William Aiken House

Built between 1807 and 1811, with the east wing added after 1831, this house was the residence of William Aiken, the first president of the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company from 1828 to 1831. At Charleston on Christmas Day 1830, that company inaugurated the American steam railroad era by using for the first time on this continent a steam locomotive in regular service to pull a train of cars on a track, and it was also the first in this country to carry the mail. The property was inherited by Governor William Aiken, Jr., who sold it in 1863 to the South Carolina Railroad Company, which later became part of the Southern Railway System.

Charleston, South Carolina · United States