It was from this site that delegates were selected to attend the first Continental Congress in 1774. In 1776, the citizens of Charleston first heard the declaration of independence from the steps of the Exchange. In 1780, the British took the city and used the dungeon to house political prisoners, including the famous patriot Issac Hayne, who was led to his death from the building.

By the early 1800s, the building was being used as a post office. This was the "most convenient post office in America" until 1896, when it was relocated. After the threat of sale and possible destruction in 1913, the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution bought the Old Exchange. In 1981, restoration of the building began. By later that year, it was formally opened to the public and now is one of the most important sites in the history of Charleston.

This is a really excellent place to bring your kids if they like history. The top floors of the building are beautifully restored rooms. Some are furnished, some are left empty. One of them has a small collection of vintage clothing from the 1700s that I found extremely fascinating. The upper level also has a recreation of the post office and a collection of stamps and envelopes.

The dungeon level is where the kids will get a kick. You get to go into the old vaulted cellar of the building and see where political prisoners were held. The use a couple of animatronic displays to tell you some of the history and talk about some of the people that were held prisoner here. It is kind of cheesy for adults and older kids, but I think young kids will really like it.

They also have a lot of information about the various pirates who harassed the people of Charleston in the 1700s. I thought it was really cool that there were two infamous women pirates caught in Charleston. They got out of being executed by claiming that they were pregnant...very clever.

I really enjoyed the Old Exchange, but it was a really short visit. I saw the upper levels in about 20 minutes, and the dungeon tour lasts 20 minutes. This is a good, quick stop and a wonderful place to learn about colonial and Revolutionary War history.

In the lobby was a gift shop, so we browsed for awhile and decided to tour the dungeon. It cost $6 (seniors). The Rebecca Motte Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution hold their meetings in a grand hall on the first floor. They had saved the building from demolition in 1913. It had been built in the formal Palladian style in 1771 to accommodate the very wealthy import/export traders and to let the ships that sailed into port know how important Charleston was.

Anxious to explore the dungeon, we found stairs going down to it. A museum was at the bottom of the stairs and a tour was just starting in the dungeon so we joined it. The tour guide explained that the structure we were looking at was part of the half moon battery from the original fortification of Charleston. The dungeon has a vaulted ceiling.

In different areas of the dungeon historical scenes, that had taken place right there, were reenacted by animated full scale figures appropriately dressed in the period and style of the time and situation. Pirates and even important patriots were held prisoner there, and their importance in history was played out by what they were saying. Charleston even had its own Tea Party, but instead of throwing the tea in the water, they stored it in the dungeon. We could look through a hole in the brick wall and see where a patriot hid kegs of gun powder from the British, and it was never found during the British occupation of the city.

A magnificent formal hall, located on the third floor, is used for important occasions. George Washington had been honored by a week of festivities when he visited Charleston during his presidency.