Charleston Tours
Lost Stories of Black Charleston Walking Tour
5

Lost Stories of Black Charleston Walking Tour

By Tour Charleston
Recommended by 97% of travellers
97% of reviewers gave this product a bubble rating of 4 or higher.
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Hear the lost stories of African American residents during this unique walking tour of Charleston. Your guide shares forgotten tales of local heroes who were often left out of the history books. You’ll visit sites like the Old Slave Mart Museum and gain a deeper understanding of Charleston's role in the nation's history.
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation

Ages 0-99, max of 20 per group
Duration: 2h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
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Highlights
  • Walking tour of Charleston’s African American history
  • Licensed guide is a writer, historian, and educator
  • See historical sites such as the Old Slave Mart Museum
  • Hear powerful storytelling and be introduced to neighborhoods

  • 2-hour Lost Stories of Black Charleston Walking Tour
  • Tours narrated by writer, historian, educator, and licensed tour guide, Damon Fordham
  • Experience Mother Emanuel A.M. E. Church stories that have faded from memory over the centuries.
  • Walk by historical Charleston sites such as Old Slave Mart Museum and the Heyward-Washington House
What's not included
  • Gratuities
  • Entry/Admission - Heyward-Washington House
  • Entry/Admission - Old Slave Mart Museum


Start:
  • Buxton Books, 160 King St, Charleston, SC 29401, USA
    Departure Point: Tour Charleston Headquarters (inside Buxton Books) Address: 160 King Street Charleston, SC 29401
End:This activity ends back at the meeting point.

    • Wheelchair accessible
    • Pushchair accessible
    • Service animals allowed
    If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 11709P3

    • Children must be accompanied by an adult
    • Not recommended for travellers with back problems
    • Most travellers can participate
    • This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
    • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travellers

    • For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.

    If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 11709P3

    From
    AU$54.26
    per adult
    Select date and travellers
    Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.

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    Itinerary
    • 160 King St, Charleston, SC 29401, USA
      Departure Point: Tour Charleston Headquarters (inside Buxton Books) Address: 160 King Street Charleston, SC 29401
    • Pass by
      Tour Charleston
    • 1
    • 2
    • 3
    • 4
    About the operator
    Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
    • Tour Charleston
      2,307
      Charleston, United States
      Joined in April 2009
    • Stephen N
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Recommended!
      Fantastic! Enjoyed the tour very much! Tour guide was amazing! Very informative and engaging! Good tour. Had the best tour on Halloween night!!!
      Written 3 November 2024
    • Morpheus85
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Great ghost tour
      Amazing tour. Joe or as he calls himself G.I Joe is great. He is very knowledgeable and keeps things fun and interesting.
      Written 3 November 2024
    • Escape465631
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Shinjuku Night Walking tour.
      Shinjuku night walking tour was a very Interesting and well explained . It was very entertaining and the lady guide captured our imagination to explain each and every area.
      Written 3 November 2024
    • Go731912
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Graveyard tour
      We loved Simon and everything he had to tell us. He is a gifted tour guide. We especially loved hearing about the ghosts that "live" there.
      Written 2 November 2024
    • Debbie C
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Charming Charleston!!!
      Liz was knowledgeable and entertaining! We walked all around the historic areas and the small alley ways. You really learn a lot about Charleston. Enjoy!
      Written 31 October 2024
    • Jim S
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Amazing History embedded in the Ghost Tour
      Our Tour Guide Joe was phenomenally entertaining. He brought the City of Charleston to life and our group talked about him the remainder of our weekend in the historic city. We will remember this tour without a doubt!
      Written 29 October 2024
    • theevansfamily2024
      0 contributions
      2.0 of 5 bubbles
      Very disappointing
      The tour guide was very dramatic and self indulgent, laughing at his own jokes. The tour was not scary and his stories were not interesting. I didn’t learn anything about Charleston’s scary history. Waste of money.
      Written 25 October 2024
    • Connector35480488152
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Spirits Present
      Simon was an excellent storyteller! We did not want the tour to end. The graveyard experience was thrilling. We highly recommend this ghost tour.
      Written 21 October 2024
    • michaelrR6152GI
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Brian and The Ghost tour
      Great experience. Brian was fabulous. Especially enjoyed the dramatic reciting of Poe's Annabell Lee. Would highly recommend this tour.
      Written 20 October 2024
    • 216doreend
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Ghostly
      Our guide Mark was amazing! Very knowledgeable and engaging. The stories were interesting and fun to listen to. We has a great time.
      Written 19 October 2024
    • Patrick98020
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      A great tour of the spookier side of Charleston
      We had a very enjoyable time on the Ghosts of Charleston Walking Tour! Our guide, Keely, spun the tales in an energetic and theatrical manner that kept us entertained throughout the evening. I would highly recommend this experience for anyone looking for some spooky (but not scary) fun after the sun goes down in Charleston.
      Written 15 October 2024
    • 2486alma
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Amazing time
      We visited Charleston with our cousin who lives there, and wanted to find something special for our last night. We loved the fact we got to walk thru the cemetery at night and our guide Brian was extremely knowledgeable and the stories and his presentation was top notch. I would highly recommend this tour. Very easily walkable also.
      Written 15 October 2024
    • naklinge
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      We loved it!
      Super entertaining ghost tour in Charleston! Mark was especially great at telling the stories and keeping everyone's attention. We loved the whole tour, especially the graveyard!
      Written 14 October 2024
    • Dave48838
      0 contributions
      3.0 of 5 bubbles
      Misleading entry
      Haven't been to Charleston in a while but this photo is NOT the Untarian Church. It is a photo of the great St. Phillip's Anglican Church. Please correct.
      Written 13 October 2024
    • M3328CMnoahs
      0 contributions
      5.0 of 5 bubbles
      Great tour, even better guide!
      Liz was an amazing guide who made the experience of the ghost tour really fun and engaging. Her recitation of Annabel Lee was particularly good!
      Written 9 October 2024
    See all 2,307 reviews
    These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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    5.0
    5.0 of 5 bubbles195 reviews
    Excellent
    182
    Very good
    8
    Average
    1
    Poor
    3
    Terrible
    1

