America's Oldest Preserved Plantation House Open to the Public

Experience something you can't see anywhere else

When the National Trust purchased Drayton Hall from the Drayton family in 1974, they purchased a house that had survived the better part of three centuries, the only plantation on the Ashley River to survive intact to present-day.

But survival alone isn't what makes Drayton Hall unique. Even more remarkable is the fact that Drayton Hall survived without ever having been substantially altered — in near-original condition. In fact, even electricity, plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning were never added.

Rather than restoring the house to reflect a single period of grandeur, the National Trust made the bold decision to preserve the site as it was received from the Draytons in 1974 in order to provide a time line showing change and continuity through three centuries of American history.

In the great hall, you'll look up at hand carved moldings that date to the house's construction and a cast plaster ceiling added in the 1850s. In the withdrawing room, you'll see one of just a handful of original hand-molded ceilings left in the United States and traces of the original cream-colored paint. And our interpreters will introduce you to events from the three centuries of American history that this house has witnessed.

	Main House From the 18th-century limestone steps to the 19th-century cast-plaster ceiling to the 20th-century fish-scale shingles, find out what it takes to preserve a property that is over 265-years old. Learn More
	The Grounds Just as the house is guided by a preservation philosophy, so are the grounds. Discover those layers of time — from the Age of Reason to the Victorian era — in the landforms that are still visible today. Learn More
	Archaeology Archaeologists have conducted 16 investigations at Drayton Hall and have unearthed thousands of artifacts — from tools used to build Drayton Hall to a pinch-pot made by an enslaved child in the 18th-century. Dig deeper. Learn More
	Ashley River Region Growing, growing, gone? Learn more about what we are doing to preserve the historic and scenic region that is home to Drayton Hall. Learn More
	In Your Community Every town has a unique history and a special sense of place. Find out what you can do to support preservation in your hometown. Learn More

"Almost any alteration to Drayton Hall's structures or grounds, apart from what is necessary to preserve them, could diminish or destroy potentially meaningful aspects of the history and character of this extraordinary resource. While we work in the present to understand better the structure and site, its history, and the family that maintained it, we should leave the document we are studying essentially alone."

--Blue Ribbon Task Force Report, National Trust, 1983

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"Please keep Drayton Hall undecorated and with no furniture. This simple grandeur is evocative enough of the past, without embellishment."

--1st Lt. Earl N. Levitt, Ret., Williamsburg, VA