Historic building built in 1767-1771, it has served a variety of civic institutional functions, including notably as a prisoner of war facility operated by British forces during the American Revolutionary War
General Information
Sunday: 11:00am to 5:00pm
Closed New Year's Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day
Children (7–12): $12
Children (0–6): Free
Discounts available for seniors, military, teachers, students, and groups
How to Get There
From Charleston (0 mi): Travel through downtown Charleston to East Bay Street near the intersection with Broad Street, and arrive at the Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon located at 122 East Bay Street.
Overview
The Old Exchange & Provost Dungeon is a Georgian-era landmark at the corner of East Bay and Broad Streets, built between 1767 and 1771 as Charleston's custom house, public market, and civic meeting hall. Its most notorious chapter came after the British captured Charleston in 1780, when the basement became a military prison — the "dungeon" that gives the site its name. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973, the building is now a museum run by the Daughters of the American Revolution, with costumed guides leading tours through all three floors.
History
During the Revolution, confiscated British tea was stored here and South Carolina's revolutionary leaders held their war councils in the building. After British forces took the city in 1780, they used the Exchange as a barracks and imprisoned captured Patriots (and some of their own soldiers) in the basement dungeon — a 2012 study documented at least 120 prisoners held there. The building later hosted South Carolina's 1788 convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution and several events during George Washington's week-long visit to Charleston. It served as a post office into the Civil War, when shelling left it abandoned, before being handed to the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1913, who have preserved it ever since.
Things to Do
Take a Guided Tour
Costumed guides lead visitors through all three floors of the building, from the elegant main hall to the stone-walled dungeon below, bringing the site's Revolutionary War history to life.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Exchange and Provost", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
