South Carolina Historical Society

We had a great welcome to the museum by Mitchel! I enjoyed the exhibits and exploring the history of the building. This is definitely a must stop if you visit Charleston. I love the interior design of the building, especially the staircase. There is a public parking garage close by, an easy 2 minute walk. Purchase your tickets when you walk in, directly from the museum - admission is $1 per person.

A great way to learn about SC history. From the greeter at the front door to the exhibits to the historic building that houses everything, it's a must do for history buffs.

We were lucky to visit on $1 admission day. The volunteer was extremely helpful with expectations of the museum. It took us around 1-1:30 hour to visit. If you have the time, make sure you visit. The gift stop had amazing prices on individual prints. $10 each.

My husband and I were in Charleston for the day. Stopped in at the Historical Society Museum as the price of $1 admission was a super deal for a chance to get some idea of what turns out to be a fascinating story of Revolutionary War drama all the way to modern times. The gentleman greeter was informative and friendly. The displays were easy to read and understand, the movie was short but encompassed all the charm of Charleston. It was time well spent and I would highly recommend stopping in if only to view the incredible fireproof building itself.

Very lovely and small museum. One floor exhibit (second floor , with a few things on first floor). Kind staff, very reasonable admission prices. Several interactive exhibits, high quality and easy to read information and artifacts on display. I was really impressed! Highly recommend for anyone who loves a good museum :)

Beautiful building with really interesting and educational collection of exhibits. Greeted by, senior docent, Michael Coats (apologies if misspelled) who was very knowledgeable about the history and super friendly. Took the time to show us the ovoid, which is a beautiful architectural aspect of the building. Recommend a visit to learn about the history of SC and be in the first fireproof building in the country. Super cool!

Would not recommend this museum. The museum tries to put a positive/neutral spin on slave owners. In other parts, it presents information as if enslaved people were happy to be in South Carolina. And that they were happy to be allowed to grow their own food etc. See photos below. Whitewashed history. Visit International African American Musuem instead.

First time visit to the Fire Proof Building. What a wonderful building! I attended the Maps & Madeira event. The event was great. There were many historical displays including a flint-lock pistol that belonged to General Francis Marion and the staff was very friendly and helpful. What a great place to visit!

Cute little museum featuring some of the history of South Carolina. Interesting actual historical pieces and some fun interactive exhibits as well. We were here for the historical dinner and so our museum tour was self guided and we probably missed a lot.

The informative museum is located on Washington Square in downtown. Plan to spend about 30 to 45 minutes here and maybe even longer depending on how fast and how much you choose to read. There is also an informative video. The museum is fairly small and very easy to navigate and it features several galleries that focus on different periods of South Carolina history. There is a predominant focus on Charleston history as well. There is a Gift Shop that features South Carolina and Charleston themed products . If the museum inspires you, you also have the option to become a member of the South Carolina historical Society. It's inexpensive and it gives you unlimited access to the museum and other historical sites.

