Charleston Library Society

The Charleston Library Society stands on King Street behind a facade of stuccoed brick and marble detailing, defined by its arched Palladian windows and double pilasters with Ionic capitals. Founded in seventeen forty-eight by a group of nineteen men, including merchants, lawyers, and a wig-maker, the society began as a private effort to import the latest philosophical and scientific works from Great Britain. It predates the American public library system, operating instead as a subscription-based institution where members paid dues to sustain the collection.