Passengers and Products

The Camden Tower Courtyard and its warehouses are part of the William Aiken House and Associated Railroad Structures, a nationally important group of buildings that includes the William Aiken House at 456 King Street, Camden Depot, Deans Warehouse, the South Carolina Railroad Warehouse across Ann Street, the Line Street Car and Carpenter Shops, and the Tower Passenger Depot. These structures were significant in the development of the railroad industry in the United States. The landmark is named for William Aiken, Sr., who provided men and money to help establish the South Carolina Canal and Rail Company in 1827 and strongly promoted the railroad's economic and social benefits to Charleston. He also served on a Chamber of Commerce committee appointed to examine the cost, revenue, and advantages of rail communication between Charleston and Hamburg and Augusta. At the far end of the courtyard stand two Gothic Revival-style towers that flanked the entrance to Camden Depot, and the two-story Tower Passenger Depot behind them was also built in the Gothic Revival style in the 1850s. Its design required trains to back into the building to unload passengers, an inconvenient arrangement that led the railroad to convert the terminal into a freight warehouse in 1852.

Charleston, South Carolina · United States