The Early Days of the Westwood Subdivision

“Westwood — Charleston’s Newest Subdivision” was the title of the ad that ran on March 26, 1950 in the News and Courier. “City water and sewerage, paved streets, sidewalks, garbage disposal, and mail delivery. These lots are going fast. Just opposite Byrnes Downs on Savannah Highway.” The field office of Holcombe and Pinckney advertised that they would be open on Sunday from 2-6 p.m. for interested buyers.
It’s still somewhat of a mystery why the principals of the V-housing Corporation never developed this area, which had been known as “North Byrnes Downs.”
Step back a few years to 1942 when the April 4 edition of the Evening Post declared “New Housing Project in St. Andrew’s Parish.” The sub headline read: “ V-Housing Corporation acquires two tracts in deal involving some $120,000; 600 homes will be constructed.” The two tracts, separated then by the Charleston-Savannah Highway, represented 120 acres of former farmland. The real estate office of William M. Means handled this transaction considered to be “one of the largest real estate transfers in recent months.”
An interesting sidebar to this story about Westwood appears in this article: “The tract will be bounded not only by the Charleston-Savannah highway but a new roadway that is being cut through to shorten the distance to Magnolia Gardens and Summerville. The new highway will also be used in connection with the proposed bridge across the Ashley River at or near the Five-mile viaduct, almost directly opposite the Charleston navy yard.” These are very early mentions of the road that will become St. Andrew’s Boulevard and the North Bridge.
Archie Myers was the architect for the Byrnes Downs homes and the Long Construction Company would build them. But why were only 360 of the more than 600 homes proposed constructed? One might speculate that peace was declared and with the end of World War II the demand for war housing would shift to a different type of housing. In any event in April of 1947 “Blocks A thru F Byrnes Downs” was surveyed by the John McGrady Co. and a plat was recorded in the RMC office. Interestingly in October of that year, the News and Courier reported that “Long to Build $1,000,000 in New Residences.” Byrnes Downs, Inc. was established with Leonard L. Long as President to build 100 “ranch-type” houses on the tract of land known as “North Byrnes Downs”.
According to the newspaper article: “The houses, which will cost approximately $1,000,000, will each contain three bedrooms, to baths and a built-in garage. They will be of concrete and stucco construction, with tile porches. They will be in different colors and each house will be different, according to the plans.” A tour of Westwood would suggest that this plan was not fully executed. The Nelson family was one of the first homes in Westwood and their home was built in 1951.
By 1952 there were enough families living in Westwood for the women to have formed a Garden Club and hold “Their First Annual Spring Flower Show” with Byrnes Downs at the Country Club of Charleston. The Byrnes Downs Garden Club’s scrapbook contains a copy of the program for the two day event. The women heading the various committees are listed in the program without neighborhood affiliation. The ads in the program give a glance into the commercial presence of the area in 1952. Prior to the April event, the News and Courier ran a photograph and caption showing several of the ladies in long summer gowns making final preparations for the tea that would hosted in conjunction with the Flower Show.
A little less of a mystery, but there still remains several questions. Why was Byrnes Downs never completed? Why are many of the homes in the new plan not ranch style? Why was the development named Westwood? If you can answer any of these questions about Westwood, contact Donna at  westashleybook@gmail.com.