South Carolina Historical Society — Attraction in Charleston

As you approach the grand, winding staircase leading to the exhibits of the museum, a single ray of sun sofly lights an otherwise shadowy area of the museum. It gives this space a tranqui, almost ethereal feel. It sets the mood of the entire museum.

The exhibits of the museum are well arranged and the flow is laid out nicely. I think a fair effort was made to be inclusive of the history of South Carolina from varying perspectives.

However, some of the descriptions of different exhibits opened themselves up to speculation or questions of missing information. I don't know if the aim was for brevity or if there was an intentional effort to sanitize the language used in some exhibits so as to not polarize any single group of visitors, but I walked away wanting clarification and/ or more information.

And given the long contribution of South Carolina to the history of the United States of America, I would imagine that there would be more, well, history on display. It was like receiving the cliff notes version of the history of S.C. I imagine if this is the case because of the spacial limitations of the beautiful, historic museum in which it is homed.

I would recommend a visit due to the affordable price, the museums contribution to history, and altruism as proceeds benefit the preservation of the museum and...

I almost missed this gem, but fate would have it that I got to visit JUST before I left Charleston.

In short, I believe there were six galleries highlighting different historical periods in both Charleston proper as well as in the rest of South Carolina. I was particularly struck by a movie playing in one of the galleries, for in it I learned a lot about the Charleston Renaissance (which I did not learn a lot about in any other venue, including the Museum of Charleston).

The building itself is fire-proof, apparently the first of its kind in the US (built in the 1830's, I believe), and is also aesthetically pleasing.

I had a fantastic conversation with one of the employees, Mitchel, who is a wealth of knowledge about both Charleston history and greater South Carolina history, so be sure to speak with him if you want to learn more about SC and Charleston history.

The entire visit took about 1 to 1.5 hours.

Highly...

Located in the first (well deserved) fireproof building original intended to store documents, the now converted building is the home to the history of South Carolina. Located just north of The Four Corners of Law and adjacent the small but pleasant Washing Square Park, the museum's primary focus is on slavery although there are other elements like the origin of South Carolina's founding and cultural contributions. Each room of the building houses a specific exhibit and takes about 30 minutes to peruse, but don't just look at the exhibits pay attention to the building itself and the reasons and intent for its design. And it only costs $1 to...