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Charleston, South Carolina. Ruins of Secession Hall

The burned ruins of Institute Hall, known as Secession Hall, in 1865.

The hall where the ordinance of secession was signed in December 1860, burned in the great fire of December 1861 and photographed in its ruin four years later.

A stereograph of the same building, made about 1860 by Osborn & Durbec and published by Quinby & Co., is also cataloged in this section. The two together are the whole arc.

Research notes

This site publishes a plate titled Ruins of Secession Hall. Whether it derives from this negative or from another in the same series has not been established here, so no link is made.

The record

Title, as catalogedCharleston, South Carolina. Ruins of Secession Hall
PhotographerGeorge N. Barnard
AttributionVerified
Date, as cataloged1865 [April]
PlaceInstitute Hall, Meeting Street
Controlling forceUnion-held
Processwet collodion glass negative
Formatstereograph negative (2 plates)
Negative or printnegative
CollectionCivil war photographs, 1861-1865 (Library of Congress)
Call numberLC-B811- 3447 [P&P]; LOT 4163 (corresponding photographic print)
Reproduction numberLC-DIG-cwpb-03048 (left half); LC-DIG-cwpb-03050 (right half); LC-DIG-cwpb-02352 (variant)
Inscription on the mountCaption from negative sleeve: Ruins of Secession hall, Charleston, S.C.
RepositoryLibrary of Congress
Credit lineCivil war photographs, 1861-1865, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
RightsNo known restrictions on publication
Rights advisory, verbatimNo known restrictions on publication. For information, see “Civil war photographs, 1861-1865,” http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/120_cwar.html
Catalog recordhttps://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2018671221/
ConfidenceVerified
Last verified2026-08-30

Sources