William Aiken Sr. (1779 – May 5, 1831) was the founder and president of the pioneering South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company.
[1] Born in County Antrim, Ireland, he immigrated to Charleston, South Carolina at age 10.
The railroad was organized in a meeting at this house in 1827, and Aiken was chosen as President.
He was killed in a Charleston carriage accident caused by the train's noise frightening his horse.
Also another home of his known as the Robinson-Aiken House, which his son, William Aiken Jr., a governor of South Carolina, acquired after his death, also was listed on the National Register.