Charleston is consistently ranked among the top ten tourism destinations in the United States. One of colonial America's great seaports, the historic downtown still has over 800 buildings dating from before the Revolution to the Civil War. Rice brought enormous wealth and grand houses. After the Civil War there was no money to rebuild so you can still see today what it was like to live there then. Best seen on foot or by a horse drawn carriage or you can use the Downtown area shuttle. Click on the names below for further information. Historic Houses & Plantations Aiken-Rhett House The Aiken-Rhett House was built for Charleston merchant John Robinson in 1817 and was continually inhabited by his heirs until 1975 when the property was donated to The Charleston Museum. Historic Charleston Foundation purchased it in 1995. Boone Hall Plantation A 738 acre estate where you can see the half mile avenue of massive Spanish moss draped live oaks, smokehouse and slave cabins. Calhoun Mansion Covering more than 24,000 square feet the house is the largest residence in Charleston. With three levels of piazzas, 35 rooms, a grand ballroom, 35 fireplaces, 75 foot high domed stairhall ceiling, ornate chandeliers, khoi ponds, japanese water gardens, and a 90 foot cupola. The Charles Pinckney National Historic Site The site is dedicated to interpreting the life of Charles Pinckney's, his role in the development of the United States Constitution, his plantation and the transition of colonial America to a young nation. The present house, built of native cypress and pine in the 1820's, is a fine example of a tidewater cottage once common throughout the coastal areas of the Carolinas. Drayton Hall Ashley River Rd Charleston Circa 1738, the house is the only authentic plantation house open to the public in the Charleston area that survived both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Standing on a 125 acre site and filled with 18th century detail and ornamentation. Denmark Vesey’s House After birth into slavery in the Virgin Islands, Denmark Vesey bought his freedom from his Charleston slave holder and settled on Bull Street as a carpenter. In 1821, Vesey’s home was the meeting place for organizing what is considered the most extensive black insurrection in American history, involving thousands of Charleston area free and enslaved blacks. Set for July 12, 1822, advance word of the plot leaked and Vesey and 36 others were hanged. Some believe all this was just propaganda. Edmondston-Alston House Built in 1825 by merchant Charles Edmondston on Charleston's High Battery, a classic example of the city’s changing and sophisticated taste in architecture and decorative arts. Georgetown County rice planter Charles Alston bought the house in 1838. William Enston Home The William Enston Home is an early example of a planned community for the elderly. Developed in the late 19th century, the home is comprised of 24 residential cottages, Memorial Hall, a community building, infirmary, engine house, water tower and entrance gate Thomas Elfe House A small Georgian-style Charleston single house built prior to the American Revolution by Elfe, who emigrated from London in the mid-18th century. Elfe a contemporary of Thomas Chippendale, was considered the best master craftsman of his time. His fine cabinetry graces many of the area's historic homes. Heyward-Washington House Built in 1772 by rice planter Daniel Heyward as a town-house for his son, Thomas Heyward a patriot leader and signer of the Declaration of Independence The City rented it for George Washington’s use during the President’s week-long Charleston stay, in 1791. The house, surrounded by a formal garden featuring plants familiar to Charlestonians in the late 18th century, contains a magnificent collection of Charleston-made furniture including the priceless Holmes Bookcase, considered to be the finest example of American-made furniture. Other buildings on the site include the carriage shed, an 18th-century well and the kitchen building constructed in the 1740s. Hopsewee Plantation The house on the North Santee River was owned by only five families since circa 1740 is still a private residence. Constructed on a brick foundation which is covered by scored tabby, the house is built of black cypress and typifies a low country rice plantation dwelling of the early eighteenth century. Joseph Manigault House Designed by Gabriel Manigault for his brother, Joseph, in Adam-style, or Federal, architecture and reflects the lifestyle of both a wealthy, rice-planting family and the slaves who also lived there. Many of the rooms have been restored to their original and often unexpected colour schemes. There is a Gate Temple, the focus of a period Garden and outbuildings, kitchen, slave quarters, stable, and privy. Magnolia Plantation & Gardens Founded in 1676 by the Drayton family and within their ownership for more than three centuries, it is the oldest public tourist site in the Lowcountry, and the oldest public gardens in America, opening its doors to visitors in 1872. Some sections of the gardens are more than 325 years old, making them the oldest unrestored gardens in America. Today there are a large variety of flowers blossoming year round, with the climax of incredible beauty building towards the spring bloom. Audubon Swamp Garden at Magnolia Plantation 60 acres of black water in a cypress and tupelo swamp on Magnolia Plantation traversed by boardwalks, dykes and bridges. Hundreds of species of plants and home to birds, animals and reptiles.
