117 Broad Street

There are very few places in the United States where someone can lay claim to living in the home of a ''Founding Father.'' Edward Rutledge, signer to the Declaration of Independence, lived in this magnificent Georgian-style mansion from 1763 until his death in 1800. Rutledgealso served as South Carolina's 10th Governor. Now known as The Governor's House, this home was first built in 1760 by James Laurens, brother to the President of the Second Continental Congress, Henry Laurens. His son John Laurens served as aide-de-camp to PresidentGeorge Washington and was a close friend to Alexander Hamilton.

Sitting on nearly 1/2 acre just outside the original walled city, on the site of the former Charleston Orange Garden, the house has been altered and added onto since construction. The grand double house boasts Greek Revival wrap around piazzas as a Category 3 House listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1971 the home was declared a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of the Interior. The mansion and kitchen house currently serve as an 11 room historic Inn with an Innkeeper studio. The mansion is easily converted back into a spectacular single family home. Original details are found throughout, including heart of pine floors, detailed moldings, 7 fireplaces, triple hung 9-foot windows and 12-foot ceilings. The main level of the property includes a grand entry with a sitting area, formal dining room, piano room, parlor, kitchen, reception room, office, powder room and one guest suite. Ascend the ornate spiral staircase to the second floor to find four guest suites, three with sitting rooms. Two guest suites are on the third floor. The ground floor, or "terrace level" has two guest suites as well as a studio apartment with kitchenette and full bathroom. Two guest suites with separate sitting rooms can be found in the kitchen house. The large lot includes space for 14 off-street parking spaces and a beautifully landscaped garden. See agent for details if interested in the property as an Inn.