Charleston's Tradd Street and Simmons' Alley--A Charleston Lady with Unfulfilled Expectations

The pillars at the entrance to the townhouse

This is a true Charleston tale. Maybe you have already heard it while on a tour in Charleston or while reading one its many books or maybe you are hearing it for the first time. Simmons' Alley is more than just a tale because the names are real and the homes and plantations the people lived in are real.

However, the truth of this story lies somewhere between certainty and uncertainty. The reasons why have been often speculated, but never verified. A situation that was agreed upon by both from the very beginning. Attempts have been made to fill the void between certainty and uncertainty. One explanation has prevailed. I begin with the tale. 

The townhouse in this story is long gone, but people believe the long, narrow alley on Tradd Street with an entrance marked by tall, brick columns is haunted. It is said, during the late hours of the night, the pounding of horse's hoofs and the rumbling of coach wheels can be heard passing on this section of the street and down the dark alley. The carriage is carrying one occupant. The narrow pathway is called Simmons' Alley.

The two main characters are a Charleston lady with unfulfilled expectations and a Southern gentleman who would become a victim of an honor system void of mercy, both imprisoned by social norms of the cruelest nature. Ruth Lowndes Simmons was her name, and this is their journey into the dark side of self-serving love.

Ruth was the daughter of Rawlins Lowndes, an American lawyer, politician, and president/governor of South Carolina in the 1700s. She was in love with a childhood friend and John's Island planter named Francis Simmons. Over time, Ruth made the unwitting mistake of introducing Francis to her closest friend, Sabina Smith. Francis fell in love with Sabina immediately.

In a desperate move to counteract this unintended turn in fortune, Ruth conceived a plan incorporating deception. She told Francis Sabina was planning on announcing her engagement to another gentleman by the name of Dick Johnston. Heartbroken, Francis stepped aside.

Francis showed a handkerchief with his initials on it during a visit to Ruth sometime later and said, "Wouldn't you like to have such beautiful initials?" Ruth took that as a proposal. Next, Rawlins Lowndes called Francis to his home to discuss the proposal. Assuming Sabina would never be his wife, Francis accepted and made arrangements for his marriage to Ruth.

The wedding was now one day away, and Francis was walking down Church Street, which took him passed the Smith house and a happenchance rendezvous with Sabina. Ruth's deception comes to light during their resulting conversation. Sabina told Francis she never intended on marrying Dick Johnston. She entertained the hope that one day she might be his bride. Now those hopes were dashed, for tomorrow was his wedding day.

Outraged by what he now knew was a lie, Francis confronted Ruth Lowndes. The argument was the talk of Charleston. He expressed his contempt for her while she sobbed and pretended not to know what he meant. Raised an honorable southern gentleman, he resentfully honored his word and stuck to the agreement, thus losing Sabina forever. Bitter about the trickery, he told Ruth she would be his wife in name only.

November 15, 1796, was the date of their wedding. The place was the home of Ruth's father. Francis arrived late to the ceremony. As they exchanged vows, he didn't even look at her nor did he kiss her. He maintained that cold behavior throughout the reception. After the reception, they went to their new townhouse at 131 Tradd Street, purchased by Rawlins Lowndes as a wedding gift. Francis escorted Ruth to the door, told her with icy politeness that he hoped she would find the accommodations to her liking, and then departed to his plantation on John's Island, where he stayed for the next five years, seldom coming into Charleston.

Then, he purchased the property at 14 Legare Street and built the house that would later become known as the "Pineapple Gates House." His continued vengeance was unspeakable. He would show up for his estranged wife's dinner parties, sit at the long dining table opposite her but never spent a single night in her company. He lived in his house on Legare Street until his death twenty years after marrying Ruth, leaving their union unconsummated.

Charleston's long history provides the ideal plots for stories like this one, and its streets and alleys offer the perfect backdrop. You can choose from a variety of tours offered by the numerous hosts located throughout the historic Charleston Peninsula. Before or after your selected tour, be sure to make a stop at the Market Pavilion Hotel on E Bay Street and order the ghostly drink called the Nitrotini.