			Museums Charleston Museum America’s first museum, housing artifacts pertaining to cultural and natural history of the low country, ancient fossils including a whale skeleton, costumes and Charleston silver. Exhibits include African-American history, crafts and slavery. Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum Home of the WW II aircraft carrier Yorktown. The museum also has a destroyer Laffey, a submarine Clanagone and a Coast Guard Cutter, the Congressional Medal of Honor Museum and a Vietnam Support Base. Gibbes Museum of Art Located on Meeting Street housing a premier collection of over 10,000 works of fine art, principally American with a Charleston or Southern connection. Shem Creek Maritime Museum On the bank of historic Shem Creek at 514 Mill Street, Mt. Pleasant. Outdoor exhibits chronicle the story of the Charleston area's rich maritime heritage. Slave Mart Museum Opened in 1852 this building was where slaves were auctioned off after being inspected in the courtyard. In 1879 the bars were removed and the building was made into a two story living quarters. In 1938 it was opened as the Slave Mart Museum, making it the oldest black museum of slave artifacts in America. Historic Buildings & Sites Charles Towne Landing 1670 the site of the first permanent English settlement in South Carolina. Has a full scale replica of the 17 century trading vessel Adventure and replica colonial buildings in the Settlers Life area. The Fireproof Building Now believed to be the oldest building of fireproof construction in the United States. Characteristic of the work of Robert Mills, the first native-born American to be trained as an architect who also designed the Washington Monument. Originally called the Charleston District Record Building no flammable materials were used in its construction. The building consists primarily of solid masonry, with window sashes and shutters of iron. First Baptist Church Designed by Robert Mills and dedicated in 1822 who considered it to be "the best specimen of correct taste in architecture of all the modern buildings in this city." Mills described the building as "purely Greek in its style," although it is more accurately described as a Georgian Composition. The French Huguenot Church The third church to be constructed on this site. Completed in 1845, it was the first Gothic Revival building constructed in Charleston and is an excellent example of the versatility of local architect Edward Brickell White. Old City Market Donated land in the early 1800s started the market. The Market Hall, modelled after a Greek temple was erected in 1840 and now houses the Daughters of the Confederacy Museum. Today, more than 100 vendors sell everything from local foods to souvenirs the most famous being the ladies who weave and sell sweetgrass baskets. The craft of basket-weaving, passed down from West African slaves, is considered one of Charleston's most vibrant traditions. Old Jail The Old Jail building served as the Charleston County Jail from its construction in 1802 until 1939 and housed a great many notorious inmates. 1819 to 1820 - John and Lavinia Fisher, and other members of their gang, convicted of robbery and murder. 1822 - Some of the last 19th century high-sea pirates while they awaited hanging. 1822 - Several hundreds of free blacks and slaves four white men jailed for their involvement in the slave plot. During the Civil War, Confederate and Federal prisoners of war were incarcerated there. Old Powder Magazine The building, completed in 1713, is one of the two surviving fortified structures of its kind in what were the Thirteen Original Colonies. It is the oldest public building in the Carolinas and the only surviving military structure associated with the siege and capture of Charleston by the British in 1780. It was used to store munitions for Charleston’s defence against onslaughts from marauding Spanish naval vessels based in St. Augustine. It was replaced by a newer magazine in 1748, but continued to serve in the American Revolution. Dock Street Theatre The colonies’ first theatre opened in 1736 to be lost in the fire of 1740. The Planters Hotel opened on the site in 1809, until war damage left it derelict in the 1860s. Mid 1930s hotel preservation included a reconstructed theatre, in constant use since 1937. Each spring, Dock Street is a major venue for the Spoleto Festival US Charleston Stage, South Carolina's largest professional theatre company is in residence. Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon The Royal Exchange and Custom House was completed in 1771 during Charles Town’s golden age and quickly became the commercial, political and social centre of the most prosperous of Britain’s thirteen American colonies. During your visit, you will discover this building's integral role in the quest for independence and learn about various aspects of Charleston history during the Colonial and Revolutionary eras and put into context the people and events of the period. Rainbow Row Dating from 1740 and named for 14 private homes mirroring colours of the rainbow. In the 18th century was Charleston’s waterfront district. The Citadel In 1822, the South Carolina Legislature passed an " Act to Establish a Competent Force to act as a Municipal Guard for the Protection of the City of Charleston and Vicinity" and the building was completed in 1829. to combine guard duties with a system of education on December 20, 1842, the Legislature passed an act establishing the South Carolina Military Academy which became known for its high academic standards and strict military discipline. The United States Post Office and Courthouse Built in 1896 at the intersection of Meeting and Broad Streets. The intersection is now called "Four Corners of the Law" as the buildings that surround it reflect ecclesiastical, municipal, state, and federal law, with the Post Office representing the latter. Designed in 1896 by local architect John Henry Deveraux, his Renaissance Revival style building with lavish interior is indicative of elaborate public buildings of the late 19th century. Forts Fort Moultrie The first fort on Sullivan's Island was still incomplete when Commodore Sir Peter Parker and nine warships attacked it on June 28, 1776. After a nine-hour battle, the ships were forced to retire. Charleston was saved from British occupation, and the fort was named in honour of its commander, Col. William Moultrie. In 1780 the British finally captured Charleston, abandoning it only on the advent of peace. Today Fort Moultrie has been restored to portray the major periods of its history from the World War II Harbour Entrance Control Post to the site of the Palmetto-log fort of 1776. Fort Sumter Decades of growing strife between North and South erupted in civil war on April 12, 1861, when Confederate artillery opened fire on this Federal fort in Charleston Harbor which surrendered 34 hours later. Union forces would try for nearly four years to take it back. Museum exhibits feature material chronicling the Civil War in Charleston.
	Audubon Swamp Garden at Magnolia Plantation
	Middleton Place Ashley River Road An 18th-century plantation that has survived revolution, Civil War, and earthquake. It was the home of four important generations of Middletons, beginning with Henry Middleton, President of the First Continental Congress; Arthur, a signer of the Declaration of Independence; Henry, Governor of South Carolina and an American Minister to Russia; and Williams, a signer of the Ordinance of Secession. Eliza’s House at Middleton Place This 19th century two-family Freedman’s cabin in America’s oldest landscaped gardens and a Colonial period stableyard are open for tours. Named for its last occupant, Eliza Leach, born in 1891 and died at 94.
	Visiting homes and gardens is a popular pastime for us Brits and Middleton Place (above) and Magnolia Plantation are the best examples in Charleston, both well worth a day out.
	Thomas Miller’s House Thomas Miller was the first president of South Carolina State University and served in both houses of the state legislature and in the US Congress. He successfully petitioned for a law prohibiting white teachers in black schools. His home was built in 1860. Nathaniel Russell House Completed in 1808 in spacious gardens and recognized as one of America's most important neoclassical dwellings. Featuring graceful interiors with elaborate plasterwork ornamentation, geometrically shaped rooms and a magnificent free-flying staircase.
	Fort Sumter – the opening shots of the US Civil War were fired upon Sumter from the battery at Charleston

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