Charleston’s historical house museums are a treasure that all should experience when they visit Charleston. Below you’ll find our picks for the top house museums in the city.
Your Guide to Visiting the Top Charleston Historic House Museums
Built in 1820 by merchant John Robinson, the Aiken-Rhett House is nationally significant as one of the best-preserved townhouse complexes in the nation. Vastly expanded by Governor and Mrs. William Aiken, Jr. in the 1830s and again in the 1850s, the house and its outbuildings include a kitchen, the original slave quarters, carriage block and back lot. The house and its surviving furnishings offer a compelling portrait of urban life in antebellum Charleston, as well as a Southern politician, slaveholder and industrialist. The house spent 142 years in the Aiken family’s hands before being sold to the Charleston Museum and opened as a museum house in 1975.
When the Foundation assumed ownership in 1995, we adopted a preserved-as-found preservation approach, meaning the structure and contents are left in an “as-found” state, including furniture, architecture and finishes that have not been altered since the mid 19th century. The only restored room in the house, the art gallery, showcases paintings and sculpture the Aiken family acquired on their European Grand Tour.
While many dependency buildings in Charleston have been demolished or adapted, the Aiken-Rhett slave quarters – with their original paint, floors and fixtures – survive virtually untouched since the 1850s, allowing visitors the unique chance to better comprehend the every-day realities of the enslaved Africans who lived on-site, maintained the household and catered to the needs of the Aiken family and their guests.
Built in 1772, this Georgian-style double house was the town home of Thomas Heyward, Jr., one of four South Carolina signers of the Declaration of Independence. A patriot leader and artillery officer with the South Carolina militia during the American Revolution, Heyward was captured when the British took Charleston in 1780. He was exiled to St. Augustine, Florida, but was exchanged in 1781. The City rented this house for George Washington’s use during the President’s week-long Charleston stay, in May 1791, and it has traditionally been called the “Heyward-Washington House.” Heyward sold the house in 1794 to John F. Grimke, also a Revolutionary War officer and father of Sarah and Angeline Grimke, the famous abolitionists and suffragettes. It was acquired by the Museum in 1929, opened the following year as Charleston’s first historic house museum, and was recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1978. Here you will see a superb collection of historic Charleston-made furniture including the priceless Holmes Bookcase, considered one of the finest examples of American-made colonial furniture. The property also features the only 1740s kitchen building open to the public in Charleston as well as formal gardens featuring plants commonly used in the South Carolina Lowcountry in the late 18th century.
Want to Really Experience Charleston? Buy a TourPass!
Want to save money and visit all that Charleston has to offer? If so, then we recommend purchasing TourPass Charleston. You can purchase a 1-day pass which will more than pay for itself by visiting only 3 attractions.
A National Historic Landmark, the Nathaniel Russell House Museum was built over a five-year period and completed in 1808 by Charleston merchant Nathaniel Russell. The house cost $80,000 to build, at a time when the average value of a home was $262. The homes graceful, free-flying, three-story staircase is an architectural marvel with each cantilevered step supporting the one above and below it.
The graceful interiors with elaborate plasterwork ornamentation, geometrically shaped rooms, formal gardens and collection of 18th-century decorative and fine art speak to the wealth of Charlestons elite in the early days of the American Republic. The homes graceful, free-flying, three-story staircase is an architectural marvel with each cantilevered step supporting the one above and below it.
Restored to its original splendor using forensic analysis and cutting-edge conservation technology by our curatorial staff, we ensure the highest standards of old-world expertise to replicate the finishes, fixtures and textiles appropriate for this 200-year old townhouse.
Because restoration is an ongoing process, visitors have the opportunity to see and learn about the meticulous care, craft and consideration that goes into every detail. The 18 enslaved Africans that lived on and maintained the property during the Russell occupancy are an integral part of the history of this one-of-kind house. An exhibit in the original kitchen house features archaeological artifacts, educational panels and stories of the people vital to the history of this property.
