Ansonborough Inn (circa 1901) in Charleston
The Ansonborough Inn…for those familiar with maritime history, the very name speaks to its nautical heritage. The Inn is located within the historic district of downtown Charleston, so named when Lord Anson of England won the property in a spirited poker game with famous Charlestonian Thomas Gadsden. Lord Anson was sent to Charleston in 1724 to protect the coast of South Carolina from pirates. Admiral Anson was by no means a mere gentleman with a title – he was an exceptional sailor by any standard. He was the third Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. On his many voyages he captured Spanish ships filled with treasures. The most celebrated being in the mid-1740's when he abducted a Spanish vessel carrying booty worth a million and a quarter pounds of sterling. The Ansonborough district stretches from King Street to the edge of the Cooper River, between Society and Calhoun streets. These farmlands were divided into a borough of 25 lots in 1746.
