Heyward-Washington House

The very best self tour to understand how the wealthy slave traders lived and what work was required of the slaves at the mansion. Audio tour , and original furnishings make for a time travel in the mind. To walk from the rear kitchen house up the oak steps to the 2nd floor dining room...brought a sense of the slaves plight, every bit of food and every drop of beverage was prepared in the exterior brick kitchen house and delivered more the 100 feet upstairs on demand with a bell pull. Most enlightening house tour in Charleston.

The tour is self-guided. When you pay your admission you can sign out an audio player which will play narrations describing the rooms and some of their contents. The house is interesting but I enjoyed the grounds and garden more.

This was a very good find if you are downtown Charleston. It's a 45 minute , self guided tour and very interesting. The history and furniture was fantastic. Only $15 , highly recommend.

TL;DR: Highly recommend visiting the Heyward-Washington House. This beautifully preserved 18th-century home offers a self-paced audio tour in two versions—one focused on historical context and the other on the house and its artifacts. Plan for at least 45 minutes per tour, or 60–75 minutes if you listen to the optional extra content (worth it!). There is a great admission package that also includes entry to the Charleston Museum and the 19th-century Joseph Manigault House. I suggest visiting the Charleston Museum and Joseph Manigault House on the same day, and saving the Heyward-Washington House for another day to fully enjoy the experience. --- The Heyward-Washington House is a beautiful, history-rich 18th-century home with a remarkably immersive self-paced audio tour. The curators have done an outstanding job recreating the feel of the original space, including featuring one original piece of furniture that once belonged in the house. Visitors can choose between two themed audio tours: - History-focused tour – Provides deep historical context of the house, the people that lived there, and its era. - House/Artifacts-focused tour – Explores the building, furnishings, and material culture. A single tour takes a minimum of 45 minutes, not including the optional extra tidbits that you can select from. These bonus stories and details are highly engaging and well worth the time, adding about 15–30 minutes. Unfortunately, I only had time for one tour, but would gladly return to do the other. Estimated Time Commitments: - One audio tour: ~45 minutes - One audio tour + most/all extra tidbits: ~60–75 minutes - Two tours: roughly double the above times Pricing & Ticket Value: The ticket can be purchased as part of a package deal granting access to three historic sites: the Charleston Museum, the Heyward-Washington House (18th century), and the Joseph Manigault House (19th century). The flexibility to visit on separate days makes it easy to plan. For the best experience, I recommend visiting the Charleston Museum and Joseph Manigault House on the same day, and dedicating another day to the Heyward-Washington House so you can explore without feeling rushed.

This was my 4th historic house-museum in Charleston, SC. I didna audio-guided tour because that is what they offered. I did the house-description tour. There was a second option for a Revolutionary-war audio-tour whic i didn't do The house has been well restored, with two display cases with dishes and artifacts.

Very cool house!!! We had a great time and I highly recommend visiting. When we were done, I elected to take the kids out and let my better half turn in the devices they give you to use during the self-guided tour, due to more staff showing up with very obvious life choices that I don’t agree with. Glad to see the home and see the history of our country!! Very, very cool!!!

Very nice tour experience. We especially liked the outdoor kitchen and small gardens. We visited the Heyward-Washington house in November and the weather was very pleasant and the crowds were small which gave us some time to meander through the house at our own pace. They have done a nice job explaining the house, features and what life was like then. Reasonably priced tour and worth the money.

In 1791, the city of Charleston rented Heyward's home for President George Washington's weeklong stay in the city. The association with America's first president has persisted ever since. Built in 1772, the Heyward-Washington House earned its moniker for two men who figured prominently in its history, Thomas Heyward Jr. and President George Washington. Heyward, a Revolutionary War officer and South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress in 1776 is best known for contributing his signature to the Declaration of Independence. The architecture of the three-story red brick double reflects the Georgian style that spread widely through English colonies for its order and symmetry.