The Charleston Museum is a museum located in the Wraggborough neighborhood in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1773, it is the oldest museum in the United States. Its collection includes historic artifacts, natural history, decorative arts and two historic Charleston houses. It replaced the Old Charleston Museum that burned down due to unknown causes.

History

The Charleston Museum was founded on January 12, 1773, and opened to the public in 1824. Other museums in the category of oldest in the United States include the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts and the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. In 1920, when the museum hired Laura Bragg as its director, she became the first woman to direct a publicly-funded art museum in America. The museum's present building was completed in 1980 at 360 Meeting Street, Charleston, South Carolina. The museum received the remains of Native Americans into their collection in the late 19th through mid-20th century that had been discovered accidentally or through archaeological expeditions. The museum began repatriation of remains before Congress passed the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990. Two sets of remains museum have been repatriated and the museum is in consultation with tribes about the remaining 80 Native American ancestors that have been inventoried and reported.

Description

The museum's exhibits include natural history and local history displays and decorative arts, including silver. The museum is also home to the only known fossil of the extinct Pelagornis sandersi, which is possibly the largest flying bird ever discovered. The museum also owns and operates two historic house museums: In addition to the two houses, the museum also maintains The Dill Sanctuary. From the site:

Collections