List of museums in South Carolina
This list of museums in South Carolina, United States, encompasses museums defined for this context as institutions that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Museums that exist only in cyberspace are not included.
The list
| Name | Town/City | County | Region | Type | Summary |
| Agricultural Heritage Center | Blackville | Barnwell | Central Savannah River Area | Agriculture | Located at the Clemson University Edisto Research Station, early rural farm life |
| Aiken Center for the Arts | Aiken | Aiken | Central Savannah River Area | Art | Arts center including a gallery with an emphasis on local and regional talent of the South |
| Aiken County Historical Museum | Aiken | Aiken | Central Savannah River Area | Local history | Housed in a 1930s Winter Colony mansion named "Banksia" |
| Aiken-Rhett House | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Historic house | |
| Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum | Aiken | Aiken | Central Savannah River Area | Sports | |
| American Legion Post 3 Cecil B. Buchanan War Museum | Greenville | Greenville | Upcountry | Military | History of American military bases both local and abroad |
| American Military Museum | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Military | Includes artifacts from 14 American conflicts from the Revolutionary War through the recent war in Iraq, and from the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard |
| Anderson City Fire Department Museum | Anderson | Anderson | Upcountry | Firefighting | Includes fire trucks, a horse-drawn wagon, hose and chemical truck, pumping engine, antique fire equipment |
| Anderson County Museum | Anderson | Anderson | Upcountry | Local history | |
| Andrew Jackson State Park | Lancaster | Lancaster | Olde English District | Biographical | Includes museums about President Andrew Jackson and a replica of a late 18th-century one-room schoolhouse |
| Antiquers Haven Museum and Shop | Liberty | Pickens | Upcountry | History | House with 1690 to 1890 period pieces, clothing, toys, guns, fine china, automobiles |
| Arts and Heritage Center of North Augusta | North Augusta | Aiken | Central Savannah River Area | Multiple | Two galleries of rotating exhibits and a permanent heritage exhibit |
| Ashtabula Historic House | Pendleton | Anderson | Upcountry | Historic house | 1790 plantation home |
| Avery Research Center | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | African American | Part of the College of Charleston, local African American art and cultural history |
| Barnwell County Museum | Barnwell | Barnwell | Central Savannah River Area | Local history | |
| Bart Garrison Agricultural Museum of South Carolina | Pendleton | Anderson | Upcountry | Agriculture | South Carolina’s agricultural history and the impact on culture and economies |
| Beaufort History Museum | Beaufort | Beaufort | Lowcountry | Local history | Area history in a historic arsenal dating back to 1799 |
| Bedon-Lucas House | Walterboro | Colleton | Lowcountry | Historic house | Operated by the Colleton County Historical & Preservation Society, 19th century planter's home |
| Beech Island Historical Society Visitors Center & Barn | Beech Island | Aiken | Central Savannah River Area | Agriculture | |
| Berkeley County Museum and Heritage Center | Moncks Corner | Berkeley | Lowcountry | Local history | Located at the Old Santee Canal Park |
| Oconee | Upstate | Local, regional, and statewide African American and Cultural History | Exhibits change 1-2 times annually. Museum is located in Historic downtown Seneca | ||
| Best Friend of Charleston Museum | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Railroad | |
| Black Creek Arts Council Gallery | Hartsville | Darlington | Pee Dee | Art | Includes exhibits of area and national artists |
| BMW Zentrum | Spartanburg | Spartanburg | Upcountry | Automotive | |
| Bob Campbell Geology Museum | Clemson | Pickens | Upcountry | Geology | Part of Clemson University, rocks, minerals, fossils, meteorites, mining |
| Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery | Greenville | Greenville | Upcountry | Art | European art, Russian icons, Holy Land antiquities |
| Bonham House | Saluda | Saluda | Midlands | Historic house | Operated by the Saluda County Historical Society, late 18th-century house undergoing restoration |
| Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens | Mount Pleasant | Charleston | Lowcountry | Historic house | Antebellum cotton plantation with original slave quarters |
| Brookgreen Gardens | Murrells Inlet | Georgetown | Grand Strand | Multiple | Outdoor sculpture gardens, zoo and wildlife preserve |
| Browntown Museum | Hemingway | Williamsburg | Pee Dee | Historic house | 1845 farmstead and outbuildings |
| Burt-Stark Mansion | Abbeville | Abbeville | Upcountry | Historic house | Site of the last Council of War of cabinet members of the Confederate government |
