Entry No. 7 — the Charleston file — filed under: medical-museum
The Waring Historical Library
A working rare-book and manuscript library for MUSC that doubles as a medical cabinet of curiosities — surgery and amputation cases, bleeding apparatus, an iron lung, examining tables and pharmacy artifacts, plus the Macaulay dental collection. Note: currently closed for renovation; collections open to researchers by appointment.
The story
Look closely at the Gothic Revival fortress sitting among the Medical University of South Carolina's modern clinical towers on Ashley Avenue, and you are looking at layers of grim Charleston history. Before architect J.B. Snooks designed this brick structure in 1894 as a library for the Porter Military Academy, the ground beneath it served as an 18th-century potter’s field—a burial ground for the indigent—and later a Civil War arsenal complex. In 1969, the university dedicated the building to Dr. Joseph Ioor Waring Jr., a medical professor and historian, turning the former military academy library into a repository for the Atlantic medical world's most unsettling relics.
Inside, past 18th- and 19th-century rare volumes and plantation medical journals prescribing saltpeter for coughs and rhubarb for dysentery, you'll encounter a full-blown cabinet of surgical curiosities. Glass display cases hold Civil War-era amputation saws, bone scrapers, a box of artificial eyes, and specialized 19th-century hardware like the Bermingham Nasal Douche and an artificial urethral sphincter. Floor space is given over to vintage examination tables, pharmacy jars, and a massive iron lung—a heavy steel cylinder once used to mechanically force air into the lungs of polio patients.
It is less of a quiet study hall and more of an unvarnished chronicle of how brutal early healing actually was. Tucked right alongside it is the Macaulay Museum of Dental History, making this corner of the campus ground zero for Charleston's medical macabre.
What it's like
Visiting requires a bit of pre-planning: the main library building is currently closed for renovation, meaning you won't be able to drop in unannounced, but the collections remain open to researchers and visitors by appointment. When scheduling your visit with the archivists, give yourself at least 48 hours' advance notice so staff can pull specific artifact cases or manuscripts from storage. Expect quiet scholarly silence, zero tourist crowds, and metered street parking along Ashley Avenue or Bee Street if you aren't using the nearby Rutledge Tower garage.
The move: Make an appointment (stop-ins are also welcome) to page through the 18th- and 19th-century medical instrument cases together, then step next door into the Macaulay Museum of Dental History for the rest of the horror show.
- 📍 MUSC campus, Charleston
- 💸 $$
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Indoors
Where: 175 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC 29425
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
⚠ Seasonal or scheduled — always check before you go.
Pair it with
- Macaulay Museum of Dental History — Located right next door on the MUSC campus, this one-room dental museum lets you follow up 19th-century medical tools with a fully reconstructed historic dental office.
- Coming Street Cemetery — Walk ten minutes east to this walled 1762 Jewish burial ground for a quiet, shaded breather after paging through centuries of medical relics.
- The Charleston Museum — Early Days Gallery — Head less than a mile east to see how 18th-century Charlestonians curated their own original cabinet of curiosities at America's oldest museum.
- Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art — Cross over to the College of Charleston campus to clear your head of 19th-century surgical steel with free, room-scale contemporary art installations.
Good to know
Is the Waring Historical Library open for drop-in visits?
No. The library is currently closed for renovation, but collections are accessible to researchers and visitors by appointment made at least 48 hours in advance.
What kind of artifacts are housed in the collection?
The collection features 18th- and 19th-century amputation saws, bone scrapers, artificial eyes, historic examination tables, pharmacy items, an iron lung, and early medical texts.
Where is the library located and where can I park?
It is located at 175 Ashley Avenue on the MUSC campus. Metered street parking is available along Ashley Avenue and Bee Street, or in the nearby Rutledge Tower parking garage.
What is the connection between the Waring Library and the Macaulay Museum of Dental History?
The Macaulay Museum of Dental History is managed alongside the Waring Historical Library and sits adjacent to it on the MUSC campus, making them easy to visit together.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Atlas Obscura · waring.library.musc.edu · musc.libguides.com · scpictureproject.org · southcarolinapublicradio.org
last checked: 2026-07-20