The city of Charleston has long been recognized for its beautiful architecture and charming ironwork. The individuals who crafted this built environment, however, are an underrepresented part of the city’s story. While the fascination for these artisans’ work is ever present, scholarly research has been limited and few details are known about their lives and work. This includes the ironworkers of the nineteenth century, specifically Christopher Werner. His contributions in iron remain throughout the city, his name is recognizable, and yet his story has never been told. In mid-nineteenth-century Charleston, Christopher Werner was a prominent and successful ironworker, praised for his contributions to the city. His work was recognizable to the citizens of Charleston and he created a large volume it for them to see. It was said that he strove “to show what could be accomplished in Charleston in the adornment of edifices, to make it worthy of the name of ‘Queen City of the South.’”1

“Christopher Werner did perhaps more iron work than any other single person in the city." - Gerald Geerlings in Wrought Iron in Architecture

Werner's Masterpiece

South Carolina State House Palmetto Tree, Columbia, South Carolina

1 'Werner Fecit': Christopher Werner and Nineteenth-Century Charleston Ironwork by Kelly Ciociola