Charleston Green

It's dark, nearly black and it's a color that can be seen all over the city and throughout the Lowcountry. Joggling boards, porches, shutters, just about any exterior paint treatment that looks black is pretty much guaranteed to be Charleston Green. We used it for the sign I painted, which hung at entrance to Hickory Hill, the old family home.

The story goes that in the aftermath of the Civil War, the Union donated copious amounts of black paint to aid in the restoration of the city. The Charlestonians could not bear to use as it reminded them of both the color of mourning and it was an ineffective way to battle the melting heat of the summer, so they mixed in yellow and/or green paint to create a new hue. I think receiving handouts from 'them damn Yankees' had a little something to do with it. ;)

My mother was mostly sure RustOleum manufactured a version of the color, but I was a tad hesitant. We made a run to Lowe's yesterday and I was quite please to find out the old lady is right! We picked up several cans along with white paint to breathe new life into some tired outdoor pieces. The wood on our front & back porches is treated wood. I'm very interested in seeing if we can paint them Charleston Green sometime down the road.