MYSTERY:  A house that may look familiar

Here’s a house that may look familiar to Lowcountry residents and visitors.  But what, pray tell, is it and where?  Send your best guess – plus your name and hometown – to editor@charlestoncurrents.com.  In the subject line, write: “Mystery Photo guess.” (If you don’t include your contact information, we can’t give you credit!)

Last issue’s mystery

The June 11 mystery, a photo by Bill Segars of Hartsville, showed an old guard house and police station in Barnwell, S.C.

This was tougher than recent photos as only three alert readers identified it:  Cheryl Smithem of Summerville; George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; and Tom Tindall of Edisto Island.  Congratulations.

Tindall offered some context via Wikipedia and the S.C. Picture Project:

“The mystery photo is of the old Barnwell Police Station on Burr Street in Barnwell, S.C. Built in 1944 to serve as a guard house for the prisoner of war camp housing German POWs during the later stages of World War II, the guard house was built by Charles Cheek and assisted by the German prisoners. After the war, the camp was torn down and the guard house was moved to the town circle where it was used as the police station.

“Legend has it that S.C. Sen. Edgar Brown and S. C. Rep. Sol  Blatt, leaders of the “Barnwell Ring,” often held spirited ‘discussions’ at the old building. The ring arose in the late 1930s and lasted into the 1970s and literally controlled state government. Brown and Blatt were the principals of the ring. Brown was the president pro tempore and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from 1942 to 1972. Blatt was the speaker of the house from 1937 to 1946, and 1951 to 1973. Both men denied the existence of the ring until 1963 when Brown exclaimed: “Long live the Barnwell Ring” at a dinner to honor Blatt.

Send us a mystery:  If you have a photo that you believe will stump readers, send it along (but make sure to tell us what it is because it may stump us too!)   Send it along to  charlestoncurrents@gmail.com.