268 Calhoun Street, an antebellum plantation-style house completed in 1846, was built by banker Edward Sebring. This striking Greek Revival building in the middle of the busy Medical University of South Carolina complex overlooked the Mill Pond across from what is now Calhoun Street. This was a marshy area in 1846 close to the saw mills. Sebring’s house was next door to the house we visited in last week’s post on 274 Calhoun Street.

Sebring was born in 1799 in New York, and he later settled in Charleston with his wife; he soon became a prominent member of the Charleston community. Sebring was president of the State Bank of South Carolina when its new Italian Renaissance style bank was built at 1 Broad Street in 1853. He also became the first president of Magnolia Cemetery which was built in 1849 and he served in that capacity for 27 years.

Built on a raised basement with fine wood moldings and spacious rooms indicative of Sebring’s wealth, 268 Calhoun Street was robbed and vandalized during the Civil War while Sebring and his family were away from the city. There is a legend that wine was hidden in the house by Sebring but, if true, it was so well hidden that it has never been found!

Sebring died in 1880 and Gertrude Sebring, his widow, later sold the property to Dr. Charles Pons Aimar, a respected member of Charleston’s medical community. His family, primarily pharmacists, founded and owned the pharmacy at 409 King Street from 1852 to 1978. Dr. Aimar’s family continued to reside at 268 Calhoun for approximately 100 years. The property was then deeded to the Medical University of South Carolina, and in 1987 the Sebring- Aimar House was dedicated as the Medical University Alumni Office and Development Office.

Next week we continue discovering Charleston history through her structures.