Ashley River Road is a byway that you can visit with your South Carolina car hire. While the road is only 11 miles long, it passes three national landmarks (Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Drayton Hall, and Middleton Place) as you travel through an area of historic significance for European and African settlement, commerce, and industry from colonial days until now. While the road is short, you can spend up to 2 days exploring the area when you are here.

Official designations

When you travel Ashley River Road with your South Carolina car hire, you may wonder why it has special recognition. The road is designated a “byway” when there is significant cultural, historical, or natural landmarks. Ashley River Road was designated a National Scenic Byway in 2000 and a South Carolina State Scenic Byway in 1998.

Drayton Hall

When you are here with your South Carolina car hire, you will find Drayton Hall is a fascinating piece of history. This is the oldest, un-restored plantation house in the country that is open to the public. The house was built between 1738 and 1742 on the Ashley River with a scenic view. The house is almost in original condition and is considered to be one of the finest examples of Georgian Palladian architecture in the country. Today, you will find professionally guided tours of the main house and self-guided tours of the grounds. This is a unique look at the South.

Middleton Place

Middleton Place is an 18th century plantation with America’s oldest landscaped gardens, set in 1741. When you visit with your South Carolina car hire, you will find a beautiful house built high of a bluff along the bank of the Ashley River. The grounds include the stable yards, a spring house, rice mill, and rice fields. The house was built circa 1738, with additional wings added in 1755. The house was burned by federal troops in 1865 and only the south wing remains standing. This is where you will find the museum.

Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church was created in 1706 and went on to become one of the administrative centers of the colonial government. When you visit with your South Carolina car hire, you will find this was once a place where the public was made aware of proclamations and public notices; where vital statistics about marriages, births, baptisms, deaths, and burials were kept; where the poor were able to get help. Although the building was vacant during the first half of the 20th century, it reopened in 1948 and continues to have an active church community.

Plan your trip

If you would like to travel Ashley River Road with your South Carolina car hire, you will find the best time to see the area is in the spring and early summer. The high season is the spring, so you can expect more traffic at this time. Since South Carolina has such a great climate, anytime of the year you are in town will make the drive a nice one. There are many places of interest along this 11 mile highway. There are several places where you can stop to eat or get gas along the way, and there is an information center as well along the byway.

When you are here with your South Carolina car hire, you will find there are so many places to see on such a short highway. You will learn a lot about the history and development of the South along this short highway. You can find out more about Triangle Rent a Car and our great fleet of vehicles by visiting our rental fleet page.

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