Aiken-Rhett House Museum
The Aiken-Rhett House Museum is a historic residence in Charleston built around 1820 that illustrates life before the Civil War. The main building was expanded in the 1830s and 1850s, and it retains original furnishings, painted walls, and outbuildings including a kitchen, laundry, stables, and the quarters where enslaved workers lived.
The house was built around 1820 by a merchant and later purchased by William Aiken, whose family expanded it and used it as a base for their political and business activities. It remained in the family for over 140 years before opening as a museum in 1975 and being acquired by the Historic Charleston Foundation in 1995.
The museum is open daily from 10 in the morning until 5 in the evening, and the self-guided tour takes about 45 minutes with a multimedia app. The site is centrally located in Charleston and easy to reach on foot, with most rooms and outdoor areas accessible to explore.
William Aiken Jr. brought back paintings and sculptures from a trip to Europe that are still displayed in a dedicated art gallery inside the house. His father was involved in building the first railroad in the region, and the town of Aiken in South Carolina is named after him.
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