Founded in 1670 by English colonists, Charleston, SC is approaching its 350th birthday. Although the town can’t blow out any candles on a large cake, you can help ring in this major milestone by exploring Charleston’s most historic landmarks. To get the full 18th-century experience, the best way to travel is in a horse-drawn carriage tour. Luckily, private carriage tours are numerous in Charleston. So while you choose where you want to explore, picture you and your family bundled into a Charleston carriage tour.
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- Middleton Place: Owned and operated by the Middleton Place Foundation, this house and its 110 acres of land are a National Historic Landmark. As a landmark that must acknowledge its history, Middleton Place tells the stories of both the aristocratic white family who owned and operated the homestead, as well as the enslaved Africans, forced to work there. The House Museum at Middleton Place features the everyday objects that surrounded all the people who lived on this land. By touring the museum you are transported to the mid-19th century, just before the Civil War took hold of Charleston and changed their lives forever. The surrounding grounds at Middleton place are a joy to walk through and feature America’s oldest landscaped gardens. Located right on the water, and even among small lakes and rice fields, the breathtaking scenery will show you the beauty of natural Charleston.
- Fort Sumter: The first shots of the Civil War were shot by Confederate soldiers at Union soldiers occupying Fort Sumter. This shooting did not end in many casualties as the Union soldiers evacuated the Fort the next day, but it marked the start of the Civil War, America’s deadliest conflict. If you want to visit Fort Sumter now, you’ll have to hop off of any private carriage tours. It is only accessible by boat, but you can take tours that stop there specifically. Traveling by boat will give you another, beautiful view of Charleston that can include dolphin spotting and gorgeous sunsets.
- The Charleston Museum: Founded in 1773, the Charleston Museum is considered America’s first museum. The museum features collections of artifacts from historic Charlestonians, such as textiles and silver. It also has an exhibit on life in the South Carolina Lowcountry, which delves in the lives of Native Americans who occupied the land before the colonizers as well as the enslaved African Americans who built the strong South Carolinian economy. The museum also operates two historic houses ready for you to explore: The Joseph Manigault House and the Heyward-Washington House.
Exploring Charleston is a very rewarding adventure, teaching you history you never knew before and showing you parts you never thought to go. Private carriage tours around Charleston wrap you in a lovely, historic bubble that you can carry with you across the city.
