The house was presumably built shortly after Marx E. Cohen purchased the empty lot for $660 from Peter B. Lalone in November 1844. The new house was filled with the sounds of new life -- and sorrow. Cohen had five daughters. His first-born child was Marx E. Cohen, Jr., born in 1839. The next two children did not survive childhood. Herbert Cohen was born July 27, 1846 and died December 19, 1847. Another child died April 20, 1848, shortly after birth. It is likely that these two births and deaths both took place at 85 King Street.
His eldest son, Marx E. Cohen, Jr., also suffered a premature death. After fighting a duel in the morning, he was killed by Union artillery fire on March 19, 1865 during the first day of the Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina. He is buried in Beth Elohim Cemetery on Coming Street, and his name is on a monument located on the former battlefield..
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AFRICAN-AMERICAN RESIDENTS
While they lived at 85 King Street, the domestic needs of Marx E. Cohen's family -- the cooking, washing, and care of the children -- were performed by several African-American slaves. They lived above the cookhouse, which is located to the rear of the main house.
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The property on which the present house now sits changed hands as follows:
The Marx E. Cohen house embodies six of the ten chief hallmarks of Greek Revival design:
BIBLIOGRAPHY
VACATION EXCHANGE
The Marx E. Cohen House is registered with INTERVAC, an international registry which permits homeowners to exchange homes for vacation use.
The INTERVAC web page is http://www.intervac.org; their e-mail address is theboard@intervac.org.
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PREVIOUS STRUCTURES ON THE SITE
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Richard N. Côté
Research, Writing, and Editing Services
In The United States And Abroad
483 Old Carolina Court
Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina 29464 USA
Telephone: (843) 881-6080 / Facsimile: (843) 278-8456
E-mail: dickcote@earthlink.net
