The Cobbler's Cottage

The Cobbler's Cottage is a ca-1870 historic cottage in the United States National Historic Landmark District – Beaufort Historic District. The Cobbler's Cottage is a contributing property of the Beaufort Historic District making the cottage a recognized member of the "National Register of Historic Places". The Cobbler's Cottage is located at Block 66, Lot C, 713 Charles Street, Beaufort, South Carolina.

Description and history
The city of Beaufort, SC was chartered in 1711 with the streets and blocks established along a bluff of the Beaufort River so homes could be built facing south to catch the southern breezes. Stately homes were built in a T-shape known as the Beaufort Style Architecture to enhance catching the breeze from the river. The Cobbler's Cottage is not one of the stately homes of the Plantation Planters but a cottage for the common working class that supplied services to the Planters in the area of Beaufort called "The Old Commons".

The Cobbler's Cottage was originally built as a 2 over 2 cottage with double tiered front piazzas. The cottage was made of wooden clapboard siding and wooden shingle roofing. The inside walls were made of plaster & horse hair and heated by four fireplaces in two chimneys. The outside clapboards are painted a salmon color or "Beaufort Red" that is similar to the paint of a Barbados Chattel Cottage. Over the years, The Cobbler's Cottage was modified with additions for bathrooms, kitchen, dining room and faux chimneys.

The Cobbler's Cottage is located in the north west corner of Beaufort SC, Block 66 Lot C. Lot C was owned by planter, Henrietta Seraphina Fripp Cunningham, right before the Civil War (1861-1865) and it was estimated that she was worth $4000. Lot C was sold during the Civil War for taxes to Lt. Frank D. Saupp of the 55th PA Volunteers. Mrs. Cunningham retreated with her three boys, Henry, Samuel & John, along with her brother Hamilton Fripp, Jr., during the Civil War to her family plantation, Belevdere Plantation (originally called Fripp Plantation). Fripp Plantation was located in the middle of the Beaufort District on Scott's Neck between Huspa Creek, Whale Branch, and Pocotaligo River in Sheldon, SC.

It was common for planters to have a stately home in Beaufort. It looks like the Cunninghams were planning on building a stately home in Beaufort as well. Mrs. Cunningham had bought Block 66 Lot C, her brother Hamilton Fripp, Jr. owned Lot B, and the neighboring Scott's Neck Fraser Plantation's owner, Frederick Fraser owned Lot A. Mr. Fraser had built a stately home, Frederick Fraser House, before the Civil War on Block 66 Lot A.  Mrs. Cunningham had not yet built a stately home on Lot C, due to her husband, Doctor Andrew McNair Cunninghan, owner/shipper of the slave ship Beaufort District and many others, died before the Civil War in Florida.

The Cobbler's Cottage got its name due to having a cobbler's shop for many years (1899 to as late as 1958) on the property in front of the Cottage on Charles Street. In 2014, "Historic Beaufort Foundation" was requested, approved, and issued a plaque recognizing the name "The Cobbler's Cottage" for 713 Charles Street, Beaufort SC. In 2017, South Carolina Department of Archives and History, National Register Plaques approved the name utilizing the research collected for Historic Beaufort Foundation. South Carolina issued a National Register Plaque as well with the name "The Cobbler's Cottage" from the Historic Beaufort District entered in the National Register of Historic Places on December 17, 1969, by the United States Department of Interior under the provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

Details of the Cottage and other out buildings can be found on the 1899 Sanford Fire Insurance Map, Beaufort, SC, Page 5, Corner of Charles and Duke Street, addresses 418, 418 1/2, and 420 Charles Street. The building material, shape, height, and roof material are identified on the Fire Map. This indicates the potential risk of fire at that time. Most buildings in Beaufort were made of wood, identified by the Color- Yellow of the 3 buildings. The buildings have numbers representing # of floors, roof types (black dot = tar paper, small circle= tin, small x = wood shingles),the letter D = Dwelling, Large X = Stable and words for description = "Cobbler". Therefore, the 1899 details are: The Cobbler's Cottage is a wooden two-story dwelling with piazzas on both levels all with wooden shingle roofs. There is also a one-story tin roof attachment in the back. The Cobbler Shop is a one-story wooden building with a tar paper roof. The stable is a one-story wooden building with a tin roof.