| Button Museum | Bishopville | Lee | Pee Dee | Commodity | Items decorated with buttons |
| Calhoun Mansion | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Historic house | Restored late 19th-century period mansion |
| Camden Archives & Museum | Camden | Kershaw | Olde English District | Local history | Local and county history and culture |
| Catawba Cultural Center | Rock Hill | York | Olde English District | Native American | History and culture of the Catawba Indian Nation |
| Cayce Historical Museum | Cayce | Lexington | Midlands | Local history | Agricultural, social, and cultural heritage of the Cayce, Old Saxe Gotha, Granby and West Columbia areas |
| Cecil Williams Civil Rights Museum | Orangeburg | Orangeburg | Midlands | History | In a 3500 sq. ft. setting, history of the civil rights movement in South Carolina, including Briggs v. Elliott, Orangeburg Massacre, Charleston Hospital Workers' Strike, Harvey Gantt at Clemson, Orangeburg Freedom Movement. |
| Central History Museum | Central | Pickens | Upcountry | Local history | Operated by the Central Heritage Society |
| Charles Pinckney National Historic Site | Mount Pleasant | Charleston | Lowcountry | Historic house | 1828 plantation home |
| Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | History | Original site of the first permanent English settlement in Carolina, 664-acre site includes an exhibit hall, replica 17th-century tall ship, a natural habitat zoo, ongoing archeological excavations, trails |
| Charleston Museum | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Multiple | Includes main museum with exhibits of natural and local history and decorative arts, and two historic house museums, Heyward-Washington House and Joseph Manigault House |
| Cheraw Lyceum | Cheraw | Chesterfield | Olde English District | Local history | |
| Cherokee County History and Arts Museum | Gaffney | Cherokee | Upcountry | Multiple | Local history and art, operated by the Cherokee Historical & Preservation Society |
| Cherokee County Veterans Museum | Gaffney | Cherokee | Upcountry | Military | Artifacts and memorabilia from the American Revolution to the present |
| Chester County Historical Society Museum | Chester | Chester | Olde English District | Local history | Collection includes Catawba pottery, Native American projectile points, long rifles and hand guns |
| Chester County Transportation Museum | Chester | Chester | Olde English District | Transportation | Operated by the Chester County Historical Society, includes cars, trucks, a bus, license plates |
| Children's Museum of South Carolina | Myrtle Beach | Horry | Grand Strand | Children's | |
| Children’s Museum of the Lowcountry | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Children's | |
| Children's Museum of the Upstate | Greenville | Greenville | Upcountry | Children's | |
| The Citadel Archives & Museum | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Military | , history of The Citadel, a military college |
| Clemson Area African American Museum | Clemson | Pickens | Upcountry | African American History | African American history and culture |
| Clemson University Galleries | Clemson | Pickens | Upcountry | Art | Maintained by the Center for Visual Arts, includes galleries in Lee Hall I, Lee Hall II, Strode Tower, CVA-Greenville Gallery in West Greenville and other campus locations |
| Clinton Museum | Clinton | Laurens | Upcountry | Local history | Operated by the City |
| Coastal Discovery Museum | Hilton Head Island | Beaufort | Lowcountry | Multiple | History, wildlife, and heritage of Coastal Carolina |
| Coker Farms National Historic Landmark | Hartsville | Darlington | Pee Dee | Agriculture | History of how the Coker Pedigreed Seed Company helped revolutionize Southern agriculture in the late 19th century |
| Colleton Museum | Walterboro | Colleton | Lowcountry | Local history | |
| Collins Ole Towne | Central | Pickens | Upcountry | Open air | Open by appointment, includes a general store, barber shop and school house |
| Columbia Fire Department Museum | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Firefighting | |
| Columbia Museum of Art | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Art | European and American fine and decorative art |
| Comporium Telephone Museum | Rock Hill | York | Olde English District | Technology | History of the Rock Hill Telephone Company, historic telephones and equipment |
| Confederate Museum | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | History | Civil War memorabilia, located at the old City Market Building |
| Congaree National Park | Hopkins | Richland | Midlands | Natural history | Visitor center features exhibits about the natural history of the swamp |
| Cowpens Depot | Cowpens | Spartanburg | Upcountry | Local history | |
