Sara Calhoun Hastie: The Hostess with the Mostess
Written by Elizabeth Askins
Graduate Student, Department of History at the College of Charleston
A descendant of the prominent Calhoun family, Sara Calhoun Hastie was known as a wonderful hostess in Charleston Society who perfected the art of entertaining Charleston’s elite. Sara Calhoun Simons married Carlisle Norwood Hastie in 1914. Together, they had three children and inherited Magnolia Plantation through Hastie’s family. In the early 1900s, most wealthy white women like Hastie did not enter the workforce. Instead, managing households and estates, hosting charity and social events were their full-time jobs. Few did it as well as Sara.
Through her Calhoun family connections, Sara was able to attract some of the most prominent names of the time. Some of her guests included Henry Ford, Eleanor Roosevelt, Orson Welles, and the famous painter William Posey Silva, who memorialized his time at Magnolia with his painting “After the Shower in The Garden of Dreams.” With a canvas as beautiful as Magnolia, it is not hard to imagine Sara hosting the best of celebrations here.
The party scene for the upper class in the New South was an interesting dynamic between host, hostess, domestic workers, and guests. Parties were a way hostesses could show off their style, wealth, traditions, and command of the home. For example, the work for a Christmas dinner party would begin at least 24 hours beforehand, as tables needed to be set, silver polished, and centerpieces arranged. However, when partygoers entered the space, every detail seemed effortless.
While Sara was the designated hostess, there is no doubt that she had helped prepare for these extravagant events in her home. The art of hosting was created between the woman hosting the meal and the domestic employees preparing the food and home for the company. African American women were a staple in many white households that could afford to employ them. However, cooking was not their only job; they often cleaned and cared for the children. African American men were often responsible for the regular upkeep of the grounds, making the venue party-ready at any moment.
Grand events, such as the ones hosted by Sara Calhoun Hastie, would not have been possible without these women and men working behind the scenes. Timelines were important to the occasion. How would the cook operate around the family’s schedule to prepare the meal? While white men did most of the grocery shopping in a white, nineteenth-century household, women took over this task in the twentieth century as the women’s suffrage movement took root.
In the early 1900s, it would have been more likely than not for Sara’s cook to do the grocery shopping for everyday dinners and upcoming social parties. If the hostess wanted certain dishes for a party, there would need to be a schedule. If delicacies could be prepared in advance, they would have been, but oftentimes, these events were like a well-choreographed dance that ended in what looked to be a flawless presentation. It took countless hours and hands to pull together a memorable experience remembered by all who were lucky enough to attend.
Visitors today can still see evidence of these parties as they tour the Magnolia House. In fact, some of William Posey Silva’s paintings still hang on the walls as a testament to Magnolia’s enduring beauty.
Further, Magnolia strives to tell the story of the countless African Americans who shaped its gardens and made possible such opulence. These are the hands of those whose names may not be known, but whose legacy surely endures.
