Welcome to the Macaulay Museum of Dental History

a living memorial to the life, work, and passion of Dr. Neill Webster Macaulay

Dr. Macaulay spent a lifetime promoting and honoring dentistry, along the way acquiring a collection of objects and stories that tell the history of dentistry in South Carolina. Dr. Macaulay had a devoted following of family, friends, and colleagues, who were as eclectic as the museum collection he built.

The museum draws heavily from Dr. Macaulay’s original collection to tell the history of dentistry in South Carolina from the late-19th century through the 1960s. It is organized in a way that reflects Dr. Macaulay’s interest the history of dentistry, as well as his involvement in dental practice, education, and professionalism.

The exhibit on dental education documents the drive to establish a dental school in South Carolina, which began as in the late-19th century and culminated with the matriculation of the first class of the MUSC James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine in 1967.

The roles and responsibilities of professional dental societies, such as the South Carolina Dental Association and its county societies, are traced through two centuries through the records of the South Carolina Dental Association and its regional clubs and societies.

Dedication of the Macaulay Museum of dental History, 1975