| Cowpens National Battlefield | Chesnee | Cherokee | Upcountry | Military | Commemorates important battle of the American Revolution |
| Darlington Raceway Stock Car Museum | Darlington | Darlington | Pee Dee | Automobile | History of Darlington Raceway and the sport of stock car racing |
| Dillon County Museum | Latta | Dillon | Pee Dee | Local history | Operated by the Dillon County Historical Society, includes early 20th century doctor and dentist's offices, cotton and tobacco agricultural artifacts, military and local history artifacts |
| Drayton Hall | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Historic house | 18th century indigo and rice plantation |
| Edisto Island Museum | Edisto Island | Charleston | Lowcountry | Multiple | Local history, culture and natural history |
| Edmondston-Alston House | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Historic house | Mid 19th-century mansion |
| EdVenture | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Children's | |
| Fairfield County Museum | Winnsboro | Fairfield | Olde English District | Local history | |
| Florence County Museum | Florence | Florence | Pee Dee | Multiple | Fine arts including American and European paintings, Asian art, African and African American art and artifacts, objects from Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, Babylonia, ancient Greece and Rome, Civil War artifacts |
| Florence Railroad Museum | Florence | Florence | Pee Dee | Railroad | Operated by the Florence County Museum and housed in a renovated railroad box car |
| Fort Hill | Clemson | Pickens | Upcountry | Historic house | Part of Clemson University, home of politician John C. Calhoun |
| Fort Moultrie National Monument | Sullivan's Island | Charleston | Lowcountry | Military | Unit of Fort Sumter National Monument |
| Fort Sumter National Monument | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Military | Encompasses three sites in Charleston: the original Fort Sumter, the Fort Sumter Visitor Education Center, and the Fort Moultrie National Monument on Sullivan's Island |
| Francis Marion University Galleries | Florence | Florence | Pee Dee | Art | Galleries in the Hyman Fine Arts Center and the Smith University Center |
| Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum | Myrtle Beach | Horry | Grand Strand | Art | 11 galleries, changing exhibitions featuring paintings, textiles, sculpture, photography, video, ceramics, assemblage, collage and more |
| Georgetown County Museum | Georgetown | Georgetown | Grand Strand | Local history | |
| Gibbes Museum of Art | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Art | |
| Greenville County Museum of Art | Greenville | Greenville | Upcountry | Art | Focus is American art |
| Greenville Cultural Exchange Center | Greenville | Greenville | Upcountry | African American | |
| Greenwood Railroad Historical Center | Greenwood | Greenwood | Upcountry | Railroad | , includes vintage railroad cars |
| Greer Heritage Museum | Greer | Spartanburg | Upcountry | Local history | Located in a former post office building |
| Hagood-Mauldin House/Irma Morris Museum of Fine Arts | Pickens | Pickens | Upcountry | Historic house | 17th and 18th century art and furnishings, operated by the Pickens County Historical Society |
| Hagood Mill Historic Site and Folklife Center | Pickens | Pickens | Upcountry | Multiple | 1845 grist mill with agriculture exhibits, two cabins and crafts demonstrations |
| Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Art | , part of the College of Charleston |
| Hampton Colored School | Hampton | Hampton | Lowcountry | African American | Former segregated school, exhibits of area African American history |
| Hampton County Museum | Hampton | Hampton | Lowcountry | Local history | Operated by the Hampton County Historical Society, located in the historic former county jail |
| Hampton Museum and Visitors' Center | Hampton | Hampton | Lowcountry | Local history | Located in a former bank building |
| Hampton Plantation | McClellanville | Charleston | Lowcountry | Historic house | Georgian rice plantation house |
| Hampton-Preston House | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Historic house | Operated by the Historic Columbia Foundation |
| Hanover House | Clemson | Pickens | Upcountry | Historic house | |
| Hartsville Museum | Hartsville | Darlington | Pee Dee | Local history | Local history and art exhibits, located in a former post office |
| Heyward House | Bluffton | Beaufort | Lowcountry | Historic house | 1840s house with original slave cabin and summer kitchen, operated by the Bluffton Historical Preservation Society |
| Heyward-Washington House | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Historic house | Late 18th-century house, operated by the Charleston Museum |
| Historic Brattonsville | McConnells | York | Olde English District | Open air | Includes over 30 historic structures from the 1760s to the late 19th century |
| Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site | Camden | Kershaw | Olde English District | Open air | complex includes Colonial and Revolutionary War period historic houses |
| Hobcaw Barony | Georgetown | Georgetown | Grand Strand | Multiple | Includes Hobcaw Barony Discovery Center features exhibits on local history, archaeology, ecology and area wildlife, tours of the 1930s mansion of Bernard M. Baruch and the grounds of the former plantations |
| Hollywood Wax Museum Myrtle Beach | Myrtle Beach | Horry | Grand Strand | Media | Wax figures of celebrities including movie stars, television personalities and music icons |
| Hopsewee Plantation | Georgetown | Georgetown | Grand Strand | Historic house | Typical low country rice plantation with 18th & 19th century furnishings |
| Horry County Museum | Conway | Horry | Grand Strand | Multiple | Local history, natural history, military, Native Americans, clothing and textiles, industry, farming, household life |
| The Hunley | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Maritime | Recovered sunken Confederate submarine that is undergoing conservation |
| Hunting Island Light | Hunting Island | Beaufort | Lowcountry | Maritime | Former lighthouse open for visitors, located in Hunting Island State Park |
| Huntington Beach State Park | Murrells Inlet | Georgetown | Grand Strand | Historic house | Includes Atalaya Castle, home of art scholar Archer M. Huntington and sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington, and a nature center |
| Jacob Kelley House | Hartsville | Darlington | Pee Dee | Historic house | Mid 19th-century house |
| John Mark Verdier House | Beaufort | Beaufort | Lowcountry | Historic house | |
| Joseph Manigault House | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Historic house | Furnished with early 18th century antiques, operated by the Charleston Museum |
| James W. Dillon House | Dillon | Dillon | Pee Dee | Historic house | Operated by the Dillon County Historical Society, early 20th century period house |
| Kaminski House Museum | Georgetown | Georgetown | Grand Strand | Historic house | , 1769 house with 18th & 19th century American and English antiques |
| Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | History | Changing exhibits from its collections |
| Kazoo Museum | Beaufort | Beaufort | Lowcountry | Music | Features a collection of almost two hundred kazoo-related items |
| Keowee-Toxaway Museum | Six Mile | Pickens | Upcountry | Native American | |
| Kilgore-Lewis House | Greenville | Greenville | Upcountry | Historic house | Headquarters for the Greenville Council of Garden Clubs, 19th-century house with gardens and arboretum |
| Kings Mountain National Military Park | Blacksburg | Cherokee | Upcountry | Military | Commemorates important battle of the American Revolution |
| Kings Mountain State Park | Blacksburg | Cherokee | Upcountry | Farm | Includes recreated early 19th-century farm |
| L.W. Paul Living History Farm | Conway | Horry | Grand Strand | Farm | , operated by the Horry County Museum, working farm that depicts farm and domestic life in Horry County from 1900-1955 |
| Lake Greenwood State Recreation Area | Ninety Six | Greenwood | Central Savannah River Area | History | Includes Civilian Conservation Corps Museum |
| Lando Manetta Mills History Center | Lando | Chester | Olde English District | Local history | , history of the former textile mill community |
| Landsford Canal State Park | Catawba | Chester | Olde English District | Transportation | Includes lock-keeper's house with exhibits about the canal |
| Lexington County Museum | Lexington | Lexington | Midlands | Open air | Includes 36 historic houses and outbuildings |
| Louis G. Gregory Bahá’í Museum | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Biographical | , prominent Bahá'í Faith member Louis George Gregory |
| Lowcountry Visitor's Center and Museum | Yemassee | Colleton | Lowcountry | Local history | Located in the Frampton Plantation House, features a recreated 1900s plantation parlor complete with antique furnishings and displays from the region's 10 museums and the SC Artisans Center |
| Lunney House Museum | Seneca | Oconee | Upcountry | Local history | , 1909 Queen-Anne style bungalow; House museum detailing the "Life Journey" of Dr. John & Mrs. Lilian Mason Lunney. |
| Mac's Pride Museum | McBee | Chesterfield | Olde English District | Multiple | Antique cars, tractors and farming equipment, farm implements, tools, photos |
| Macaulay Museum of Dental History | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Medical | Dental instruments and memorabilia, part of the Waring Historical Library at the Medical University of South Carolina |
| Mace Brown Museum of Natural History | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Natural history | , part of the College of Charleston Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, fossil and dinosaur specimens |
