The Stories the Buildings Hold

Summerville’s historic buildings have stories to tell. Inside a community effort to document 700 buildings—and the Porch Rocker legacy that inspired it.

Legacy in Bloom: Inside Summerville’s 2026 Historic Homes Tour

This spring, Summerville invited visitors beyond its storied shaded porches and winding garden paths into the layered stories of the town itself — and what they found was a legacy still very much in bloom. The 2026 Summerville Historic Homes & Gardens Tour — the first of its kind — grew from a shared vision […]

White Gables

603 West Richardson Avenue | Likely Built 1855–1858 | Current Owners: Steven and Denise Lang Likely constructed between 1855 and 1858, White Gables stands as a Greek Revival landmark in Summerville. A 1939 book attributes the house’s construction to Henry T. Peake, though earlier assumptions linking it to his father have not been substantiated. Peake’s […]

Linwood Inn

200 Palmetto Street | Built 1883; Rebuilt After 1886 | Current Owners: Peter and Linda Shelbourne Originally built in 1883 on land owned by Julia Drayton Hastie, Linwood Inn is closely tied to one of the Lowcountry’s most prominent families. The 1886 earthquake significantly damaged the structure, lifting it two inches north and crushing joists […]

Huger House / Camellia Cottages

609 West Richardson Avenue | Late 1880s–Early 1890s | Current Owners: Tim and Rachael Pye Constructed in the late nineteenth century in Queen Anne and Victorian style, the Huger House carries both prominence and perseverance within its walls. The property conveyed to Thomas Bee Huger and Carolina Banks Huger in the 1880s and later to […]