Old Slave Mart Museum

I really enjoyed this museum, it was very interesting, unbiased and flowed very well through the exhibits. The only minor criticism is that some of the audio exhibits were too loud which was a bit distracting when trying to read the other parts. Definitely worth a visit if you are at all interested in this side of history.

In terms of museum quality, this place is lacking in exhibits and authenticity. But you should still go. The somber history of this building will remind you of an ugly part of our history, and it is sobering to think about what kind of inhumanity took place inside those very walls. Hopefully with a little investment the museum can add some more interactive exhibits and paraphernalia.

Enjoyed going thru the museum and learning more about the slave trade. I really learned quite a bit of information and it was well worth the visit.

Went there once, now I just walk by. Not much there, just a room with pictures. For the price, I would have expected some old «things» to look at. I respect what it means but they way it stands now, it should be free. If you’re looking for history about the slave market, this isn’t it. I can read about it on the Internet for free. However, it’s nice to actually looks at it and think about how it was.
Frank G

I like that this museum is in the actual building where slave trading happened. However I do think that the space could have been used better. I thought that the museum would be very different than what it was. I didn’t care for the fact that it’s just a bunch of posters on the walls. The stories of some of the slaves that were traded in the building were the best part of the museum. I wish that there were more artifacts than what they had displayed.

The museum is the only known existing building used as a slave auction gallery in the state. The small museum has an extremely interesting exhibit, which is important for everyone to experience and explore. I’m very glad that we explored the museum on our trip to Charleston.

My girlfriend and I were both really looking forward to our visit here, but left feeling very underwhelmed. As many previous posters noted, the exhibit is almost exclusively informational posters, with a few artifacts in acrylic boxes and one audio read from a 1930’s interview with a man who had been sold here in the 1850’s. We both read almost every word in the exhibit — the National Park Service does a really good job creating displays of this type of content — in just over an hour.
Problem: The museum just does not make use of its historical setting. We are told it was a slave auction house, but you get no feeling of that history. It is just too clean and quiet inside (wasn’t busy at all when we were there on the Tues. before Thanksgiving). It is a small space, but it could have been used so much better. Much of the info on the posters as well as the ex-slave’s story could have been covered in an intro video, allowing them to recreate the actual slave auction house in the rest of the space. As we walked out, I remembered how well the Tenemant Museum in NYC was able to impart the feeling of those who had passed through its (admittingly much larger) building. A similar opportunity is lost here.

It was hard to believe there was a mart to sell and buy slaves.
There are a few Slave mart building, in the South it was written.
Not much of stuffs, still very moving just being in the exact the same place.
Worth to visit.

Left much to be desired for me. The exhibit is pretty much all reading… I could have saved myself a few $$ and just googled info about it.

Pros: Historic location. Text heavy exhibits illuminate the slave experience.
Cons: Content is repetitive.

This museum highlights really interesting facts about the Charleston slave trade. Facts that were mentioned on the free Charleston Walking Tour. Since the museum is tiny and you have to read everything I don’t think it’s really worth spending the money to visit, however we received a discount for going on the tour so we did anyway.

The museum is a 2 story building with mainly large posters showing the slave trade in America. The museum also had artifacts such as confinement irons and tools used by the slaves. The museum is emotionally neutral. History is written by the rich and powerful. This museum is not worth 7 dollars.

So boring! I love history and I am a sucker for any type of museum but this one was really bad to me. The most interesting part is the background and origin of the location which they tell you among entering. Also, it was interesting to see the equivalent prices paid for slaves. We literally spent about less than 10 minutes there. It is cramped and mostly reading on the walls. Its just a bunch of research in one place. I know that sounds weird but you could really just read this stuff on your own time. The admission wasn’t expensive but no value for what was paid at all. Would not recommend for kids.

I really enjoyed my experience at the Old Slave Mart Museum. It is small but very informative. There aren’t a lot of artifacts but I enjoyed reading the text. Also they give a nice introduction at the beginning. I also liked listening to the oral interviews (or readings of first hand accounts). I wasn’t as familiar with the domestic slave trade so that was interesting. I definitely recommend stopping while you are in Charleston.