| Magnolia Plantation and Gardens | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Historic house | 17th & 18th century rice plantation |
| Main Street Children's Museum | Rock Hill | York | Olde English District | Children's Museum | , creative play exhibits based on artwork of cartoonist Vernon Grant |
| Mann-Simons Site | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Historic house | Operated by Historic Columbia, house and site of businesses owned by a local African American family |
| Marion County Museum | Marion | Marion | Pee Dee | Local history | |
| Marlboro County Historical Museum | Bennettsville | Marlboro | Pee Dee | Multiple | Includes Victorian parlor, Native American artifacts, farm implements and tools, military items, textiles, 19th-century period Jennings-Brown House, medical museum with historic 20th-century artifacts and equipment, 19th-century Bennettsville Female Academy schoolhouse |
| McBee Depot Library and Railroad Museum | McBee | Chesterfield | Olde English District | Railroad | Former depot with railroad museum and town library |
| McLeod Plantation Historic Site | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Historic house | Focuses on the lives of slaves owned by middle-class farmers |
| McKissick Museum | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Multiple | , part of University of South Carolina, includes natural history, minerals, fine and decorative arts, southern traditional crafts, historic artifacts |
| Middleton Place | Summerville | Dorchester | Lowcountry | Historic house | 18th century rice plantation |
| Millford Plantation | Pinewood | Sumter | Pee Dee | Historic house | Mid 19th-century Greek Revival mansion |
| Miniature World of Trains | Greenville | Greenville | Upcountry | Transportation | , large model train display depicting how transportation and infrastructure system work worldwide |
| Monsanto Gallery | Greenwood | Greenwood | Upcountry | Art | Art gallery of Lander University, works by Southeastern artists |
| Mt. Croghan Museum | Mount Croghan | Chesterfield | Olde English District | Local history | |
| Museum & Gallery at Heritage Green | Greenville | Greenville | Upcountry | Art | Changing exhibits, Old Master paintings and decorative arts, satellite museum of the Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery |
| Museum and Library of Confederate History | Greenville | Greenville | Upcountry | Military | , portrays war and home life in the South during the Civil War |
| The Museum in Greenwood | Greenwood | Greenwood | Upcountry | Multiple | Local cultural and natural history, technology, period room and store displays, art |
| Museum of Education | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Education | , part of University of South Carolina |
| Museum of the Cherokee in South Carolina | Walhalla | Oconee | Upcountry | Native American | |
| Museum of York County | Rock Hill | York | Olde English District | Multiple | , local history, natural history, decorative arts, art |
| Musgrove Mill State Historic Site | Cross Anchor | Spartanburg | Upcountry | Military | Site of an American Revolutionary War battle |
| Nathaniel Russell House | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Historic house | Operated by the Historic Charleston Foundation, early 19th-century house |
| National Steeplechase Museum | Camden | Kershaw | Olde English District | Sports | , history of steeplechasing from its origins in Britain to the present |
| Ninety Six National Historic Site | Ninety Six | Greenwood | Central Savannah River Area | Military | Site of an American Revolutionary War battle |
| North Charleston and American LaFrance Fire Museum and Educational Center | North Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Firefighting | |
| North Myrtle Beach Historical Museum | North Myrtle Beach | Horry | Grand Strand | Local history | |
| Nostalgia City and Museum | Myrtle Beach | Horry | Grand Strand | Automotive | , gift shop and museum, includes antique cars, fire trucks, agriculture equipment, automotive memorabilia, media memorabilia, household items |
| Oconee Heritage Center | Walhalla | Oconee | Upcountry | Local history | |
| Oconee Station State Historic Site | Walhalla | Oconee | Upcountry | Historic house | Includes 1792 Oconee Station and 1805 William Richards House |
| Oconee Veterans Museum | Walhalla | Oconee | Upcountry | Military | Also known as Patriot's Hall, includes military artifacts and memorabilia from all wars |
| Old Exchange Building | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | History | Includes costumed tours of the historic building and dungeon |
| Old Santee Canal Park | Moncks Corner | Berkeley | Lowcountry | Multiple | , includes Berkeley County Museum and Heritage Center, a local history museum, and Stony Landing House, a furnished 19th century period home |
