South Carolina: Charleston's Aiken Rhett House

The Aiken-Rhett House is located just a short walk from the Visitor Center, the Joseph Manigault House, and the Charleston Museum.  We rang the bell, and then I did the unthinkable—I took a photo inside the door and almost caused an incident but I refuse to apologize. I was warned that no photos are allowed inside, frankly, when one observes the condition it becomes more evident why, and then we were escorted to the basement where we purchased our tickets and received our headphone tours. The tours take about 45 minutes.

We are told that the house is owned by the Historic Charleston Foundation and that much of the inside is original; it is being preserved, not restored. Okay, I am as historically correct as the next person, but this gorgeous house is shabby and in terrible repair. You can call it preservation, but when the wallpaper is falling off the walls and everything could use a coat of paint, preserve it--don’t let it fall apart.

The house was built in 1817 for a Charleston merchant named John Robinson. It is what is known in Charleston as a double house, a central hallway with two rooms on either side. It has three floors with 12 rooms and a piazza on the front (a piazza in Charleston is a double porch). Mr. Robinson suffered financial reverses in 1825 and was forced to sell the house. 

William Aiken Sr. purchased the house, and it passed to his son at his death. Many renovations were done to the house—the front door was moved to the side. In 1857, an art gallery was added. This was my favorite part of the house; it still holds the collection that the Aikens acquired in Europe, and it has been kept up beautifully. It is where you finish your tour.

The tour begins in the warming kitchen. This is not where the food was prepared, as that was done outside the house; it is where the slaves garnished the food before serving it. The Aiken family had 80 slaves to maintain this property. It is basically an urban plantation. Part of the tour will include a visit to the kitchens and laundry, which have the slaves’ living quarters above them. 

It was very informative to see the places where the slaves lived—the rooms had fireplaces, and there were locks on the doors so that the rooms could be locked from within for privacy. They are family apartments, more or less. There had originally been an avenue of magnolias leading from the back gate but now two privies grace the back corners of the lot. 

Gov. Aiken supported the Union but gave financial support to the Confederacy. The house was looted by Union Soldiers in 1864.

The front of the house has double drawing rooms with pocket doors that separate them. Some photos show what the house looked like in 1918. The proportion of the rooms is grand. You can lift the windows and step out onto the piazza. The dining room is in an 1830 addition to the house, with a table that can seat 22 people. There is also a library with over 2,000 volumes.

The Aikens’ daughter married A.B. Rhett, and they ended up living in the house. The second-floor ballroom ended up being used as Henrietta’s bedroom after her husband’s death. You will have to use your imagination to picture the grandeur that it once saw. The Rhett family owned the house until 1975. The damage done by hurricane Hugo is evident throughout the house and, frankly, needs to be addressed soon. That withstanding, this is a very interesting house to visit, and the gift shop has some unusual offerings.