Home Sweet Home--A Short Summerville Story From The Past

Sara and Harry Woodruff's White Gables

The well-known "a man's home is his castle" quote comes from a legal case dating from 1604 England. In typical English fashion, Chief Justice Sir Edward Coke stated, "the house of every one is to him as his Castle and Fortress as well for defence against injury and violence, as for his repose." It found its way into American culture in time, and the simplified version we know today was coined. However, in the small footprint, there lurked the hidden clause "unless his wife has other plans."

The following is a short story about one of Summerville's most colorful couples, Sara and Harry Woodruff. The Woodruffs were a very traditional Southern Summerville family. Harry worked for the Charleston railroad as a station master, without a doubt, a career that attributed to his being a much-regimented man who did things to a particular schedule. Sara diligently cared for the needs of their family and the business transactions of their home, which Harry had little interest in handling. Mr. Woodruff no doubt felt comfortable and sheltered in his castle home.

Mr. Woodruff was somewhat of a big spender and had a weakness for gambling. A family story reported he lost downtown Houston in a card game one time while in Texas. A constant concern for Sara, she worried about their finances, and because Harry was ten years older than herself, she worried about being left with no income and children to raise. To ensure the family's success and survival, she put in motion a shrewd plan.

One evening, Harry had returned to town after completing business for the railroad. As usual, he was met at the Summerville train station by the family retainer with his horse and carriage. However, to Harry's bewilderment, they did not take their customary route home upon leaving the station. Puzzled, he asked the driver, "Where are you taking me?" Unknown to Mr. Woodruff, his home address had changed while he was away. Sara had purchased a new home on the corner of Richardson Ave and Palmetto Street.

Always respectful of her husband, this certainly was a bold move on Sara's part. Still, she had no qualms about buying the house and property without her husband's knowledge. Despite the deception, Mr. Woodruff appreciated Sara's resourcefulness.

From 1914 to 1939, Sara's White Gables was a haven of Summerville hospitality and comfort for visitors. She rented out the three cottages on the property and boarded rooms in the house for ten months out of the year to visitors from Charleston and some nationally famous people. It proved to be one of Summerville's most famous and successful bed and breakfast inns during the town's Golden Age years.

Except for his rooms and the first-floor parlor, Mr. Woodruff never went in any other part of the house, but it was his castle. All the family came to love their new home. It became the financial prosperity Sara envisioned and the security she scrupulously and shrewdly planned for.

White Gables today

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