| Old Slave Mart | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Historic site | Story of Charleston's role in the inter-state slave trade |
| Parris Island Museum | Parris Island | Beaufort | Lowcountry | Military | History of the United States Marine Corps and Port Royal region |
| Patriot's Point Naval & Maritime Museum | Mount Pleasant | Charleston | Lowcountry | Maritime | Features four museum ships, including the USS Yorktown, an aircraft carrier |
| Pauline Pratt Webel Museum | Ridgeland | Jasper | Lowcountry | Local history | |
| Pickens County Museum of Art & History | Pickens | Pickens | Upcountry | Multiple | Local history exhibits and three art galleries |
| Postal History Museum | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Philatelic | Historic post office, area postal history |
| Powder Magazine | Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Military | Used during the Colonial and American Revolution periods to store ammunition |
| Price House | Spartanburg | Spartanburg | Upcountry | Historic house | Operated by the Spartanburg County Historical Association, late 18th-century home |
| Ravenel Caw Caw Interpretive Center | Ravenel | Charleston | Lowcountry | Multiple | , natural and cultural history, wetlands and trails through former rice plantation fields |
| Rebecca Randall Bryan Gallery | Conway | Horry | Grand Strand | Art | Part of Coastal Carolina University |
| Redcliffe Plantation State Historic Site | Beech Island | Aiken | Central Savannah River Area | Historic house | 1959 plantation house with preserved slave quarters |
| REVIVA Museum | Iva | Anderson | Upcountry | Local history | |
| Rice Museum | Georgetown | Georgetown | Grand Strand | Multiple | , area rice culture, maritime history, cultural history and art |
| Ripley's Believe It or Not! | Myrtle Beach | Horry | Grand Strand | Amusement | |
| Robert Mills House | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Historic house | Operated by the Historic Columbia Foundation |
| Ronald McNair Life History Center | Lake City | Florence | Pee Dee | Biographical | , life of astronaut Ronald McNair |
| Roper Mountain Science Center | Greenville | Greenville | Upcountry | Multiple | 62-acre site includes the Living History Farm, the Darell W. Harrison Hall of Natural Sciences, the Simms Hall of Science, the T.C. Hooper Planetarium, and the Daniel Observatory |
| Rose Hill Plantation State Historic Site | Union | Union | Old English District | Historic house | 19th-century plantation mansion, outbuildings, rose gardens and park |
| Ruth Drake Museum | Belton | Anderson | Upcountry | Local history | Located in the railroad depot |
| Saluda County Museum | Saluda | Saluda | Midlands | Local history | , operated by the Saluda County Historical Society |
| The Sandbox | Hilton Head Island | Beaufort | Lowcountry | Children's | |
| Seay House | Spartanburg | Spartanburg | Upcountry | Historic house | Operated by the Spartanburg County Historical Association, turn-of-the-20th-century farmstead life |
| Seibels House and Garden | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Historic house | Early 19th-century mansion and garden |
| Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum and Baseball Library | Greenville | Greenville | Upcountry | Biographical | , baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson |
| The Sigal Music Museum | Greenville | Heritage Green | Upcountry | Music | , musical instruments |
| Southern African American Heritage Center | Cheraw | Chesterfield | Olde English District | African American | , area African American history and culture from the 1800s to the mid 1900s |
| South Carolina Botanical Garden | Clemson | Pickens | Upcountry | Multiple | 295 acre gardens with nature-base sculptures, art galleries in the Fran Hanson Discovery Center, 18th-century Hanover House |
| South Carolina Civil War Museum | Myrtle Beach | Horry | Grand Strand | Military | , includes period firearms, edged weapons, gowns and petticoats, books, newspapers, exhibits on finances and money, slavery, causes of the Rebellion, projectiles, and personal effects |
| South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Military | , military history of South Carolina |
| South Carolina Cotton Museum | Bishopville | Lee | Pee Dee | Industry | , cotton uses, farming and processing |
| South Carolina Governor's Mansion | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Historic house | Mid 19th-century mansion |
| South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Law enforcement | |
| South Carolina Maritime Museum | Georgetown | Georgetown | Grand Strand | Maritime | , includes ship models, photos, maritime artifacts, Fresnel lens |
| South Carolina Military Museum | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Military | , honoring SC's complete military history |
