In honor of Black History Month, the Old Slave Mart Museum will be open 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays in February. Additionally, city of Charleston employees and their immediate family can visit the museum for free this month.
The only known building used as a slave auction gallery in South Carolina still in existence, the Old Slave Mart, located at 6 Chalmers Street, was once part of a complex of buildings known as Ryan’s Mart that occupied the land between Chalmers and Queen Streets. Owned and operated by the City of Charleston, the Old Slave Mart Museum recounts the story of Charleston’s role in the inter-state slave trade by focusing on the history of the building, site and the slave sales that occurred there. Admission to the museum is $8 for adults and $5 for seniors, students, teachers and military personnel.