An accredited museum, Drayton Hall is nationally known for its exceptional guided tour of the authentic plantation house. Built btween 1738 and 1742, Drayton Hall is the oldest preserved plantation house in America that is open to the public. Admission to Drayton Hall offers an experience unique to the lowcountry with professionally guided house tours, self-guided walks of the scenic Ashley River and marsh estuary, an interactive African-American history program, and an evocative stroll through the centuries-old African-American cemetery.

• a National Trust historic site
• Museum Gift Shop
• Handicapped accessible
• Nine miles NW of downtown Charleston.

Experience history, beauty and daily plantation life at America's oldest landscaped gardens, created in 1741 by Henry Middleton. The House Museum invites guests to see Middleton family furniture, portraits and a rare silk copy of the Declaration of Independence. In the Plantation Stableyards craftspeople who demonstrate the skills performed by slaves in the 18th and 19th centuries are surrounded by the domestic animals that work and live among them. African-American culture is also interpreted at the plantation chapel, slave cemetery, rice field where Carolina Gold grows and Eliza's House, an 1870 freedman's dwelling. Carriage tours, nature walks, kayak trips and horseback riding offer guests a chance to explore the diverse ecosystem surrounding the National Historic Landmark. Lowcountry fare is served in the restaurant for lunch and dinner and the Museum Shop offers plantation-made craft items and a diverse selection of books and art.

Location: 4300 Ashley River Road (hwy. 61)
Phone: (843) 556-6020 or 1-800-782-3608
Hours: Open 9 am daily. Closed on Christmas Day.