As others have said, the museum building was once an actual slave mart where slaves were bought and sold which instantly gives the place somewhat of a somber feel if you take a moment to consider that what you are seeing and reading took place on the very place you are standing. The building is indeed small and when a lot of people are in there it can feel very cramped. For me this was the only negative.
Somewhat of a history buff, I’ve had college courses on slavery and the Civil War and have read James MacPherson’s «Battle Cry of Freedom» which contains quite a bit of info and data on the slave trade. All this is to say that I’ve always considered myself to be pretty knowledgeable on the subject and yet I learned an enormous amount in this place that I had no clue about. There is a lot of reading to be sure but it is a museum after all and let’s face it, there aren’t a whole lot of audio/​visual records of this particular time period. As far as the supposed lack of artifacts that other reveiwers have complained about, there is not a ton of actual ‘stuff’ but there are slave shackles, whips and other artifacts of the time as well as plenty of actual documents used in the slave marts and the slave trade in general. I’m not really sure what particular artifacts people were expecting to see but I didn’t feel that the dearth of artifacts took anything away from the learning experience. I would not let that dissuade anyone from visiting.
I exited the museum with several questions about various things and approached one of the museum curators on the way out with them; the guy took the time to talk with me and anwered every question I had. He was a veritable encyclopedia on the subject of the slave trade, particularly how it operated in Charleston. I could have talked with him all day if he’d had the time.
In summary, I would encourage everyone to take at least an hour or so to visit this museum while in Charleston, although you may find that you need more time. As it is often said, if you don’t know your history, you are bound to repeat it and the part of America’s history on display here is something every American should know about.

Very informative on the history of the slave trade and its importance to Charleston and the State of South Carolina. A must see if you are in Charleston. Highly recommend.

I wouldn’t recommend the Old Slave Mart museum to folks visiting Charleston. I’ve been to Charleston maybe ten or twelve times over the years, I went once with a friend (Charleston-​native) and we were both interested to see the place.
The fact that the museum it itself a reclaimed building from Charleston’s slave-​trading days was a big draw for me. In reality, the the building makes for a rather small museum (you could walk the length of both floors in less than a minute). I soaked up every bit of detail in the museum and was out in about thirty minutes.
Most of the exhibit is delivered via panels of text — there are relatively few artifacts from the period (one audio interview of a slave in the early 1900s). In general I was bummed that I was in a historical site but spent most of my time reading about the period.
That being said, I did learn a bit about the city’s slave trading history, and the museum did a good job about bringing out the specifics of the slaves, brokers, and planation owners that passed through the building’s doors.
For $ 7 general admission, there isn’t great value for your money. The topic’s certainly important in understanding Charleston’s history, but beyond the reading material the museum doesn’t offer much.

The Slave Mart Museum is a small museum located in an actual «showroom» where slaves were bought and sold during the 1850’s into the first half of the Civil War.
This is a place you should visit, even if it is a bit disappointing for being small and largely just having printed descriptions of events on boards. Here are a few details…
1. The museum is self-​guided. It provides ample information on the life and times surrounding the slave mart.
2. For Charleston to have been the entry port for 40−45% of slaves entering the U.S., this museum is very small and lacks artifacts. You can breeze through here in 30 minutes to one hour easily.
3. The staff here are highly knowledgeable and engaging. They are happy to answer questions.
4. Even though it is not a fabulous museum, this space and the story it tells is historically significant. Take time for a visit.

A MUST SEE Museum while you are in Charleston. This is the place slave trading occurred. An eye opener to slavery and history. How humans were treated.
Very well done with lots of graphics, lots of informative readings, audio interviews with freed slaves and much more help from their staff if you have any questions.
Do not miss this place. And do not read the negative reviews. Go, you won’t regret! Also you can’t take any fotos inside.
Worth every penny!
We got there exact at 9am as they just opened the doors, perfect timing not crowded at all.

Had a very interesting visit to the Old Slave Mart Museum. The museum coordinator was well versed in slave and Charleston history. While the museum was smaller than I imagined, it was incredibly informative and moving. I left the building deeply impacted.
The museum has a number of books available for further research on the subject. I was delighted to see a friend’a book in the location.
Overall, I enjoyed the visit. I’ve lived in Charleston all my life and didn’t know this place existed. Will send tourist to this location in the future.