Discover the presidential history of John Rutledge House Inn. In its early years, the bed and breakfast was the private home of John Rutledge, one of the framers of the U.S. Constitution and a political ally of George Washington and John Adams. In fact, the Inn has the distinct honor of being one of the few surviving hotels that welcomed President Washington while he was in office, during his visit to Charleston in 1791. Later, when John Rutledge House Inn was the home of Mayor Robert Goodwyn Rhett, it played host to another presidential visit when Rhett entertained President William Taft over dinner in the 1920s.

Witness where jurist John Rutledge penned several iterations of the United States Constitution. One of the country's Founding Fathers and the chairman of the drafting committee, Rutledge drafted multiple versions of the Constitution from the comfort of his second-floor drawing room, now known as the Signers Ballroom, and, later, went on to sign the founding document alongside other framers like Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington. Today, the ballroom is a charming setting for intimate events, as well as an available dining venue for the Inn's complimentary breakfast.

Revel in the Inn's romantic ambiance and history. Although the bed and breakfast witnessed some notable moments in American history, the statuesque house was originally intended as a wedding gift. Constructed in 1763 for his bride Elizabeth Grimke, the home was made for entertaining, with spaces like a ballroom and a library. Some of these rooms now serve as cozy guestrooms, with reproduction furniture and period antiques that emanate an elegance of a bygone era. Soaring 12-foot ceilings and gas fireplaces crafted out of Italian marble in many of the guestrooms complete the dreamy scene.

Admire the Inn's graceful Georgian-style architecture and of-the-period details. From the star-patterned parquet flooring of the grand staircase to the Revolutionary War-era musket balls on display in the Signers Ballroom, which were unearthed during the bed and breakfast's renovation, guests will find historical details around every corner and tucked in each nook and cranny of John Rutledge House Inn. With its intricate wrought-iron balconies, which are dotted with images like palmetto trees and eagles, ornate window lintels, and a dramatic entryway staircase, the Inn's exterior is equally alluring.