The Grimke-Fraser Tenements were built in about 1762 on land that Frederic Grimke purchased in 1747. [1] The thick brick wall that divides the house into two halves and which projects through the roof is evidence of the house's early use as a rental property made of two side-by-side units. [1]
The property includes a separate kitchen house in the rear which is perhaps as old as the main house. An application for demolition of the kitchen house to make way for a new house on the rear of the lot was denied in 1974. [2]
The house's common name includes a reference to Charles Fraser, a noted Charleston artist who once occupied the property and whose artwork includes views from the windows of the house. [1]
