Drayton Hall is the oldest preserved plantation house in America that is open to the public.

Drayton Hall, a National Trust historic site in Charleston, South Carolina. Completed in 1742, the historic plantation house stands majestically on a 630-acre site and is one of the finest examples of Georgian-Palladian architecture in America. Through seven generations of Drayton family ownership, the plantation house has remained in nearly original condition and offers an opportunity to experience history, to imagine the people—white and black—who lived and worked in a far different time.

The Discovery at Drayton Hall
Drayton Hall is an accredited museum, although certainly not a typical one. The Drayton Hall encounter is more than an average southern plantation visit. Tour guides are professionals -- many with advanced degrees -- who enlighten visitors about the dynamics affecting Drayton Hall over time. "Connections: Africans, Americans, and Europeans," details the lives of African Americans -- before and after slavery -- who lived and worked at Drayton Hall and other Drayton properties and how they developed a special culture from the 18th to the 20th centuries.

Your professional guide reveals to you a time capsule of American history, which is interpreted through architecture, oral history, archaeology, and historical records. Discover the real and whole story of Drayton Hall -- its landscape, its purpose, and its people, both black and white -- over the span of over two and a half centuries.