Charleston County Courthouse
Charleston, SC 29401
Hours: Open to the public during normal business hours
Charleston County Courthouse was first built in 1753 as the provincial capitol for the colony of South Carolina. The original Statehouse building was two stories high with an elaborate lobby and grand staircase.
The original building burned during the Constitutional Ratification Convention of 1788. The construction of the new building was built in a Neoclassical style and was completed in 1792. The building became a center for legal activity, housing circuit, state and federal courts as well as the sheriff's offices. A third story was used by the Charleston Library Society and Charleston Museum, the oldest museum in the country.