Drayton Hall, Plantation house near Ashley River, Charleston County, United States
Drayton Hall is a mid-18th-century mansion along the Ashley River in Charleston County that displays Palladian design elements. The west facade features a double projecting portico, while the interior rooms connect in a symmetrical arrangement.
John Drayton Senior began construction around 1747 using architectural pattern books popular at the time. The building was completed in 1752 and survived both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars with little damage.
The property preserves an African-American burial ground that honors the many enslaved people whose labor sustained this plantation. Visitors today can walk the grounds and see how vastly different the worlds of owners and workers were.
The estate sits along Ashley River Road and opens daily from 9 AM to 5 PM for visitors. Guided house tours and self-led landscape walks are offered, with the grounds easy to explore on foot.
Unlike many other estates in the region, the house was never fitted with electricity or running water. This intentional choice preserves the building in a state that better reflects daily life in the past.
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