In Beyond the Ashes, learn about the political and social changes that took place in the wake of the Civil War, the Jim Crow Era, the Earthquake of 1886, the Charleston Renaissance, the transformation of Charleston in the 20th century, the impact of the World Wars on the area, the local Civil Rights struggle, Hurricane Hugo, and more.
The exhibition begins with the Reconstruction era and the gains that formerly enslaved people made in education, economically and politically. It features a pew from an Edisto Island Church that was made by enslaved people in the 1830s, then used by them in the balcony of the church, where they were relegated for worship.
This area also displays an academic medal awarded to Theodosia Cox Gordon, who attended the Shaw Memorial School. Freed people of color understood the importance of education to succeed economically and politically, so a number of schools were formed in the wake of the Civil War specifically for African Americans, including the Shaw Memorial School, named after the commander of the 54th Massachusetts, an African American regiment that fought in the Civil War.
Significant resistance to the new social order by Whites emerged after the Civil War. Since the state militia was comprised of mostly Black men, White males formed their own militia units under the guise of gun or rifle clubs, and frequently outfitted themselves in a red shirt, gaining them the designation Red Shirts. The Museum has had an example of this textile in its collection since the 1920s, but is now for the first time putting it on display. It was worn by Josiah McKie at the Hamburg massacre, where several Blacks were killed by Red Shirts and others. The earthquake of 1886 case includes pattress plates and part of a bolt, sand collected by Charlestonians from fissures, and beer bottles from a local brewery that produced “Charleston Earthquake Beer.”
The 20th century section contains the piano from the Siegling Music House that George Gershwin used to compose his opera, Porgy & Bess, a case related to the world wars with rotating textiles, an inside view of the historic pharmacy, dedicated exhibit space outlining the struggles of local activists during the Civil Rights movement, and Hurricane Hugo objects.
The exhibit concludes with an assessment of the Lowcountry in the 21st century and a reflection on its past:
The people who have lived in the Lowcountry throughout its history have had a resilience to them and the area’s residents have experienced much throughout its history – natural disasters, epidemics, oppression of an entire race of people, wars, and economic downturns. Yet, they have persevered. Ever influenced by its past, the Lowcountry can be considered a beautiful mosaic, one with many imperfections in the history that is interwoven through it, but one that continues to evolve and to flourish.
In the Museum’s Armory, see excellent examples of historic weaponry, dating from 1750 to the twentieth century, with uses that ranged from military to more personal applications such as hunting and dueling.
In the Historic Textiles Gallery, the Museum features regularly rotating exhibits from its rich historic textiles and clothing collection, one of the finest in the southeastern United States.
In The Charleston Museum: The Early Days gallery, see exotic collections from around the world, representative of the Museum’s nineteenth century cosmopolitan collecting focus.
In the Lowcountry History Hall, see materials relating to the Native Americans who first inhabited the Lowcountry and the African American and European settlers who transformed the region into an agricultural empire.
In the Natural History gallery you will see an extraordinary array of birds, reptiles and mammals that have called the South Carolina Lowcountry home since prehistory, including contributions from noted naturalists.
The Charleston Museum is pleased to present Kidstory, a fun and exciting, hands-on exhibit for children, where the fascinating history of Charleston and the Lowcountry comes alive.
In the Loeblein Gallery of Charleston Silver discover the impressive work of the South’s finest craftsmen and women, from the colonial era through the Victorian Age.
