 embers of Charleston's preservation community lost a beloved friend and supporter, Miss
Sally Reahard, who died in Indianapolis at the age of 95 on July 15, 2003. It was Miss Reahard's beneficence, in large measure, that enabled Historic Charleston
Foundation to complete the 1998-2001 renovation of its headquarters, the Capt. James Missroon House at 40 East Bay Street.
"She was amazing because her questions about the building, from several hundred miles away, showed a sensitivity that many people who saw it every day did not
understand," said Dorothy Kerrison, former chair of the Missroon House Committee.
While a student at Sweetbriar College, Miss Reahard fell in love with Charleston during visits to a classmate, Charlotte Dent Pinckney. While her final
visit to Charleston was in 1940, her passion for Charleston’s history and beauty lasted a lifetime. She collected numerous books about the history
and architecture of the Lowcountry.
Miss Reahard's association with Historic Charleston Foundation began when Frances Edmunds served as the Foundation's Executive Director. The two women
enjoyed a mutual passion to protect Charleston's heritage.
In the 1970s, with Miss Reahard's help, the Foundation was able to acquire several important paintings, including the magnificent Romney portrait of
Mary Smith that hangs in the stairhall of the Nathaniel Russell House. Miss Reahard wrote that her memories of the 1975
purchase of the painting, "made me smile because I remembered (Mrs. Edmund's) persuasive charm...
There has never been anyone who could tempt me like she did!"
Miss Reahard's support of Charleston's preservation efforts continued over the years. Through her association with Frances Edmunds, Miss Reahard
is in large part responsible for the purchase of Drayton Hall by the National Trust for Historic Preservation,
the State of South Carolina and Historic Charleston Foundation.
In the summer 2000 edition of the Drayton Hall newsletter, Interiors, Dr. George McDaniel praised her knowledge, wit and no-nonsense manner, as well
as her generosity: "Miss Sally is a joy to work with. She gives of her good fortune, as I have described, and she also gives of her heart. She is a
delight to talk to – and a challenge. She is smart, quick-witted, and astute. Things do not slip past her. She does not put up with puffery or smoke.
She seeks candor."
As she approached 90 years of age, Miss Reahard began personally wrapping and mailing her books, including many rare first editions, to Historic
Charleston Foundation. Her extraordinary contributions to the restoration of the Capt. James Missroon House and the building of its library led
the Board of Trustees to dedicate the Sally Reahard Reading Room to her.
"As I sit at my desk in the beautiful Missroon House, I can look across the hall into the Sally Reahard Reading Room where her lovely picture
adorns an antique desk," said Executive Director Kitty Robinson. "The picture was taken in 1936 on High Battery, and the Missroon House is
visible in the background. What a glorious reminder this is to me on a daily basis. I appreciate greatly what a significant influence Miss Sally
has been in the success of the Foundation’s preservation mission."
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