The Pirate House

Sometimes it’s not the truth, but the story which makes for a historical attraction. A case-in-point: The Pirate House in Charleston, South Carolina. People have strolled the cobblestones of the French Quarter and down Church Street, past this bermuda stone dwelling since 1704, but when it took on the disinction of the Pirate House is lost to time. Legend has it that the Pirate House was a boarding house, gambling den and place for local merchants to trade in contraband goods, provided by pirates during the colonial era. South Carolina was under the English Navigation law, which placed high taxes on all purchases imported by ship into the colonies. These tariffs made purchasing not only luxury items, but day-to-day items cost-prohibitive. In addition to price, selection was paltry, and smuggling provided a way to counteract the effects of the law on both. According to the story, the Pirate House was one of the spots where this trade went on. Further stories have it that a secret tunnel led into the stone archways in the basement of the house, but that during work on Charleston’s sewage system, this tunnel and others which provided access to trade during the days of smuggling were filled in. In the basement of the Dock Street Theatre, a couple blocks away, it’s still possible to see what is alleged to be the access to one of these tunnels. Sandwiched between the Pirate House and the St. Phillips Church Cemetery, is a narrow passageway which takes you into Pirates Courtyard, a leafy space dominated on one side by a restored fountain. Which is nice, don’t get me wrong, but leaves you, like the house, scratching your head and wondering just what the connection with pirates actually is. It’s said that like the house itself, the courtyard was used for trading in smuggled goods. And it’s also intimidated that the house was known for “entertaining” pirates, or at least putting them up for the evening. Of course the most famous pirate rumored to have frequented the place is Blackbeard. In a great location downtown – and Charleston is a great city for walking – it’s easy to believe that you’re sleeping in the same room which once housed pirates and their plunder. And sometimes when it comes to history, believing it’s true is just about as good as being true.