History
Embellished in Elegance: Textile Remnants of Women’s History
Saturday, March 1st 2025
Clothing, while practical in its purpose to keep one warm and preserve a sense of modesty, is also a means of artistic expression. In the nineteenth century, a large wardrobe demonstrated wealth, and each item reflected one’s social status through fabric, style, and construction. While many enslaved men, women, and...
Quest for a Berry is Finally Fruitful
Wednesday, July 31st 2024
It is human nature to get excited about new additions to one’s home. Typically, “new” refers to items fresh off the conveyer belt—the things that have not yet been used
Decorating for the holidays, 19th-century style
Monday, December 4th 2023
When it comes to holiday home decor, a lot has changed. When you visit the Robert Mills House and the Hampton-Preston Mansion during our Holiday House Tours, don't expect to find glitz and glam. Compared to our modern displays with bright lights and colored plastic baubles, early 1800s decorations seem...
Explore the Collection: Historic Columbia launches online collection
Monday, October 30th 2023
Historic Columbia (HC) recently launched a selection of 40 objects for online viewing. More objects will be added over the coming months to allow visitors from around the city, state, country, and globe to “Explore the Collection,” cared for and researched by members of HC’s curatorial team. Launching the collection...
Columbia’s Preservation Visionaries: Mabel Payne and Jennie Dreher
Friday, May 24th 2019
There’s no better way to finish Preservation Month than learning about two of Columbia’s key preservation advocates—Mabel Payne and Jennie Dreher—who were responsible for saving the Robert Mills House over 50 years ago. Mabel Bradley Payne was born in Abbeville, SC, and lived in New York and Williamsburg before coming...
Our Popular Cemetery Tours Return April 11
Friday, April 5th 2019
In honor of one of Historic Columbia’s most popular tours returning next week, here are some highlights of just a few of the countless interesting stories hidden in the historic Elmwood Cemetery. James Henley Thornwell was a professor at South Carolina College who joined the faculty in 1837 and replaced William Campbell Preston as the institution’s president. Thornwell’s term...
Found Footage Project Provides Glimpse Into 1970s Columbia
Friday, March 22nd 2019
Discovered by an intern at the University of South Carolina Libraries’ Moving Image Research Collections (MIRC), ‘Hip Tags’ is an intriguing orphan film mystery with 1970s Columbia, SC as its main character. Without any provenance and defying description, this hypnotic film was passed from MIRC to Historic Columbia where staff...
#TBT: Motel Simbeth + Cornwell Tourist Home
Thursday, February 21st 2019
We’ve talked about the Green Book before in this series , but here’s a refresher: As automobile travel grew increasingly popular from the 1930s through the 1960s, African Americans found themselves faced with what historian Gretchen Sorin called “an uncertain landscape,” much of which was “composed of white spaces where...
#TBT: Who is Modjeska Monteith Simkins?
Thursday, February 8th 2018
For more than sixty years, Modjeska Monteith Simkins used the wooden cottage at the corner of Elmwood and Marion St. as both a home and a headquarters. One of the greatest human rights advocates in South Carolina's history, Modjeska Monteith Simkins led the charge for equality tirelessly her entire adult...
Searching for Motel Simbeth
Friday, February 22nd 2019
On 20 October 1955, Jet, a national weekly digest with a primarily black audience, published the expose “ SOUTH CAROLINA’S PLOT TO STARVE NEGROES.” The six-page piece described efforts by White Citizens Councils in Clarendon and Orangeburg counties to create an “economic squeeze” on black community members. The goal of...