George Mathews House
The George Mathews House is an 18th-century house at 37 Church Street, Charleston, South Carolina. George Mathews had purchased the lot in 1743; by 1768 when the executors of his estate sold the property, the sales price (and construction details of the house) strongly suggest that Mathews had the house built during his ownership.[1] The floor plan of the house is an asymmetrical variation of a Charleston double house that is similar to (but a mirror image of) the nearby George Eveleigh House.[1] The entrance to the house was moved from its Church Street facade to the southern facade when the piazzas were added.[1] A separate kitchen house exists in the rear.[1]
A popular story of Charleston folklore tells that the house was once home to John Vanderhorst, a sea captain who kept his money safe by hiding it in plain sight in a water barrel on the front of the house. The story, however, cannot possibly be true since Captain Vanderhorst died before the house was even built.[1]