Drayton Hall | South Carolina Public Radio

“D” is for Drayton Hall [Charleston County]. Established in 1738, Drayton Hall is a historic plantation located between the Ashley River and Ashley River road—about nine miles from Charleston. At the time of its construction, its two-story brick main house with raised basement reflected current English Georgian architecture and was inspired by the designs of Italian renaissance architect Andrea Palladio. John Drayton founded Drayton Hall and it remained in possession of the Drayton family for seven generations. In 1974 the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the state of South Carolina, and the Historic Charleston Foundation acquired Drayton Hall from the Draytons. They chose to preserve the site “as is” rather than restore or reconstruct the house to an earlier or specific time period. Drayton Hall is one of the oldest unrestored plantation houses in America that is open to the public.