Nathaniel J. Frederick House

Front inscription

Nathaniel J. Frederick (1877-1938), educator, lawyer, newspaper editor, and civil rights activist, lived here from 1904 until his death. This house was built in 1903 by Cap J. Carroll, a prominent businessman and city official whose daughter Corrine married Frederick in 1904. Frederick, who was educated at Claflin College and the University of Wisconsin, was admitted to the S.C. bar in 1913.

Reverse inscription

Frederick argued more cases before the Supreme Court of S.C. than any black lawyer of his day. He won national attention for defending clients accused of murdering a sheriff in State v. Lowman (1926), but his clients were later lynched. Frederick was principal of the Howard School 1902-18 and president of the State Negro Teachers Association. He edited the Palmetto Leader, the major black newspaper in S.C., 1925-38.