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Work Yard
The Aiken-Rhett House is one of the few urban townhouses whose outbuildings have remained unchanged since the nineteenth century.
These work yards, varying in size and complexity, were part of every town house in Charleston in the first half of the nineteenth
century and were the domain of enslaved African Americans. The slaves provided the services and manpower that allowed wealthy Charlestonians
like the Aikens to live in such luxurious style. However, this resulted in the loss of the most basic freedom for almost half the population.
The spaces and structures behind the main house are part of the Aikens' townhouse complex. It contains a main house with adjacent outbuildings,
similar to a rural plantation. While no crops were grown on the property, domestic animals like horses, cows and chickens were kept in the back lot.
The outbuildings of the Aiken-Rhett House were constructed at the same time as the main house in 1817. The kitchen/laundry building was expanded
to double its previous size in the 1830s. The stable/carriage building stands directly across the work yard from the kitchen and laundry. The
remnants of a garden structure are located next to the carriage house. At the back end of the lot are two privies (outhouses), one of which is
original. The other was rebuilt after Hurricane Hugo.
Evidence remains of an avenue of magnolia trees. Originally, there were five trees on each side leading from the back gate to the carriage house.
The Aikens would have been delivered to the front door before the carriage entered the gate.
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LOCATION
48 Elizabeth Street, two blocks from the Charleston Visitor Center.
Click the map above for Driving Directions.
RESTORATION UPDATES
2008 MUSEUM SPONSOR
HOURS OF OPERATION
Monday - Saturday : 10 a.m. - 5 p.m
Sunday : 2 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Last tour begins at 4:15 p.m.
Features the only "audio tour" in Charleston
PURCHASE TICKETS
$10 or visit both the Aiken-Rhett House and the Nathaniel Russell House for $16. Tickets may be purchased at either site.
Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
GIRL SCOUT OPPORTUNITIES
Learn more about earning credits toward your Local Lore Patch.
INFORMATION
Phone: (843) 723-1159
Email: vperry@historiccharleston.org
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