Our mission is to discover, preserve, and promote the history of the inland Lowcountry by weaving the stories of our people, land, and culture into the fabric of daily life and future growth.

In 2014, the Upper Dorchester County Historical Society formed the Dorchester County Archives & History Center, LLC (DCA&HC) to act as a repository for its growing collection of records. In March 2015, DCA&HC moved into a 2,600 square-foot space in the Historic Dorchester County Courthouse located in St. George, SC with two exhibit rooms open to the public. In 2017, the Center held its grand reopening and hosted a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit.

In August 2019, the DCA&HC became a stand-alone non-profit organization and changed its name to Dorchester Heritage Center.  That same year, DHC met Federal guidelines to provide long-term curatorial services and act as a repository for artifacts for entities such as Brockington and Associates.

DHC’s current space in the Historic Dorchester County Courthouse is roughly 7,600 square feet and includes an archives, research library, and museum. DHC is the only museum that focuses on the whole of Dorchester County, is currently the only repository in South Carolina that meets federal curation standards, is accepting local collections, and is open to researchers. DHC is unique in that it is the only known facility in the surrounding area that houses a museum, archives and research library.