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Columbia City of Women

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Celebrating Columbia's Women Leaders

Columbia City of Women

Columbia City of Women honors the women – past and present – whose contributions to our city helped others thrive, pushed boundaries and created opportunities, stood up for others, lead the charge, or created beauty and strengthened culture.

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Columbia City of Women is a public history and art initiative that reimagines who is commemorated in Columbia’s cultural landscape. Since its launch in 2019, the project has sought to recognize and elevate the stories of local women whose contributions—too often overlooked—have shaped Columbia’s history and continue to influence its future.

A collaboration between Historic Columbia, the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network (WREN), and community partners, Columbia City of Women invites the public to engage with a fuller, more inclusive story of our city. Through public nominations, community programming, and the installation of a downtown monument designed by artist Deedee Morrison, the project celebrates women who have broken barriers, built community, and transformed Columbia across generations.

Our Story

Have you ever noticed that very few cities, streets, and statues are named for women? In Columbia, only 4 percent of our 145 landmarks are specifically named for women. Only one of the 41 streets in downtown Columbia is intended to recognize a woman — Lady Street — yet its name does not reflect the true recipient, Martha Washington. We believe in the power of moving through a city that recognizes women's achievements, which is why we're bringing forward the stories of our city's remarkable women.

Meet the Honorees

Fannie Phelps Adams

Fannie Phelps Adams held fast to her roots in Wheeler Hill and taught students at nearby Booker T. Washington High School to blossom.

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Clarissa Minnie Thompson Allen

Clarissa Minnie Thompson’s seminal work, Treading the Winepress; or, A Mountain of Misfortune, would have been among the first novels published by an African American woman in the United States.

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Clara Kligerman Baker

“Miz Clara Baker” operated a small grocery in the predominantly Black Ward One neighborhood for more than 40 years.

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Keller Henderson Bumgardner Barron

A lifelong advocate for education reforms, Bumgardner worked for Community Care, Inc, from 1975-1979.

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Ethel Martin Bolden

In 1944, Bolden established the city’s first library in a black elementary school. Over her 38-year career, she brought books into segregated classrooms across the city.

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Lucy Hampton Bostick

Lucy Hampton Bostick was instrumental in establishing and growing the infrastructure of the Richland County Public Library as Chief Librarian for almost forty years.

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Suzan D. Boyd

In 2001, Boyd became the executive director of SC Campaign to End Teen Pregnancy. Over the next five years, she guided new and innovative public health initiatives.

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M. Malissa Burnette

After graduation, Burnette took a job as a correctional officer at Harbison, the state’s only women’s prison, and her experiences in that role solidified her career trajectory.

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Victoria L. Eslinger

From a lawsuit to work at the State House to establishing a hotline for female students, Eslinger's work for women's rights opened new opportunities for women in Columbia and across the state.

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Matilda Arabella Evans, M.D.

Matilda Arabella Evans was the first licensed woman physician in South Carolina and provided access to free health care for several generations of African Americans in the early twentieth century.

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Lilly Stern Filler, M.D.

Lilly Filler organized the South Carolina Holocaust Memorial, established the Columbia Holocaust Education Commission, and is the Chair of the South Carolina Council on the Holocaust.

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Nikky Finney

In 2011, Finney won the National Book Award for Poetry for Head Off & Split. She has a unique ability to translate Southern black experiences into jarring and beautiful language.

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Sarah Mae Flemming

Flemming took brave action almost a year before Rosa Parks would become famous for refusing to give up her bus seat.

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Bambi Ware Gaddist

It is our responsibility to deal with the AIDS issue in a straightforward manner. -Bambi W. Gaddist, “DiAna’s Hair Ego,” 1989

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Harriet Daniels Hancock

Harriet Hancock is a pioneer LGBTQ activist in South Carolina. In her distinguished career as an attorney, she prioritized legal work for LGBTQ rights.

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Sarah Elizabeth Leverette

Sarah Elizabeth Leverette was the first woman faculty member at the University of South Carolina Law School and led the Law Library for twenty five years.

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Mildred Weathers McDuffie

In 1994, McDuffie ran for first city and then county council, successfully winning a seat in the latter body.

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Edna Smith Primus

In 1978, Primus won a key victory for the ACLU, marking the end of a three-year battle to ensure that the organization could continue its legal advocacy.

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Ida Salley Reamer

In 1920, Reamer was elected chair of the newly formed League of Women Voters of Columbia and Richland County. During her tenure, the League promoted a platform that granted equal rights to women.

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The Rollin Sisters

Frances, Charlotte, and Katherine Rollin were among the first women suffragists in South Carolina during the Reconstruction era.

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Celia Dial Saxon

Celia Dial Saxon was one of the first African American students to attend the University of South Carolina during the Reconstruction era.

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Hilla Sheriff, MD

Over the course of 45 years, Dr. Hilla Sheriff became an internationally recognized leader in the fields of maternal and child healthcare.

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Modjeska Monteith Simkins

Modjeska Monteith Simkins was one of the nation’s leading civil rights activists of the twentieth century. Her activism extended to health care, social justice and human rights.

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Dawn Staley

Dawn Staley is the Head Coach for the University of South Carolina’s Women’s Basketball team and is one of the nation’s leading coaches in college athletics.

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Anna Heyward Taylor

Anna Heyward Taylor was one of South Carolina’s most celebrated visual artists. Her artwork was one of the first gallery collections exhibited at the Columbia Museum of Art.

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Jean Hoefer Toal

Jean Toal is the first woman elected to be an Associate Justice on the South Carolina Supreme Court and is the first woman to serve as the court’s Chief Justice.

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Henrie Monteith Treadwell

After a summer of threats and at least one bombing attempt, Treadwell and two other courageous students broke the state university’s color line on September 11, 1963.

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Donella Brown Wilson

In 1948, Wilson joined African Americans across the state as they voted for the first time in the Democratic Primary. She voted in every election during the next 70 years.

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Alice Norwood Spearman Wright

Alice Norwood Spearman was almost unquestionably the most influential white woman in South Carolina’s civil rights movement.

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View Honoree Timeline

Architecture of Strength Monument

Placed at the northwest corner of Main and Gervais streets, directly across from the State house, this monument stands in conversation with and physically confronts South Carolina’s past and its white, male-dominated status quo.

More on the Monument

A Legacy Continued

Now a part of Historic Columbia’s ongoing interpretation work, Columbia City of Women lives on through storytelling, public programming, and digital engagement. The initiative aligns with our mission to preserve Columbia’s complex past and ensure that all voices—especially those historically left out—are part of the story we tell. Want to learn more or get involved? Stay connected through our e-newsletter and follow @HistoricColumbia on social media for updates on future events, projects, and new ways to engage with Columbia City of Women.

Research Team

Katharine Allen

Director of Education and Interpretation

Email

(803) 252-7742 ext. 37

Robin Waites

An initiative by:

  • Historic Columbia organization logo
  • WREN organization logo

Supported by:

  • Central Carolina Community Foundation logo
  • Knight Foundation logo
  • City of Columbia
NTHP Preservation Award Winner
Historic Columbia

© 2025 Historic Columbia

Administrative Offices
1601 Richland Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Tours
All historic house and garden tours start at the Welcome Center at Robert Mills.
1616 Blanding Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Questions? Call (803) 252-7742.

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