As a Historic Preservation major, I have had my fair share of house tours and have actually visited the Aiken Rhett house in the past, but going with the Architecture and Art History Club was a whole new experience. Normally when a member of the public tours the house, you are given a headset and you wander (with purpose) about the grounds. Being in AAH has it perks though. Our group got a lovely tour headed up by one of the houses head curators, so on top of what you would learn on an average tour, we got even more insight into what life was like at the Aiken-Rhett house.
Like the normal tours, we started in the basement, which is home to a preparation room that slaves would use to prepare meals to go up to the dining room from the kitchen out back. The main feature is a gas-powered light fixture above the table in the center of the room that was adapted for electricity which was cool to see because you could imagine the passing of time and the evolution of technology. The Aiken-Rhett house embraces the “preservation” technique with this house museum, which means the people did not choose to restore the house to a specific time period like other local house museums in which they only have a specific time period’s furniture and paint colors. Preservation allows the building to have layers- visitors can see different layers of paint and wood and brick, most especially in the slave quarters out back. This allows the building to show its own history and tell a story over time rather than just highlighting a brief period.
The curator offered the most personal insight about the slave living area in the back. She informed us that Governor Aiken took good care of his slaves when it came to living quarters. These rooms are my personal favorites because not only can you see some layers of paint, but you can also see some sheetrock and lathing behind. You can also see the old brick making the chimneys.
After the tour was over, we went back into the office of the museum director and were able to ask any questions we wanted to at all about the site for she knew all the answers. Another treat that the Art History major in me really enjoyed about this tour was a copy of a Raphael painting in the director’s office. A distant family member of the Aiken-Rhett’s came across this copy in their possession and sent it to the house to be apart of their gallery collection. The gallery was getting redone when we toured the house and then the painting would be installed once the renovations were complete.
All in all it was an absolutely wonderful tour that went above and beyond expectations. I loved being able to ask questions and learn so much more than the average tourist would have been able to. I loved the Aiken-Rhett house and can’t wait to go back and share my new knowledge with my friends and family.
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Aiken Rhett House Tour
As a Historic Preservation major, I have had my fair share of house tours and have actually visited the Aiken Rhett house in the past, but going with the Architecture and Art History Club was a whole new experience. Normally when a member of the public tours the house, you are given a headset and you wander (with purpose) about the grounds. Being in AAH has it perks though. Our group got a lovely tour headed up by one of the houses head curators, so on top of what you would learn on an average tour, we got even more insight into what life was like at the Aiken-Rhett house.
Like the normal tours, we started in the basement, which is home to a preparation room that slaves would use to prepare meals to go up to the dining room from the kitchen out back. The main feature is a gas-powered light fixture above the table in the center of the room that was adapted for electricity which was cool to see because you could imagine the passing of time and the evolution of technology. The Aiken-Rhett house embraces the “preservation” technique with this house museum, which means the people did not choose to restore the house to a specific time period like other local house museums in which they only have a specific time period’s furniture and paint colors. Preservation allows the building to have layers- visitors can see different layers of paint and wood and brick, most especially in the slave quarters out back. This allows the building to show its own history and tell a story over time rather than just highlighting a brief period.
The curator offered the most personal insight about the slave living area in the back. She informed us that Governor Aiken took good care of his slaves when it came to living quarters. These rooms are my personal favorites because not only can you see some layers of paint, but you can also see some sheetrock and lathing behind. You can also see the old brick making the chimneys.
After the tour was over, we went back into the office of the museum director and were able to ask any questions we wanted to at all about the site for she knew all the answers. Another treat that the Art History major in me really enjoyed about this tour was a copy of a Raphael painting in the director’s office. A distant family member of the Aiken-Rhett’s came across this copy in their possession and sent it to the house to be apart of their gallery collection. The gallery was getting redone when we toured the house and then the painting would be installed once the renovations were complete.
All in all it was an absolutely wonderful tour that went above and beyond expectations. I loved being able to ask questions and learn so much more than the average tourist would have been able to. I loved the Aiken-Rhett house and can’t wait to go back and share my new knowledge with my friends and family.