Susan Pringle Frost dedicated her life to making sure that Charleston’s historic architectural beauty would be preserved. Born in Charleston to wealthy parents in 1873, she lived in the Miles Brewton House on King Street. When her family’s fortune dwindled, Frost got a job as a stenographer. Working for architect Bradford Lee Gilbert, she discovered she had a taste for historic architecture. Later as a U.S. District Court stenographer, she became interested in the women’s suffrage movement. Frost’s true passion never strayed from historic preservation. She began a career in real estate. With financial support, she bought properties, restored them, then resold them into the market. In 1911, she focused on improving properties on Tradd Street. In the 1920s, Frost was instrumental in saving the Joseph Manigault House, one of Charleston’s finest historic homes.
