The original structure of Cuthbert House is built for James Hazard Cuthbert near Wire’s Pond in Beaufort, three blocks back from where it sits today. Legend has it, the house was split into two and moved to it’s home at 1203 Bay Street. In 1810, John Alexander Cuthbert II marries Mary Anne Williamson, and at this time, Cuthbert splits the house in two sections and has it moved to its waterfront home at 1203 Bay Street as a gift for his new bride, to capture the cool summer breezes. According to some records, the division of the house was at one point evident where space had to be left so that the fireplaces could be reconstructed.

The remaining Cuthbert family members flee Beaufort, South Carolina during the early days of the Civil War. Cuthbert House was confiscated, occupied and used as General Rufus Saxton’s command headquarters for the following two years. Union soldier Joel Dudley from Brighton, Massachusetts etches his name, hometown and birthdate into the black marble fireplace of what is now known as the Eastlake Suite. Additional names identified are of Isaac Kent and J.I. Cole. In 1863, the house, recorded as Block 99 Lot A, is taken by the United States Treasury Department for Nonpayment of Union War Taxes of $56.40 and valued at $7,500. General Rufus Saxton purchases Cuthbert House for $1,000 at auction.

General Rufus Saxton resides at Cuthbert House during the Civil War, receiving a visit from General Sherman in 1865. From Major Henry Hitchcock’s 1927 book “Marching With Sherman”: “The General came to Beaufort on the 23rd of January and stayed one day quartering at General Saxton’s. The latter owns the house he lives in – a large fine double house on Bay Street fronting the sea.”