Charleston Museum

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historicflavor

Joined 7 years ago

Great Displays, Visit Option Good for Rainy Days...See the next best thing to the "Real Hunley".... Plan on making this very interesting tour of Charleston's past...Things so well preserved and displayed the eye can not believe sometimes what is being viewed...Feel as if you are traveling back in time in sections of the hallways...Did not realize Charleston had such a long and diversified past in history...Enjoyed the Hunley Submarine replica on the museum grounds outside, since I came all the way from Florida to see the real Hunley with no luck...Something should be done about that, but thats another story...Anyway, this was really a great indoor visit on a rainy day so not as to waste a total day...Helpful personel and museum pricing was very resonable...

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Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

The country's first museum traces the rich cultural and natural history of South Carolina.. The Background
Founded in 1773 by the Charleston Library Society, the Charleston Museum is considered America's first museum. The modern design of the building belies the rich history that lies within: The museum's mission is to "preserve and interpret the cultural and natural history of Charleston and the South Carolina Lowcountry."

The Collection
Most impressive is the museum's collection of South Carolina artifacts, including firearms, ceramics, textiles, silver and furniture. One room houses a fascinating collection of oddities from the museum's earliest days: shrunken heads, Egyptian mummies, biological specimens preserved in rum. The museum also has a substantial natural history collection. Look out for fossils unearthed near Charleston, including the bones of a giant crocodile and a primitive toothed whale. Out front, visitors can peer inside a full-scale replica of the Hunley, an "ironclad" submarine that engaged and sank a battleship during the Civil War before itself sinking to the bottom of Charleston Harbor.