Colleton Museum Walterboro South Carolina
Posted by: 
mikemtn
N 32° 54.228 W 080° 40.045
17S E 531102 N 3640671
A museum of the history of Colleton County and the Lowcountry.
Waymark Code: WMHGH
Location: South Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 07/16/2006
Views: 18
From the web page of the museum at (
visit link)
The Colleton Museum is housed in the “Old Jail,” which is the third jail in the county's history. The two-story neo-Gothic structure resembles a castle and sits like a jewel overlooking one of Walterboro's main thoroughfares. Constructed in 1855–56, it is said to be built of brick from the old Jacksonboro Courthouse. The jailer and his family lived in the structure to oversee the care of the prisoners. The building was remodeled in 1937, a side porch was removed, the walls were stuccoed and painted, and rooms were added to the back. In addition to the Museum, the "Old Jail" annex is home to the Walterboro-Colleton Chamber of Commerce and various other County offices. The Museum is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Rich in history from the Spanish explorers in the late 1500s to today's preservation of the pre-Revolutionary rice fields in the ACE Basin, Colleton County is a quiet reminder of an eloquent past. The Carolina territory was established in 1663 when the King of England granted land to eight English noblemen. This land grant stretched from ocean to ocean. The territory was divided into three counties as early as 1682, making Colleton one of the oldest counties in the country. Walterboro was established as a summer colony in 1784 so Plantation owners could escape the malaria brought on during the summer months along the banks of the rivers and marshes of the Lowcountry. The Plantations produced rice, indigo and, later, cotton. Rice remained a major product of Colleton County's plantations until the early 1900s. The first homes in Walterboro were built by two brothers, Jacob and Paul Walter. A portrait of their Mother hangs in the Colleton County Library as a tribute to the "Mother of Walterboro." By 1817, Walterboro was designated as the County Seat and was incorporated in 1817.
The Colleton Museum features a permanent collection which explores the history of Colleton from prehistoric times to the early 1900s. The Museum also has an on-going exhibit on “Animals of the ACE,” a natural history display featuring wild animals indigenous to the South Carolina Lowcountry.