Charleston in Charleston County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Slave Trading Complex
Photographed by Brandon D Cross
1. Slave Trading Complex Marker
From 1856 to 1863, this was the north end of a slave trading complex known as The Mart or Ryan's Mart. It was opened by Thomas Ryan and extended south to a lot on Chalmers St. that became its main sales room. Prior to auction, enslaved people were held, prepped, and inspected in a large slave pen" formed by high brick walls connecting the north and south ends of the Mart. The Mart also included a two-story kitchen house and a small structure later recalled as a "dead-house."
Enslaved people were also confined and sometimes sold at Ryan's Jail, a brick four-story double-house here on Queen St. After slavery was abolished, local Black residents lived in the Mart buildings. African American families still resided in the Queen St. building as late as 1950 when the county health department condemned it as uninhabitable. It was torn down by 1951. The Chalmers St. sales room, now the Old Slave Mart Museum, is the last extant Mart building.
Erected 2022 by Old Slave Mart Museum and City of Charleston. (Marker Number 10-127.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans •
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Location. 32° 46.706′ N, 79° 55.708′ W. Marker is in Charleston, South Carolina, in Charleston County. It is on Queen Street west of State Street, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 19 Queen Street, Charleston SC 29401, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Historic Charleston and in the Lowcountry. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Footlight Players Workshop (a few steps from this marker); Gustave Bernardt Marle House (a few steps from this marker); Johnson's Row (within shouting distance of this marker); Wagner-Trott Building
Photographed by Brandon D Cross
2. Slave Trading Complex Marker (reverse)
Also see . . . Old Slave Mart Museum. (Submitted on March 3, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida.)
Photographed by Brandon D Cross
3. Slave Trading Complex Marker
Photographed by Brandon D Cross
4. Slave Trading Complex Chalmers Street entrance
Credits. This page was last revised on March 5, 2024. It was originally submitted on March 3, 2024. This page has been viewed 693 times since then and 100 times this year. Last updated on March 5, 2024. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 3, 2024, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
