Explore the history and artifacts unique to Edisto Island, South Carolina, a special place with a fascinating story to share. For well over 300 years, people have come to Edisto Island. . .

• Native Americans tilled the fertile soil and harvested the bounty of seafood from the creeks, rivers, and ocean.

• Spanish priests established a mission on St. Pierre’s Creek.

• Spanish pirates raided the Island, sailing up the North Edisto River to burn and pillage.

• Early English settlers came here not for religious or political freedom, but to make their fortunes in agriculture. They tried rice, grew indigo, and finally struck it rich with Sea Island cotton.

• Africans came in chains and became a majority on Edisto. Their skills and labor created great material wealth for the planters, while their culture thrived even in adversity.

• Henry Moore, a New Hampshire photographer, followed Federal troops to Edisto during the Civil War. He took pictures of the soldiers to send home to loved ones.

• Mary Ames, a well-off young woman from Springfield, Massachusetts, also came during the Civil War. Her motive was not profit, but education, and she and her friend Emily Bliss opened a school on the Island to educate the children of the newly freed slaves.    

• James Jamerson, a young boy on the Island in 1940s and 50s, made an upright bass out of a stick and rubber band, placed it in an anthill, and “made those ants dance.” Later in life he was the bass player for the Funk Brothers (Motown Records’ studio band) and he made a generation dance with the driving bass beat of songs such as “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.”   

  

Many who came to Edisto Island left behind a part of themselves, whether it was pottery shards, a guano spreader, sweetgrass baskets, photographs, a diary, fine porcelain and silver, furniture, a rusty hoe, or (in the case of one unfortunate turtle) a carapace. All of these objects have a story to tell. From its opening in 1990,

The Edisto Island Museum

has preserved the objects of Edisto Island and interpreted them to illustrate the history and natural history of the Island.  Future plans for the Museum include the construction of an expansion of our current building that will result in a “new” Edisto Museum, with all-new exhibits and immersive environments.  

Come see us! The Edisto Island Museum is located in the center of Edisto Island, just off scenic Highway 174, far from the hustle and bustle of the mainland. We are open Tuesday-Saturday from 1:00-4:00. Admission is $4.00 for adults, $3.00 for seniors and $2.00 for students. Children 10 and under and members are admitted free.   

The Edisto Island Historic Preservation Society

(EIHPS), which operates the Edisto Island Museum, serves as an advocate for historic preservation on Edisto Island, working in concert with other organizations and homeowners to preserve Edisto’s unique culture and the natural and built environment.

The Edisto Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 1:00-4:00.

 

View a map of Edisto Island in the 1850s!