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.

Preservation via Acquisition:

The Historic Charleston Foundation Collection

Established in 1947, Historic Charleston Foundation works to preserve and protect the architectural and cultural character of Charleston and its historic environs. One of the primary ways that HCF fulfills this mission is through the interpretation of its collection and two museum sites: the Nathaniel Russell House, c. 1808, and the Aiken-Rhett House, c. 1820. These historic properties serve as the ideal exhibition space for HCF’s outstanding collection of fine and decorative art.

HCF’s efforts to preserve Charleston’s material culture as well as its built environment began in 1955 with the purchase of the Nathaniel Russell House. Since that time, HCF has assembled a collection of more than 3,000 artifacts. Many of the key decorative and fine art holdings have local provenances and were made in the Lowcountry. The early collection documents Charleston’s transformation from colonial outpost to grand cosmopolitan city. HCF’s 19th century artifacts, including the Aiken-Rhett family collection, enable the Foundation to also tell the story of antebellum and post-Civil War Charleston.

Acquiring and interpreting the collection is one of the many ways that HCF actively preserves the city’s rich cultural heritage. HCF remains dedicated to securing notable examples of decorative and fine art. Such collection initiatives are supported through the generosity of preservation-minded donors.

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