Coming to Charleston, SC and love history?
Walking in the Footsteps of George Washington takes you through this captivating city as HE saw it on a one week visit in 1791.
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A specialty tour of Charleston, South Carolina, focusing on President George Washington's visit to the city in May 1791.
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- Signseeker
- University of Missouri, BA, Arizona State University, MA, both in English Literature. Former English instructor at ASU, corporate instructional design specialist/consultant. licensed Tour Guide, Charleston, SC for the past 10 years. Currently developing specialty tour/travel consulting company, Signseeker Travel.
On Monday, May 2, 1791, President George Washington arrived near this building in Charleston, South Carolina for a seven day visit. He went to 8 sites in the city: 5 of the buildings he saw and/or entered are still standing. There are very few other cities in the United States that can claim these bragging rights – but Charleston can.
Many of our visitors come to this beautiful city to see the antebellum houses on the High Battery, those on South Battery facing the park, and a little stretch of houses on East Bay Street called Rainbow Row.
But most of these buildings and places did not exist in Washington’s day. To see Charleston through HIS eyes, you have to Walk in the Footsteps of George Washington.
This is a walking tour that does, indeed, follow in the Footsteps of George Washington, over the time of his seven day visit. This tour includes buildings he saw or went into, as well as others he might have walked by. Four buildings on this tour are National Historic Landmarks, are open to the public, and can be seen close to the way Washington saw them, in this 1-hour tour: very few tours in Charleston can make that claim.
On this tour, your licensed Tour Guide shows you these buildings, and describes what occurred there,
including his reactions to people he met and the events he attended. You’ll also hear colorful, little-known facts about what the city was like in his day.
There are no other tours of this kind in Charleston. This tour is designed for folks with a special interest in the Father of Our Country in the context of what was then the richest city in America.
The following is a general overview of some of the highlights of this tour. There is much more to see and discover.
Several buildings on this tour are open to the public for a fee (discounts may be available; ask your Tour Guide when you book).
Shortly before the President entered this room, he received a 15-gun federal salute. He put his hands over his ears; after all, the Revolutionary War had only ended recently, and having been a general in the field he was tired of artillery fire!
He was greeted by dignitaries and other citizens in this room. A ball and a concert in his honor were also held here.
This building is open to the public for a fee. Ask at the time of booking for a possible discount.
President Washington attended a dinner here hosted by the Society of Cincinnati (he was a member) at this nearby tavern. It was a popular meeting place for city leaders to discuss politics.
This room, where he dined with those city leaders, can still be rented out for private dinners and receptions.
The house where the President stayed during his visit was owned by Thomas Heyward, Jr., one of the four signer of the Declaration of Independence from Charleston.
Washington may have taken time to reflect and refresh in the back garden, which was (and still is) cultivated with trees, shrubs, flowers and herbs. He was impressed with Charleston vegetation: General William Moultrie later shipped him boxes of plants and seeds for his own grounds at Mount Vernon.
The house and its gardens are open to the public for a fee; ask at the time of booking for a possible discount.
Before leaving Charleston to continue his tour of the southern states, President George Washington worshiped in a pew in this church that was, and still is, reserved for very special dignitaries.
These are the original 18th century pews, and each pew has an identifying number painted on the side. It is still a working church, and is sometimes open to the public.
When the church IS open, you can walk up the aisle, find the pew by its number, flip the latch, and sit in the same spot where President George Washington sat the first week of May 1791.
Do you know any place else in the United States where you can do that?
If you do, please let us know when you Book Your Tour!
If you do, please let us know when you Book Your Tour!
President Washington may NOT have walked on this street as he went from one building to another in the city to attend dinners, receptions, two balls, and church services. But it certainly existed during his visit.
This is the longest cobblestone street left in the city of Charleston, and the one that’s in best condition; its nickname is “Charmer’s Alley”.
But this was a fairly bawdy neighborhood in Washington’s day; his hosts would have probably kept him away from the area, as visiting Heads of State are kept from “bad neighborhoods” in our day!
But when YOU are Walking in the Footsteps of George Washington, we’ll show you this street, and much more, while we recreate the atmosphere of the time when the President Came to Town!
TOUR BOOKING INFORMATION
Cost: $20/per person, no coupons, no discounts, except for licensed tour guides (price negotiable)
Times: 10 am and 2 pm, days scheduled at time of bookings; reservations required. All bookings on May 2 receive special treatment.
Length: approximately 1 hour, depending on interaction with participants
Restrictions: 4 people minimum, 10 people maximum; no children under 12 (some exceptions accepted)
Contact: Patricia Catanich, cell 843-330-9333 or Email patriciacatanich@bellsouth.net
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