I wanted to learn some culture on this trip. And so, I looked around Google Maps and found the South Carolina Historical Society & Museum. I purchased my ticket online prior to arrival on the SC Historical Society website. The admission prices was reasonable, especially when supporting museums and the arts are so important and poignant in these times. I paid $12, which wasn't high, but reasonable for a 60 minute self guided tour of the museum. To be honest, the exhibits were on the 2nd floor and I had to make 3 rounds and I read every single information card or display, just to expand my time here instead of breezing thru. The exhibits are amazing and tells the story of the city of Charleston and of South Carolina. There was a major emphasis on the Civil War and how the citizenry rose from the ashes of the war and became the lifeblood of the south thereafter. The only thing that was disappointing was the stairs. It was a steep staircase that one can really fall if they misstep, so best to hold onto the railing as you ascend and descend the first and 2nd floors. There are elevators though, but I opted for the stairs instead. While there was a lot of material in the exhibits here, I felt like it was limited in the stories that can be told here. It is what it is and it's cool to read about what transpired here in South Carolina during the US Civil War, it's succession from the United States, and the consequences from the war thru the eyes of the confederacy and the non-military folk living in or around Charleston SC at the time period. The overall experience here at the South Carolina Historical Society & Museum was good, educational, and nice way to spend time here in Charleston, SC. They did have a small room that was a mini theater. They showed a short 10-ish minute film about the history of South Carolina and its prominent citizens. I sat there and marveled at how these people managed to thrive in their own way during the Civil War period and slavery was a controversial topic of the times. I watched it replay once before moving on to the other exhibits. For the most part though, while I do believe that more is better, I felt like the limitations of the amount of exhibits here at the SC Historical society & museum doesn't match the value paid versus the amount of exhibits and learning material provided to me. Granted that $12 is a small amount to support the museum, just felt like wished there was more than just the 1 floor of exhibits. I learned a lot and was educated on the nuisances of what life was like in South Carolina during those times, which is why I came here and got in so much more. It's an enriching experience. I was glad to come here around 2:30pm on a Thursday afternoon in February 2023. I got the entire museum to myself and it was a good time. If you're in the area and interested in the history of Charleston and of South Carolina at the time of the slavery and the Civil War, consider the South Carolina Historical museum. The South Carolina Historical Society Museum is located at 124 Meeting Street in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. As mentioned before, there is admission fees accessed. You can book your tickets online. Upon arrival, I mentioned that I booked my ticket online and you would need to let the lady at the front desk authenticate the purchase (by looking at the confirmation email) before she can let you wander around the property. As far as parking goes, best to get street parking wherever you can find it. My friend parked at a nearby street for lunch. Afterwards, we returned to the car to grab my luggage and proceeded to walk to the SC Historical society museum on foot, which isn't far at all. If you are fond of Charleston's CARTA public transit system, consider the right routes for you to get here. There's always Uber and Lyft to meet your needs as well. Definitely recommended if you are interested in the history of Charleston SC and South Carolina in general. 5.0 stars for the overall experience. Support local! A+

Very nice, smaller but cool museum near Meeting and Broad. I wasn't familiar but they had free weekends in October so we decided to check it out, and are glad we did. Tells a clear and not whitewashed story about South Carolina and Charleston. It's not interactive, mainly reading along with artifacts and paintings.

Such a great museum! Well curated and succinct. Would definitely visit again to see any new exhibitions that move through!

I was so excited when I came back home to Charleston for a visit and discovered that there was a brand new museum opened by the SC Historical Society that I haven't had a chance to visit yet. Opened only this past fall 2018, the museum is tucked away in a historic building on Charleston's busy Meeting Street and overlooks the peaceful and beautiful Washington Square city park. The building itself is a historic and architectural gem as it was the first fireproof building in the country. There are several displays throughout the museum providing information and background on the architect and building's history. There are some REALLY amazing artifacts in the museum-most notably the giant Confederate secession banner which greets you as you arrive on the second floor (where the bulk of the exhibits are), items and news clippings from the famous Charleston earthquake of 1886 and a very interesting short film that discusses the artistic renaissance that happened in Charleston during the early 20th century. Some (I hope) helpful feedback for the museum staff-As I went through I couldn't help but feel the majority of the content was very heavily stacked to be predominantly Charleston and low country focused. With this being the "South Carolina" Historical Society Museum I expected to see a little bit more about the state as a whole as truly the entire Palmetto State is a goldmine of historic importance that is often overshadowed by Charleston. In addition, for visitors that aren't well-versed in SC and Charleston history I feel like some of the exhibits could be hard to follow and the flow of the museum felt a bit disjointed. Particularly as you leave the exhibit about the Civil War era and venture to the second half of the second floor. With that said, I enjoyed my afternoon visit and can't wait to visit again to witness how the museum will undoubtedly continue to grow and evolve its exhibits.

I really liked visiting the South Carolina Historical Society and all of the history and education on display. It is great to have so much history to learn about and the museum has a great number or cool displays that are well worth checking out and learning from. Everything here is very well organized and put together and it is a good opportunity to learn something new even if you think that you already know it all. The staff here is very excellent and knowledgeable. I had a really good experience at the South Carolina Historical Society and look forward to being able to return in the future to experience it again and show it off to some guests that want to learn more about the rich history of South Carolina.

The Society is closed indefinitely for major refurbishment. I tried to go here today but was met by many many workmen, who told me that it will be closed for repairs for months.

This little building tucked away on Meeting Street is a repository of historical artifacts and knowledgeable historians. You'll find a great and well-stocked bookstore - both for the researcher and the casual browser - you'll find the actual secession banner which was hanging behind the signers on that fateful day (and it was, ironically, preserved by New Englanders for years!), and a historic library with all sorts of wonderful books. Don't miss.