A striking spiral staircase accents the impressive central hall, and many of the rooms are restored to their original color schemes. All feature historic pieces from the Museum’s collections including a selection of American, English and French furniture dating to the early 19th century. Outside, a classical Gate Temple overlooks a period garden, and the locations of adjacent historical outbuildings (e.g., kitchen and slave quarters, stable, and privy) are marked with interpretive signs. Descending from French Huguenots who fled religious persecution in Europe in the late 1600s, the Manigaults prospered as rice planters and merchants during the 18th century and became one of South Carolina’s leading families. Joseph Manigault inherited several rice plantations and over two hundred slaves from his grandfather in 1788, and also married well. Arthur Middleton, father of his first wife, Maria Henrietta Middleton, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Following Henrietta’s death, he married Charlotte Drayton, with whom he had eight children. The Charleston Museum purchased the house in 1933, and has preserved and interpreted it ever since.
Want to Really Experience Charleston? Buy a TourPass!
Want to save money and visit all that Charleston has to offer? If so, then we recommend purchasing TourPass Charleston. You can purchase a 1-day pass which will more than pay for itself by visiting only 3 attractions.
We certainly think so, however don’t take our word for it….see what others say on our reviews page.
TourPass provides access and full admission to the top tours and attractions. After purchasing a pass, you can simply select what you want to do, make reservations and present your pass upon arrival. It’s not all about savings, convenience and ease of use should also be considered. Users can save a considerable amount of money and time by using TourPass.
Absolutely and we encourage this scenario since purchasing in advance will allow you to fully research and plan your vacation.
After purchase, when your ready, simply activate your pass for when you’ll be visiting and begin making reservations for that future date (can be today, tomorrow or months away).
Once I purchase a pass does it activate instantly?
No it doesn’t. After purchase on the app you select the activation date for when you’re visiting when you’re ready. Then it will ask you to book your featured tours in advance now for when you’re visiting. You don’t have to make tour reservations in advance if you’re not ready.
What is your 30-day risk-free guarantee?
We give you complimentary refund protection for 30-days after purchasing. If you’d like to extend refund protection up to 1 year, you can purchase Trip Protection during the purchase process.
How do I know if tours will have any availability when I plan to go?
No worries. Visit this page on our site tourpass.com/aggregator – select the date you want to tour and it will show you all of the available times for that day prior to purchasing. Now you can confidently purchase a pass and book those times.
How does the TourPass app work?
After choosing a day pass and checking out on our site, you’ll instantly receive instructions to install the app. On the app you can:
Set your activation date (can use right away or set for a future travel date).
Make Feature Tour reservations now for when you’re visiting in the future.
Research what to do – detailed info on all tours.
Research landmark sites.
Use the interactive map to see where everything is located.
Can I skip a day or do all days need to be consecutive with a multi-day pass?
Yes you can skip days. Once activated, you have a total of 10-days to use however many days you purchased. For example, a 2 day pass activated on Monday….take a break Tuesday and then tour again Wednesday….pass expires at midnight on Wednesday.
Do tours require reservations?
Most Feature Tours do and reservations are easily made post-purchase on the app. To ensure tour availability before purchasing, visit this page and search the date you want to tour: https://tourpass.com/aggregator
Standard Tours do not require reservations. Simply arrive and present your pass upon entry. Everything is paid for with TourPass.
Can I visit a tour more than 1x?
Tours are designed to be visited 1x for the entirety of your pass. If for instance you’d like to do the Hop on Hop Off Trolley (Savannah + St. Augustine), then you could check-in on a second day which would use another of your featured tours.
Standard Tours can only be checked into 1x per person for the entirety of your pass.
Can I visit more than 1 feature tour per day?
Yes, we don’t restrict how many feature tours you can visit per day….we do restrict how many total you can choose which is determined by the # of days you select: 1-day = 2 featured. 2-days = 3 and 3-days = 4 featured.
Can I upgrade my pass after purchasing?
Yes, after purchasing we instantly send instructions to install our app. On the app, you can select the upgrade option and add more days or people to your pass.
Applies to multi-day passes (more than 1 day). Enter your email below (unsubscribe at any time). Code is entered on final checkout page.
Pass purchases can be refunded (minus 3% credit card processing fees) if requested within thirty-days of purchase date (for unused passes). Optional Trip Insurance can be purchased for a nominal fee at checkout which extends the refund period up to one-year from purchase date. Conditions apply. View full refund policy by clicking button below.
