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Historic
Attractions
People love to visit Charleston,
the opportunity to experience
the beautiful historic area and
the Lowcountry plantations that
grace the region have made the
city a major tourist destination.
A brief summary of the historic
highlights are listed below for
your travel planning convenience.
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On-Line Printable Map -
Site of the earliest settlement
of Charleston, built on a shell
bank overlooking the natural
harbor. Today the battery is
protected by a sea-wall and shelters
some of the most beautiful homes
and parks in the city.
24 Cabbage
Row – Church
Street / Charleston, SC
Specialty shops and private restored
homes are now the backdrop of
the scenes that inspired Dubose
Heyward to write “Porgy”
and Gershwin to create his great
American opera, “Porgy and
Bess”. The story line was
based on real-life characters
who resided in this historic
area.
Charleston
House Tour
Most houses in the historic district
are private homes, only a few
are open to the public, among
these are:
33 Calhoun
Mansion –16 Meeting
Street / 843-722-8205
A late 19th century merchants
home, the 24,000 square foot
mansion contains lots of ornate
plaster and woodwork.
10 Joseph
Manigault House –
350 Meeting Street / 843-723-2926
One of the best examples of the
Adams style, the home was built
in 1803. On the Charleston Museum
combo ticket.
25 Heyward
– Washington House
– 87 Church Street / 843-7220354
Built by a rice baron, it is
claimed that George Washington
slept here. The following three
houses are on a Charleston Museum
combo ticket:
9 Aiken-Rhett
House – 48 Elizabeth
Street / 843-723-1159
One of the city’s most palatial
residences, the house still has
its work-yard and slave quarters
intact.
32 Edmonston - Alston House
– 21 East Battery / 843-722-7171
Built in 1825 and rebuilt in
1838, this antebellum structure
overlooks the harbor, original
family furnishings and details
throughout.
29 Nathaniel
- Russell House –
51 Meeting Street / 843-724-8481
Completed in 1808 the neoclassical
home noted for its beautiful
flying staircase.
Charleston
Historic Churches
21 Circular
Congregation Church
– 150 Meeting Street / Charleston,
SC / 843-577-6400 The
first independent church of Charleston,
it was founded in 1681. A circular
church was built in 1806, designed
by Robert Mills, the current
structure was built in 1891 with
bricks from a previous sanctuary
that was burned in the 1886 earthquake.
16 Congregation
Beth Elohim –
90 Hasell Street / Charleston,
SC / 843-723-1090 Second
oldest synagogue in the country,
the oldest still in use. Present
structure was built in 1840.
13 Emanuel
A.M.E. Church –
110 Calhoun Street / Charleston,
SC Free blacks and slaves organized
this church in 1791 and constructed
their first church in 1818. The
current structure was erected
in 1891.
31 First
Baptist Church –
48 Meeting Street / Charleston,
SC / 843-722-3896 The
oldest baptist congregation in
the south, founded in 1682, the
present church was designed by
Robert Mills and was built in
1822.
28 First
(Scots) Presbyterian Church
– 53 Meeting Street / Charleston,
SC / 843-722-8882 The
present sanctuary was built in
1814, the church was organized
in 1731.
26 The
French Protestant (Huguenot)
Church – 136
Church Street / Charleston, SC
/ 843-722-4385 Services
date back to 1687 on this site,
the present sanctuary was designed
by Edward B. White and built
in 1845.
15 Mt.
Zion A.M.E. Church
– 5 Glebe Street / Charleston,
SC The first brick church building
owned by blacks in the city,
it was purchased in 1882 by members
of Emanuel AME Church.
7 The
Old St. Andrews Parish Church
– 2604 Ashley River Road
/ Charleston, SC / 843-766-1541
The oldest surviving church in
the Carolinas, built in 1706.
19 St.
John's Lutheran Church –
Clifford and Archdale Streets
/ Charleston, SC / 843-723-2426
South Carolina’s Lutheran
mother church, with services
dating back to 1734, the current
sanctuary was built in 1817.
17 St.
Mary's Roman Catholic Church
– 89 Hasell Street
/ Charleston, SC / 843-722-7696
Oldest Roman Catholic Church
in South Carolina and mother
church for Dioceses of North
and South Carolina and Georgia.
Present structure was built in
1839.
11 St.
Matthew's Lutheran Church
– 405 King Street / Charleston,
SC / 843-723-1611 Second
oldest Lutheran church in the
city, established in 1840.
30 St.
Michael’s Episcopal Church
- Meeting at Broad / Charleston,
SC / 843-723-0603 Completed
in 1761, St. Michael’s the
oldest church building in the
city and is a rare example of
Colonial period church construction.
The clock bell tower has chimed
out the hours for over 200 years.
23 St.
Phillip's Episcopal Church
– 146 Church Street / Charleston,
SC / 843-722-7734 The
lighthouse church so called because
of it’s light in the steeple
that led ships to port, the congregation
is the oldest in the state founded
in 1670. Current structure was
built in 1838. Cemetery holds
the graves of prominent patriots
and citizens.
