Drayton Hall

The historic plantation house stands on a 630-acre site and is one of the finest examples of Georgian-Palladian architecture in America. After seven generations, the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, and numerous hurricanes and earthquakes, the main house remains in nearly original condition. The main house is considered one of the finest examples of Georgian-Palladian architecture and the grounds represent one of the most significant, undisturbed historic landscapes in America.
There is no furniture in Drayton Hall, and nothing has been restored or added. Considered a mecca for historic preservationists, this is a unique and pure way to see what life once looked like in one of Charleston’s plantation homes. A monumental brick structure of two stories over a high basement, Drayton Hall has a double-hipped roof of the type common to many Georgian houses in the South. The west (“land”) facade is marked by a two-story portico fronting a recessed central bay. Drayton Hall was begun in 1738 and was completed after four years of construction by European and African American craftsmen. Today, its Georgian-Palladian architecture represents the oldest surviving example of its kind in the American South.