Built by shipping merchant Charles Edmondston, in late Federalist style in 1825, it was one of the first elite homes to be built along the city’s sea wall with a view of the Charleston Harbor. Edmonston sold the house as a result of the economic reversals during the panic of 1837. It was purchased by a well-established member of the Lowcountry, Charles Alston of the rice-planting dynasty who updated the architecture of the house in the Greek Revival style. General P. T. Beauregard watched the bombardment of Ft. Sumter on April 12, 1861, from the piazza of the home. Guided tours of the home are provided.