The Symbol Of Hospitality In A City Of Hospitality--From A Fence Post To A Famous Landmark

I succeeded at producing one of these tasty fruits after pampering its parent plant for two years in a container pot with sweet results. The seed-bearing structure looks like a giant pine cone and shares a name with another popular fruit, the apple. Thus, this colorful, cylindrical edible has become known as a pineapple.

You might question the seed-bearing reference because what you buy at the market has no seeds, but there is a reason why and it will be explained later. And, aside from being a cherished delicacy the world over, it has been a colorful symbol in America's social history.

The pineapple is native to southern Brazil and Paraguay where wild relatives occur. The indigenous tribes eventually spread it up into South and Central America and from there to the West Indies. In 1493 Columbus found the fruit on the island of Guadalupe and carried it back to Spain. since, it was spread around the world on sailing ships of various countries.

In the wild, pineapples are pollinated primarily by hummingbirds, but certain wild pineapples are foraged and pollinated at night by bats. Interestingly, one of the primary places where pineapples have been cultivated, hummingbirds are banned. Hawaiian State law forbids hummingbirds. Pollination by these small birds is not wanted. If the flower pollinates then seeds will develop and that is not desirable in the fruit for the market. Instead, pollination is performed by hand. Ananas, Nanas, and Pina are other names it is known by. The Tupi word Nana meant "excellent fruit."

European explorers coined the name pineapple, referenced for the first time in 1664. In the colonial days of America, legend says when a sea captain returned to his home from a long voyage, he would spear a pineapple on his fence post to let his friends and neighbors know that he had returned safely. They would come over for dinner that night to drink and the captain would entertain them with tall tales of travels to exotic new lands. Through this practice, the pineapple earned its symbolic meaning as a sign of welcome and hospitality.

As the tradition and legend of the pineapple spread, colonial innkeepers added the pineapple to their signs and advertisements. Bedposts carved in the shape of a pineapple were a common sight at inns across the colonies.

The practice of using it as a symbol of hospitality is still carried on today by hotels and service industries.

The Maxwell Hotel in Seattle incorporated the pineapple as a symbol and it is found throughout the hotel. It is located at 300 Roy Street.

The Pineapple Inn is a Nantucket Luxury Hotel in the heart of the Nantucket Historic District offering suites for all needs and tastes since 1838. It is located on 10 Hussey Street, Nantucket, Maine.

As you wander through the stately homes of historic Charleston, you will observe it carved by artisans and craftsmen into fireplace mantels, sculpted into lintels and on some pieces of jewelry.

It became a favorite motif of architects. You will see it displayed throughout Charleston's historic landscape. It can be spotted on doors, atop gates, and most notably in one of the city's most popular destinations, Waterfront Park. The Pineapple Fountain opened in 1990 and has been a focal point of the park. It is one of Charleston's most photographed landmarks. Children are frequently seen splashing in the fountain, where wading is not only permitted but welcomed.

Around 1800, Francis Simmons, a Johns Island planter, built the neoclassical house located in the lower peninsula of Charleston at 14 Legare Street. It is famous for its large, brick gates with decorative wrought iron. The gates were installed by George Edwards, who owned the house in 1835. They bear his initials and include finials that were carved to resemble Italian pine cones. The finials are frequently referred to as pineapples by locals and the house has become known as the Pineapple Gates House.

If you should be driving in the historic district of Summerville on West Carolina, you will pass two houses with stone pineapples mounted on their brick fence entrances. As you drive passed, recall the old story of the sea captain spearing a pineapple on his fence extending hospitality to his neighbors.

Another place in the historic district of Summerville you will catch a glimpse of this custom being portrayed at an entrance is on W. 2nd S. Street.

On E Richardson sits a house built in 1858. The house has been recognized in several magazines and has been awarded a certificate from the Summerville Preservation Society. With an entrance flanked by red pineapples, It was at one time a bed and breakfast.

From a sea captain's fence post to colonial inn bedposts, the pineapple has invoked a sense of hospitality. It has inspired inn keepers to use it as a symbol on their establishments and architects and artisans to incorporate it into their works of art found throughout early American colonial history. Its supremacy as a welcoming symbol continues today. How sweet the "excellent fruit" is.