Hutchinson House
The Hutchinson House, constructed around 1885, is one of the oldest surviving houses built by African Americans during the Reconstruction Era on Edisto Island. In a time when many freed people struggled to thrive economically, the Hutchinsons prospered as farmers who operated one of the African American-owned cotton gins on the island. James Hutchinson was born into slavery and escaped bondage in 1863 during the Civil War. He became a leader of the local freedmen community during Reconstruction. In 1875, he purchased Shell House Plantation as part of a land cooperative with other shareholders. His son, Henry, also born into slavery, inherited a portion of his father’s property when his father died in 1885. That same year, Henry Hutchinson married Rosa Swinton and reportedly built the Hutchinson House on that land soon after.
The Hutchinson House is a rare intact example of vernacular domestic architecture built by African Americans during the Reconstruction Era. The scale and ornament of the house reflect the Hutchinson’s prosperity, and its wrap-around porch and decorative elements mark it as much more refined than other houses constructed by African Americans at that time. Builders used a combination of recycled and new materials to construct the house, installing decorative salvaged wooden elements on the interior. Descendants of the Hutchinson family occupied the house until the 1980s. In 2016, they sold the house to the Edisto Island Open Land Trust (EIOLT). The EIOLT is in the process of stabilizing and restoring the Hutchinson House and will ultimately open it to the public and provide a place for the community to gather together for programs and events. VZBLYF will conceive, design and produce the permanent exhibition at the Hutchinson House.
