Community Spotlight: The Charleston Museum

The Charleston Museum is located right down the street from the Handsome Properties office at 360 Meeting Street in downtown Charleston. It is one of the oldest museums in the United States and has a great range of exhibits focusing on the South Carolina Lowcountry, modern collecting, natural history, material culture, and more.

We sat down with Carl Borick, Director of The Charleston Museum, to learn about the museum’s offerings and exhibits.

How Was the Museum Founded?

The Museum was founded in 1773 by the Charleston Library Society. It ceased operating during the Revolutionary War and its early collections were lost in a fire in 1778. It began collecting again in the 1790s and some of these artifacts still survive today.

Throughout the 19th century it was overseen by the Library Society, the Literary and Philosophical Society, the Medical College of South Carolina (now MUSC) and the College of Charleston. It became an independent organization in 1915. The Museum acquired the Heyward-Washington House in 1929, the state’s first historic house museum, and the Joseph Manigault House in 1933.

What Exhibits Are Currently on Display at the Museum?

The Museum’s permanent exhibits examine the cultural history of Charleston and the Lowcountry from Native Americans up through the Civil War. Visitors to the Museum often note that the Museum provides a comprehensive understanding of area colonial and antebellum history and that it should be visited first before venturing out to other sites around the city.

A separate Bunting Natural History Gallery covers area natural history and includes fossils from the world’s largest ever known flying bird and a giant ground sloth over 13’ tall.

How Has Being in a City With Such Historic Roots Affected the Museums’ Curation?

Lowcountry residents love their history and take great pride in their roots. This has benefited the Museum tremendously as many of the early families passed down artifacts that belonged to their ancestors and hundreds of these objects have been donated to the Museum.

Among them are cuff links that belonged to General William Moultrie and a Windsor chair that belonged to Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox. The Museum is also fortunate to have an archaeology department and many of the artifacts on display have come from archaeological digs around the area.

What Are Some Upcoming Events and Exhibits?

In addition to its regular exhibits, the Museum offers two exhibits each year in its Historic Textiles Gallery. The current exhibit, The Lawn Party: From Satin to Seersucker, looks at how certain fabrics behave in Charleston’s summer heat. It will close on September 19.

It will be followed by Fur & Frost: Carolina Winters opening October 2. Upcoming special programs include a behind the scenes storeroom tour with the Museum’s Historic Textiles Curator (September 16), a Sweetgrass Basket Weaving Workshop (October 2), and an ecology tour with our Natural History Curator (October 8). See www.charlestonmuseum.org for details.

Which Exhibit is Your Favorite?

As a Revolutionary War historian, my favorite area is obviously our Becoming Americans: Charleston in the Revolutionary War exhibit. The exhibit includes a rare cartridge box that was carried by the British Royal Artillery as well as a sword that belonged to one of Francis Marion’s men.

How Does the Charleston Museum Benefit the Charleston Community?

The Museum’s mission is to educate residents and visitors to the area about the cultural and natural history of the South Carolina Lowcountry. It does this through exhibits, special programs and tours, preservation of historic properties and outreach to local schools.

With regard to the latter, the Museum regularly sends staff educators out to Title I schools to teach about artifacts in the collection and area history. The Museum also serves as the repository for regional history and is a terrific resource for anyone who wishes to learn where we came from and how we arrived here.