The Aiken-Rhett House stands alone as the most intact townhouse complex showcasing urban life in antebellum Charleston. Built in 1818 and greatly expanded by Gov. and Mrs. William Aiken, Jr. in the 1830s and 1850s, the house has survived virtually unaltered since 1858.

A successful businessman, rice planter, distinguished politician and governor of South Carolina, William Aiken, Jr. was one of the state’s wealthiest citizens. Following a well-established tradition among Charleston’s elite, Governor Aiken and his wife, Harriet Lowndes Aiken, traveled in Europe and returned with magnificent fine art and furnishings. Today, visitors will find many of these objects in the same rooms for which they were purchased.

The Aiken-Rhett House remained in the family until 1975 and has been owned by Historic Charleston Foundation since 1995. The foundation has adopted a conservation approach to the interpretation of this important house and its outbuildings.

The Aiken-Rhett House is the northern-most site on Charleston's historic Museum Mile.

"twelve upright rooms, four on each floor, all well finished, the material of the piazzas and fences all of cypress and cedar; underneath the house are large cellars and storerooms." -19th century newspaper ad