| |
Hampton-Preston
Mansion & Garden - (803)
252-7742
The house and gardens, built in
1818, are located at 1615 Blanding Street. This restored antebellum home
is furnished with pieces from the influential Hampton and Preston
families. Touring the home and grounds offers a glimpse of life in the
years 1818-1868.
Mann-Simons
Cottage - (803) 252-7742
Celia Mann, a freed slave who
walked from Charleston to Columbia, owned the original one-room cottage
at 1403 Richland Street. She purchased it around 1850 and it remained in
her family for more than 10 years. This house reflects the
entrepreneurial spirit of free blacks in antebellum Columbia. The
cottage evolved over the 19th and early 20th centuries: rooms, dormer
and porches were added, and the basement enclosed.
Robert
Mills House and Park - (803)
252-7742
In 1823, Ainsley Hall, a wealthy
Columbia merchant, hired South Carolina’s most famous architect,
Robert Mills, to build this house. Mills was the United States’ first
Federal architect, designing structures such as the Washington Monument.
Hall died before the house was finished, leaving it in the hands of the
Presbyterian Synod of South Carolina and Georgia. Displays of 19th
century decorative arts, including American Federal, English Regency and
French Empire pieces can be viewed at 1616 Blanding Street.
South
Carolina Governors Mansion - (803)
737-0494
Built in 1855, this mansion has
been home to more than 30 governors and their families. Originally
constructed as a residence for officers of the Arsenal Military Academy,
it was one of the buildings spared during the burning of Columbia in the
Civil War. The public rooms of the house contain many pieces of silver,
china, furniture, paintings and documents that remain a permanent
attraction. The nine acres of grounds are located at 80 Richland
Street in the heart of the historic district of Columbia.
The State
House - (803) 734-2430
Placed on Gervais Street,
looking down Main, the State House and its grounds are frequently
traveled by visitors as well as locals. Construction on the State House
began in 1855 with a design by Major John R. Niernse. Work on the
building came to a halt on February 16, 1865, when Sherman’s artillery
hit the structure six times. The hits are marked by bronze stars.
Niernse’s drawings were destroyed. He returned to complete the
construction in 1885 but died that June. After changing hands
several times, the state elected Charles C. Wilson of Columbia as
architect. He admired Niernse’s design and credits the original
architect with the beauty of the structure.
Woodrow Wilson Boyhood Home
- (803) 252-7742
Woodrow Wilson, the nation’s
28th president, moved to Columbia with his family in 1870 at age 14. His
parents built a Tuscan-villa styled cottage at 1705 Hampton Street in
1872. It was here that Wilson spent four years of his youth, which
provided a profound influence on his political views. |
|
