Charleston is known for its rich history, an important piece of which are its well preserved, glorious mansions-turned-into-museums, bringing joy to architecture & history enthusiasts and large numbers of visitors to the city.
Be prepared for some awe inspiring historic house hopping when you visit Charleston, there’s no escaping that (not that you’d wish to escape it, I’m sure).
So, following our visit to the Aiken-Rhett House, most features of which have been lovingly preserved to their original style, today we tour the Joseph Manigault House, where almost all the rooms have been restored to their original colour schemes and feature historic pieces from the Charleston Museum’s collections.
Descending from French Huguenots who fled religious persecution in Europe in the late 1600s, the Manigaults prospered as rice planters and merchants during the 18th century and became one of South Carolina’s leading families. Joseph Manigault inherited several rice plantations and over two hundred slaves from his grandfather in 1788, and also married well. Arthur Middleton, father of his first wife, Maria Henrietta Middleton, was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Following Henrietta’s death, he married Charlotte Drayton, with whom he had eight children. The Charleston Museum purchased the house in 1933, and has preserved and interpreted it ever since. [source: The Charleston Museum]
April 10th, 2018
The Humble Fabulist 