| South Carolina Railroad Museum | Winnsboro | Fairfield | Old English District | Railroad | , includes Rockton, Rion and Western Railroad heritage steam train ride, display of railroad cars and artifacts |
| South Carolina State Museum | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Multiple | Exhibits include art, history, natural history, science and technology |
| South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame | Belton | Anderson | Upcountry | Sports | Located in the railroad depot |
| South Carolina Tobacco Museum | Mullins | Marion | Pee Dee | Agriculture | |
| Spartanburg Art Museum | Spartanburg | Spartanburg | Upcountry | Art | |
| Spartanburg Regional History Museum | Spartanburg | Spartanburg | Upcountry | Local history | , operated by the Spartanburg County Historical Association |
| Spartanburg Science Center | Spartanburg | Spartanburg | Upcountry | Science | |
| Summerville-Dorchester Museum | Summerville | Dorchester | Lowcountry | Local history | |
| Sumter County Gallery of Art | Sumter | Sumter | Pee Dee | Art | |
| Sumter County Museum | Sumter | Sumter | Pee Dee | Multiple | , includes main museum with local history, art and decorative arts exhibits, and Carolina Backcountry Homestead complex |
| Union County Museum | Union | Union | Old English District | Local history | |
| Upcountry History Museum | Greenville | Greenville | Upcountry | Local history | History of the Upcountry South Carolina region |
| U.S. Army Adjutant General’s Corps Museum | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Military | History of the U.S. Army’s Adjutant General’s Corps, located at Fort Jackson |
| U.S. Army Basic Combat Training Museum | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Military | History of basic combat training in the U.S. Army has developed since 1917 when Fort Jackson first opened, an official U.S. Army museum |
| U.S. Army Chaplain Museum | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Military | History of the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps, located at the U.S. Army Chaplain Center and School in Fort Jackson |
| U.S. Army Finance Corps Museum | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Military | History of the Army’s Finance Corps, military currency, US Army payroll ledgers, located at Fort Jackson |
| Village Museum | McClellanville | Charleston | Lowcountry | Local history | |
| Wagener Museum | Wagener | Aiken | Central Savannah River Area | Local history | |
| Walnut Grove Plantation | Spartanburg | Spartanburg | Upcountry | Historic house | Operated by the Spartanburg County Historical Association, 18th century plantation home and historic outbuildings |
| War Between the States Museum | Florence | Florence | Pee Dee | Military | Includes guns, uniforms, swords, armor, personal items |
| Warren Lasch Conservation Center | North Charleston | Charleston | Lowcountry | Maritime | History and artifacts from the submarine H. L. Hunley |
| White Home | Rock Hill | York | Olde English District | Historic house | 1870s portrayal of the home of the White family, major town founders of Rock Hill |
| Williamsburgh Historical Museum | Kingstree | Williamsburg | Pee Dee | Local history | Operated by the Williamsburgh Historical Society |
| Williston Museum | Williston | Barnwell | Central Savannah River Area | Local history | |
| Winchester Museum | Edgefield | Edgefield | Central Savannah River Area | Sports | , headquarters of the National Wild Turkey Federation, restoration, management and hunting of the wild turkey |
| Winthrop University Galleries | Rock Hill | York | Olde English District | Art | Three galleries in two buildings |
| Woodburn Historic House | Pendleton | Anderson | Upcountry | Historic house | 1830 plantation home |
| Woodrow Wilson Family Home | Columbia | Richland | Midlands | Historic house | Operated by the Historic Columbia Foundation, 1871 Italian villa-style residence that was home to a 14-year-old Woodrow Wilson |
| World of Energy | Seneca | Oconee | Upcountry | Science | , operated by Duke Power at the Oconee Nuclear Station |
| York W. Bailey Museum | St. Helena Island | Beaufort | Lowcountry | Local history | Local history and Gullah culture, located in the Penn Center, a historic district and former school |
Defunct museums
- Communication Museum, Charleston, now a special collection of the College of Charleston, antique radios, televisions, phonographs, telephones, magic lanterns, motion picture projectors and other communications equipment
- Florence Air & Missile Museum
- Museum of Western York County, Sharon
- Ragtops & Roadsters Auto Museum, Murrells Inlet
- Rivers, Rails and Crossroads Regional Discovery Center, Blackville, exhibits moved to Arts and Heritage Center of North Augusta
- Slave Relic Historical Museum, Walterboro
- Thomas Elfe House, Charleston, private home