Southeast Corner of Main and Hampton Streets
Site of Wheeler House
Proprietor Theodore Pollock (1836-1892) and his wife, Esther (1838-1902), opened this hotel and restaurant in 1873, which they advertised in the South Carolinian as serving 'meals and oysters at all hours,' and having special accommodations for women. Pollock's father, Elias (1806-1895), was the first vice-president of the Hebrew Benevolent Society and contributed to the South Carolinian's food column 'Palate.' Prior to running the Wheeler House, Theodore operated an oyster saloon on Richardson between Lady and Washington streets. Wheeler House featured prominently in citizens' memories of Wade Hampton's 1876 election, as it was believed to be the meeting place of the Red Shirts before and after his election to the governorship. By 1879, R.N. Lowrance took over as proprietor, and Theodore returned to the saloon business, operating out of the circa-1874 city hall building, while his wife ran Hendrix House, where they both resided and rented rooms to boarders.
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Menu for the Wheeler House, 1870s. Image courtesy South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia
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Procession of recently elected Wade Hampton III down Main Street to the Wheeler House, the red-roofed, white building seen beyond the American flag. Reprinted from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, April 21, 1877.
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"The Congressional Investigating Committee in Session in the Wheeler House," one of several drawings depicting Wade Hampton's controversial election. Reprinted from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, December 30, 1876.
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Advertisement for the Wheeler House in The Daily Phoenix newspaper (Columbia, S.C.), August 26, 1873. Image courtesy Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress
