A BRIEF HISTORY OF FOUNDERS HALL

Founders Hall is located at Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site – the first permanent European settlement site in South Carolina, which is where the name Founders Hall came from. It took the place of the previous community building on the site, and construction was completed in 2009.

Outside Founders Hall you can find a plaque that commemorates Dr. Woodward, whose contributions to the original Carolina colony in the 1600s led to the success of Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site and by default, Founders Hall. The plaque reads, “Henry Woodward played a vital role in the success of Charles Towne. He spoke several Indian languages, had lived with a Carolina tribe for almost two years and often acted as an ambassador for the colonists among the Native Americans. Without Dr. Woodward’s language and diplomatic skills, the fledgling colony of Carolina might not have survived.”

Creating a new building on a historic site offered Charles Towne Landing the opportunity to build something that is not only beautiful and versatile, but also environmentally friendly and energy efficient. Founders Hall was awarded Gold LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) upon its completion. There are many features that helped lead to this certification. Ninety-nine percent of the new wood used during construction is certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council as harvested without using destructive logging practices. 

The building’s orientation, high daylighting, high-efficiency light fixtures and geothermal HVAC system all contribute to the building’s energy efficiency. The geothermal system heats and cools the building by pulling its temperature from 50 feet below ground and is supported by 60 underground wells. The Hall also shares the same parking lot as the visitor center, which played a role in the building’s LEED certification. The building’s use of natural light not only saves on energy, but it also offers a beautiful setting to celebrate any special occasion.