Frances Edmunds Obituary

Frances Ravenel Smythe Edmunds CHARLESTON - Frances Ravenel Smythe Edmunds, 93, died Friday, April 30, 2010. A formidable force for preservation, she became a leading figure in the 20th-century preservation movement in the United States. Under her visionary leadership as director of the Historic Charleston Foundation the preservation of Charleston became a model for cities all over the nation. Frances Ravenel Smythe was born in Charleston on December 11, 1916, the daughter of Augustine Thomas Smythe and Harriott Ravenel Buist Smythe. She attended St. Timothy's School in Maryland and graduated from the College of Charleston. In 1943 she married S. Henry Edmunds, a Charleston lawyer and at that time district attorney, who died in 1968. They had three daughters. Her involvement with Historic Charleston Foundation began in 1948 as a volunteer. She was hired as the Foundation's first staff member and soon became director. One of her first accomplishments was the revitalization of blighted Ansonborough, a once-elegant neighborhood. In 1957 she helped initiate the Foundation's revolving fund, the first in the country, to purchase and historic properties, sell them with protective covenants, then reinvest the money into neighboring properties. This approach added a new dimension to preservation, a departure from the traditional focus on individual landmarks. Ansonborough's success brought enormous visibility and was adopted by cities across the nation. The Foundation's innovative preservation techniques were showcased in a government report that lead to passage of the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966. Already a major force in the community, in the 1970s the Foundation launched a new program to renovate neighborhoods without displacing residents. Mrs. Edmunds was determined that deteriorated historic neighborhoods not be taken over by absentee landlords, convinced that individual ownership of property was the key to preservation. Described by one historian as the "most influential woman in the city," she led the Foundation as it developed other preservation initiatives, among them a major revision to Charleston's 1931 ordinance, expansion of the Historic District, and a hard-fought effort to preserve Broad Street as the city's legal center. Recognizing the importance of keeping historic buildings occupied, even if a change in use was required, she coined the phrase "adaptive reuse," a term that became universal. She promoted height and tourism ordinances before either was common, stressing that Charleston was a living city, not a museum village. In 1977 she joined with the mayor and others to bring the Spoleto Festival to Charleston, and the Foundation was in large part responsible for the purchase and stabilization of Drayton Hall. Never afraid of controversy, she supported the trimmed-down Charleston Place development, which she said would be the "spark to rehabilitate King Street, the weak, sick spine of Charleston." Today, King Street is a thriving retail area. On the national scene, Mrs. Edmunds received recognition for her unflagging devotion to the restoration and revitalization of Charleston and for her vision beyond her native city. In 1971 she received the Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award, the highest national preservation award, and in 1979 was appointed by President Carter to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. She received the Interior Department's Conservation Service Award, was the first woman to serve as a trustee of Monticello, was an at-large member of the Garden Club of America, and was inducted into the SC Hall of Fame. She also received numerous local and regional awards, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the College of Charleston in 1972, and served for years on the board of the Spoleto Festival, on the Advisory Board of the Confederate Home and College, and on the city's Board of Architectural Review. In 2006 Governor Sanford saluted her: "In the 1970s when the rest of the nation was tearing down its old downtown areas to make way for new skyscrapers, a visionary lady by the name of Frances Edmunds prevailed with others in starting the process of not tearing down but preserving old Charleston. It was not the commonly held sentiment around the country, but the lowcountry is all the better for their vision." She retired from the Foundation in 1985 after an association of 38 years. The Foundation dedicated the Frances R. Edmunds Center for Historic Preservation and later named its highest award in her honor. In her popular book, Emily Whaley observed, "the success of Historic Charleston shows that one strong-willed person can move mountains.... she would take on anybody. Charleston wouldn't begin to look the way it does if it hadn't been for her willingness to make enemies anywhere. Practically speaking, she saved the city and put it back on the map." She is survived by three daughters, Harriott E. Lumpkin, Eliza Edmunds Cleveland, and Langdon E. Oppermann and her husband Joseph K. Oppermann; six grandchildren, Frances Lumpkin Webster and her husband Deacon, Harriott Lumpkin Parker and her husband Andrew, Sherwood McK. Cleveland and his wife Kelly, S. Henry Edmunds Cleveland and his wife Liza, Joseph S. Oppermann, Frances Edmunds Oppermann; a great-granddaughter Frances A. Webster; a brother, Dr. Cheves McC. Smythe and his wife Isabella, sisters-in-law Mrs. Augustine T. Smythe and Mrs. Henry Buist Smythe, and umpteen nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held at Second Presbyterian Church, 342 Meeting St., at 3 p.m., Tuesday, May 4. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Historic Charleston Foundation, the SC Historical Society, and the Second Presbyterian Church. Visit our guestbook at www.postandcourier.com/deaths