Witness a piece of lowcountry history at the Kaminski House Museum in downtown Georgetown, South Carolina.

This Georgian-style home was built by Paul Trapier, a South Carolina merchant who was dubbed “The King of Georgetown” by locals. Trapier was born in 1716 in the French Santee area of Berkley County and moved to Georgetown to open a small store, and by the 1750’s he was known as one of the richest merchants in the area.

In 1769, Trapier gave this house and land to his daughter, Elizabeth, who married Edward Martin – the Sheriff of Georgetown. The home was eventually passed down to Elizabeth’s niece, who owned the property until 1855. The home was owned by various people until 1931 when it was bought by Harold and Julia Kaminski.

Harold Kaminski was the son of Heiman Kaminski, who dealt in in rice, timber, dry goods, hardware, groceries, and shipping in Georgetown. Julia Kaminski’s father was John Pyatt, who, like Heiman Kaminski, was a prominent member of Georgetown society. While the Kaminskis owned the property, several renovations took place, such as adding bathrooms in each bedroom, extending the dining room, drawing room, second-floor bedrooms, and covering up original cypress siding with brick.

Today, visitors to Georgetown can visit the Kaminski House Museum, which offers invidual tours Monday – Saturday at 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. They also offer school tours and group tours by reservation.