12 The
Second Presbyterian Church –
Meeting at Charlotte Streets
/ Charleston, SC / 843-723-9237
The oldest church structure in
the Charleston historic district,
built in 1809, modifications
were made in 1833 to correct
acoustics.
20 The
Unitarian Church –
4 Archdale Street / Charleston,
SC / 843-723-4617 The
church structure was begun in
1722 but not finished until 1787,
a remodeling occurred in 1852
with plans drawn by Francis D.
Lee, inspired by Westminster
Abbey. Unique interior features
fan tracery.
Additional Charleston Historic
Sites
8 The
Charleston Museum
- 360 Meeting Street / Charleston,
SC / 843-722-2996 Although
not housed in its original building,
this is the country’s oldest
museum, founded in 1773. It’s
an eclectic mix of Charleston
history and memorabilia, from
videos on the rice culture to
pickled snakes that shared tomb
space with Egyptian mummies!
Two historic homes tours are
included in the combo ticket.
1 Charles
Towne Landing State Historic
Site – 1500 Old
Towne Road (Hwy. 171) / Charleston,
SC / 843-852-4200 A state
historic site where the first
permanent English settlement
was established in South Carolina
in 1670. A full size replica
of a 17th century trading ketch,
a typical ship of the day may
be viewed. There are also gardens,
wildlife and a Settler’s
Life area to be explored.
2 The
Citadel - 171 Moultrie
Street / Charleston, SC / 843-953-5006
One of the last two military
state colleges in the country,
the school was founded in 1842.
A museum displays the military
history of the college and a
cadet parade occurs each Friday
at 3:45 p.m. during the academic
year.
14 The
College of Charleston
– St. Philip and George
Streets / Charleston, SC / 843-953-5507
The oldest municipal college
in the country, the school was
founded in 1770 with land grants
appropriations dating back to
1724. The present building was
designed by William Strickland
in 1828 and was added to in 1850s,
paid for by subscription of the
citizens of Charleston.
3 Drayton
Hall - 3380 Ashley
River Road / Charleston, SC /
843-769-2600 Built between
1738 and 1742, Drayton Hall is
considered one of the best examples
of Georgian-Palladian architecture
in America. It is the only Ashley
River Plantation to survive the
Civil War. The special preservation
presentation shows the house
unfurnished so that all the architectural
details are exposed which promotes
a greater appreciation for the
structure to the visitor.
35 Fort
Moultrie - West Middle
Street / Sullivan’s Island,
SC / 843-883-3123 The
third fort on this site, Fort
Moultrie was constructed in 1809.
Designed to defend the harbor
during the Revolution, the 1776
fort was attacked by the British
before completion. Colonel William
Moultrie’s South Carolinians
successfully repelled the assault
in one of the patriot’s
important early victories.
36 Fort
Sumter National Monument
- 1241 Middle Street / Sullivan’s
Island, SC / 843-883-3123
A Civil War Museum is housed
in the stark island structure,
boat tours run daily from the
City Marina to the fort. The
bombardment of Charleston from
the fort began in 1863 and lasted
for 576 days. To this day many
of the remaining old buildings
in the city are skewed an inch
or two off square.
18 Old
City Market - Market
Street between Meeting and East
Bay / Charleston, SC Look for
handmade sweetgrass baskets and
their creators as well in this
market place filled with shops,
antiques and restaurants and
in season - a farmers market.
27 Old
Exchange Building
- 122 East Bay Street / 843-727-2165
The cellars were used as a dungeon
by the British and during that
time the exchange was a prison
for three signers of the Declaration
of Independence. Charleston patriot,
Isaac Hayne was taken out and
hanged by the red coat occupiers
as an example of what the British
planned do to other such brave
men.
4 Magnolia
Plantation and Gardens
– Route 4 / Highway 61 /
Charleston, SC / 843-571-1266
A 17th century estate, the gardens
date back to 1680, the current
house was built before the Revolution
and is filled with appropriately
exquisite antiques. Nature walk,
boat tour and wildlife viewing
tower make this a true complete
Lowcountry plantation experience.
6 Mcleod
Plantation –
325 Country Club Drive / Charleston,
SC / 843-723-1623 Open
by special arrangement only,
the plantation was one of the
largest in the south, with 74
slaves cultivating cotton and
working on the grounds by 1860.
The plantation was held by both
the northern and southern armies
during the Civil War and used
as a field hospital. A street
of slave dwellings along with
many other original outbuildings
still stand on the property,
making the plantation one of
the best preserved in the south.
5 Middleton
Place - 4300 Ashley
River Road / Charleston, SC /
843-556-6020 The manor
house is gone, destroyed during
the Civil War, but the spectacular
terraced gardens remain as a
tribute to its builders. Eliza’s
House, an 1870s freedman’s
dwelling is preserved to honor
the slaves who tended the gardens
throughout the centuries.
22 The
Powder Magazine -
79 Cumberland Street / Charleston,
SC / 843-805-6730 Built
in 1746 to replace the older,
out-dated Powder Magazine it
was restored in 1899 as a reminder
of the city’s colonial past.
It’s original purpose was
to safely store arms and powder
to defend the city and served
this purpose well until the American
Revolution.
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