The Kornahrens of Summerville
Originally published June 17, 2015
Though we begin our short tail in 1801 the Kornahrens family of Summerville, South Carolina can trace their history as far back as 1542.
Gerd Hinrich Kornahrens, born in 1801 in Drangstedt, Germany married Anna Catherina and was blessed to raise a large family of fifteen children. In the mid 1850s, eight of his children including John Nicholas Kornahrens left Germany and set sail for Charleston, South Carolina ,USA.
Upon arrival to the United States John Nicholas began working towards his dream of becoming an American citizen. His dream was realized on May 15, 1867. A few years later in 1871 the now American John Nicholas of German decent married Catherina Henrietta Schlighting at the age of 28 at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Charleston.
In 1878 the newly weds learned Catherina was suffering from respiratory health issues and decided to buy seven acres of land in Summerville- where the clean air fostered a healthier environment for Catherina.
The large square lot was advertised, “ As an open field behind Main Street
”. John Nicholas and Catherine used the land to build a two-story, Victorian home on the corner of 2nd South Street (now W. Richardson Avenue) and Blackjack Street (now Cedar Street). The bottom floor was designed for commercial use as a general merchandise shop and the top floor was reserved for the family living space.
Together John Nicholas and Catherina had six children. In 1911, John Nicolas retired and turned the store over to his son Arnold. After John Nicholas passed away in 1921, Arnold changed the store from a general merchandise establishment, into a hardware store called Arnold W. Kornahrens Hardware Store.
Arnold married Annie Fischer of Charleston. Together they had nine children. Arnold managed the hardware store up until his passing on January 5, 1927. Annie continued to live above the store until she passed away on May 21, 1981.
In the beginning of 1982, Kenneth Plexico of Summerville bought the building at 140 W. Richardson Avenue. He kept it until selling the building to Cas Danielowski on April 10, 2006. The sturdy Victorian building still stands today.
The building has morphed into several different shops over the years. Most recently the building was occupied by the Finishing Touch. It is now home to Antiques and Artisans In Town.