    Z.Douglas
    Stockbridge, GA7 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Dec 2020 • Couples
    I loved being able to see buildings connected to history long ago, but the icing on the cake was the amazing knowledge that our tour guide possessed. I found myself feeling like a kid listening to the best book ever when he told and reenacted conversations and stories of these amazing people. I also recommend getting his book from the Buxton book store as well. It is a great read. I would definitely take this tour again and plan to.
    Written 27 December 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Tyler G
    5 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Sept 2020
    Damon Fordham is so knowledgeable and a wondrous source of information. He also makes history feel personal and easier to grasp. His passion for what he does floods this tour which gives you a deeper, richer perspective on the city of Charleston.
    Written 15 September 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    CatSaid
    Rosman, NC21 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Jan 2020 • Solo
    Professor Damon Fordham caused history to come alive on his superb walking tour. He is an excellent storyteller, musician and entertainer, with well researched and lived history. I can’t wait to read his books and learn more of this hard but fascinating history.
    Written 31 January 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    becpittman
    Greenville, SC5 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Feb 2022
    This was a fantastic tour! Damon made the stories come to life, and he taught us so much history that isn't covered in school. It was really interesting to see how much history SC has (both good and bad) that is hidden. I would recommend this tour to all ages - there was an 8 year old in our group.
    Written 28 February 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Molly L
    Lexington, KY30 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    This walk should be on everyone’s to-do list. We went on a couple other Charleston history tours while vacationing, but this was by far the most informative. Damon is a professor & that is very clear in the way he talks about these stories. He really puts things into perspective about the history of Charleston that a lot of the other tours seem to gloss over or skip all together. This city [country] was built on the back of enslaved people & it is important that these stories are told & acknowledged. I highly recommend this tour to everyone who visits Charleston. My husband & I enjoyed it very much.
    Written 15 July 2021
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    DMorgan87
    Greensboro, NC12 contributions
    2.0 of 5 bubbles
    An “ok” tour. Expected better. I could have done my research and went on my own instead of spending almost $30 on this tour.

    Pros: Tour guide is knowledgeable of AA history in the Charleston and surrounding area.

    Cons:
    -Guide was a bit rude at times when you wanted to ask questions and/or take photos. He talks a lot, so it’s hard to grasp everything he states.
    -You walk for the entire 2hr tour with no visuals outside of looking at historic buildings and surroundings from a distance. I expected to walk inside of places and see visuals of things he referenced.
    - You are required to look at cell phone pictures as he makes references, which I could barely see due to a glare on the screen. We were in a group of 10, which made it very difficult to view pictures on a small cell phone screen.

    Written 12 October 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Charlotte W
    7 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    July 2022 • Couples
    The tour guide, Damon Fordham was our tour guide and he was absolutely fantastic!! So knowledgeable and also entertaining. This is must do tour chocked full of fascinating, relevant, and inspirational facts versus fiction. Folks on our tour were from Indiana, Tennessee, and Oxford, England and we were all mesmerized by Damon’s telling the real stories of Black Charleston. An absolutely highlight and must see during your visit to Charleston!!!
    Written 29 July 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    GFZimmer
    Guilford, CT5 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Nov 2021
    Damon Fordham is an expert teacher qnd guide. His tour is far-more than a review of famous sites of Charleston. He combines local history, legal history, social history, national history, and the continuing freedom movements into a moving narrative. Highly recommended.
    Written 8 November 2021
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Julie H
    6 contributions
    2.0 of 5 bubbles
    Poor communicator . Planned bathroom break 20 minutes into the tour . ( waste of time , we are adults and know to use the bathroom before a tour ) He was most worried about where we stood on the sidewalk . Stopped talking every time a truck went by ( we were in the city so it was often ) He could only recite his info and couldn’t answer questions beyond what he told us ( it’s too confusing to explain ) Very disappointing .
    Written 19 April 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

    Mary M
    New York City, NY8 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Sept 2023 • Solo
    I can't recommend this more highly for visitors to Charleston like myself who would like to have a fuller history of the City's problems and progress in addressing its discriminatory past involving its black population, especially the roles of so many black residents who fought for their rights. Damon's academic research as well as his own personal connections to many of the stories made the experience particularly revealing and insightful. Very much worth doing.
    Written 1 October 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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