Kaminski House Museum

Kaminski House Museum. . Dating back to the 1700s, the Kaminski House contains one of the finest collections in English and American antiques and furnishings in South Carolina. The original structure with beaded clapboard siding was built around 1769 by Paul Trapier, a prosperous merchant and trader who earned the reputation as the “King of Georgetown.” Through marriage, it passed to John Keith, the first major of Georgetown, and it remained in the Keith family until the late 1800s. Over the years, the house has undergone various additions and extensions. However, the stairway, newel and balusters, as well as the dado in the central hall, appear to be original to the house. The property was purchased in 1931 by Harold and Julia Pyatt Kaminski, who made extensive renovations, including the exterior brick veneer on the northern and southern ends of the home. The Kaminskis embellished the interior with a notable collection of exceptional antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries, many of them amassed by Mr. Kaminski’s mother, Rose Kaminski. Upon her death in 1972, Mrs. Kaminski bequeathed the house and its furnishings to the City of Georgetown in honor of her husband and mother.