Joseph H. Rainey House, National Historic Landmark in Georgetown, South Carolina.

The Joseph H. Rainey House stands in Georgetown as a two-and-a-half-story wooden structure with clapboard siding and a hip roof topped with dormers. The building displays classic 18th-century architectural features including cypress paneling and pine flooring throughout its interior spaces.

The house was built in the 1760s and later became home to Joseph H. Rainey, the first African American to serve in the United States House of Representatives. His presence here marked a turning point in how Black Americans were represented in federal government.

The house connects to the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor and reflects the influence of African American communities in South Carolina. The spaces tell stories of how people lived through a time of major change.

The house is under private ownership and can be viewed from the street, though interior access may not be available. Visitors can appreciate the building's exterior details and understand its role in the broader story of South Carolina's heritage.

Rainey served in Congress from 1870 until 1878, and during recesses he lived in this Prince Street house, which also functioned as his district headquarters. Local tradition holds that he was born here in 1832, though this is not documented. He was the longest-serving Black congressman until William L. Dawson in the 1950s.