Edmondston-Alston House Museum
Edmondston-Alston House Museum
Edmondston-Alston House MuseumEdmondston-Alston House Museum
Charleston, SC 29401
Hours:
Sunday & Monday 1:00p - 4:30p
Tuesday - Saturday 10:00a - 4:30p
The Edmondston-Alston House was built between 1820 and 1828. The house originally was built in the English Regency style architecture. The three-story house has a panoramic view of the Charleston harbor and High Battery. The house is constructed of brick and stucco faced with wide porches on its south side and a large staircase hall, which reaches into two drawing rooms located on the second floor. The property is mostly surrounded by a wrought-iron fence which is built on top of a three foot brick wall. The house has an open floor plan of two large rooms on each floor with smaller adjacent areas. The second story has fourteen foot ceilings. There are large window and door openings for good air flow circulation. There are several outhouses which served as kitchens, servant quarters, and horse stables and carriages.
In 1837 Edmondston was forced to sell his house due to economic reversals during the panic of 1837. The house was purchased by Charles Alston, a member of a well-established rice-planting dynasty. Charles Alston updated the architecture of his house in the Greek Revival style. A third story piazza with Corinthian columns and a cast-iron balcony across the front was added plus a rooftop railing bearing the Alston coast of Arms was added.
The house has remained in the Alston family since 1838.
