“B” is for Brewton, Miles (1731-1775)

“B” is for Brewton, Miles (1731-1775). Merchant, legislator. Born in Charleston, Brewton traveled to England to finish his education and establish commercial ties. Through his marriage, numerous land grants, and purchases, he accumulated a large quantity of real estate. However, he made his fortune principally as a merchant rather than as a planter, becoming one of the wealthiest men in South Carolina. In 1769 Brewton constructed a grand house on King Street and decorated it in the latest English taste. Still standing in the early twenty-first century, the structure is considered one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in America. Brewton served in the Commons House of Assembly from 1765 until his death. In late August 1775 on a voyage from Charleston to Philadelphia, Miles Brewton and his family were lost at sea.