Blog
What We Can Learn from Woodrow Wilson, World War I and the Great Influenza
As a museum curator, working from home is difficult because I am responsible for hundreds of objects exhibited and stored throughout four historic house museums. In keeping with our mandate for social distancing, I recently moved my office into the Woodrow Wilson Family Home and Museum of Reconstruction where I...
Staff Spotlight - Grace Steimer
While our doors are closed for now, our team remains hard at work. Over the next few weeks, we’re introducing you to members of our staff. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at who we are – and why we enjoy preserving Columbia’s history. Name: Grace Steimer Position: Curatorial Assistant How long...
Houseplant Appreciation Day
Houseplants both oxygenate and beautify our homes, but many people become bored with the limited selection of species sold as houseplants. As it turns out, some of the plants we grow outside here at Historic Columbia make great houseplants as well. Cast Iron plants (Aspidistra species) are just as tough...
It is astounding what we have accomplished together.
January 2020 will mark my 18th year at Historic Columbia. Looking back at the changes that have taken place I note the physical and interpretive shifts to the buildings and grounds, a growing footprint in the community far beyond the Robert Mills Historic District, and an increase in organizational support...
Renovation Rodeo | Hollywood-Rose Hill
This Thursday, December 12, Palladium members are invited to explore a Tudor style house in Hollywood-Rose Hill from 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Presented by The Moore Company, this latest installment of the Renovation Rodeo series will have members socializing in a 1935 home and learning how it was converted...
World Soil Day at Historic Columbia
December 5, 2019 is World Soil Day! Soil health is at the center of both good gardening and healthy ecosystems. With pressures like rapid development and a changing climate, it is more important than ever to prioritize the creation and maintenance of good soil. Here at Historic Columbia, we support...
A Letter to my Friends Who Aren’t Palladium Members…Yet
Dear friends, As membership co-chair of Palladium, I am very often reminded of the sad truth – you just aren’t interested in joining a historical nonprofit organization. While this hurts my history-loving heart, I understand that you all can’t share my passion for learning about Columbia’s past and impacting its...
In Memoriam: Dr. William Seale, Historic Columbia’s First Professional Director 1939-1969
Dr. William “Bill” Seale left an indelible mark on Historic Columbia and the State of South Carolina. Serving as the organization’s first professional director and as the curator for the rehabilitation of the Hampton-Preston Mansion into the Midlands Tricentennial Exposition Center, Dr. Seale’s hiring marked the point at which the...
Maximizing Your Membership
During a committee meeting for the Palladium Society 2016 Silent Auction, I met the woman who would eventually become my wife. Another chance encounter at Reagan Airport and a random seat assignment next to her on the plane ride back from D.C. to Columbia led us to the altar. Though...
Historic Columbia Receives National Parks Service Grant to Preserve Modjeska Monteith Simkins Home
The National Park Service has awarded a $49,500 grant to Historic Columbia to turn Modjeska Monteith Simkins’ home into a museum honoring the life and legacy of the woman known as the “matriarch of civil rights activists in South Carolina.” “With this second grant from the National Parks Service, we...