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Monuments on the South Carolina State House Grounds

background image

Monuments

on the South Carolina State House Grounds

Since Columbia’s founding in 1786, the grounds of the South Carolina State House have grown from a 4-acre site bounded by Richardson (Main), Gervais, Assembly, and Senate streets into a 22-acre complex featuring 7 buildings and more than 30 monuments. South Carolinians have constructed, altered, and reconsidered this space for more than 230 years—and continue to do so today. In 2019, architectural historian Lydia Mattice Brandt, Ph.D. undertook a comprehensive survey of this built landscape. Her research serves as the basis for this new web-based tour, available below. If you would like to do your own research on the monuments (and to find out more from the sources used to create this website), visit our bibliography page.

This project was made possible with generous support from
SC Humanities and the Richland County Conservation Commission.


  • South Carolina Humanities organization logo
  • Richland County Conservation Commission organization logo

Explore the Grounds

  • Buildings & Landscape

    City of Columbia Bicentennial Time Capsule
    Capitol Complex Marker
    Edgar A. Brown Building
    John C. Calhoun State Office Building
    L. Marion Gressette Building
    Liberty Bell Replica 
    Old State House Marker
    Rembert C. Dennis Building
    Solomon Blatt Building
    South Carolina State House 
    Tribute Grove
    Wade Hampton State Office Building

  • People

    African American History Monument 
    Benjamin Ryan Tillman Monument 
    George Washington Monument 
    Grave of Swanson Lunsford 
    James Francis Byrnes Monument 
    Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway Marker  
    Monument to Dr. J. Marion Sims
    Profiles of Robert Young Hayne and George McDuffie 
    Richardson Square Marker 
    Robert E. Lee Memorial Highway Marker 
    South Carolina Law Enforcement Memorial 
    Strom Thurmond Monument 
    Wade Hampton III Monument 

     

  • War

    Gun from the USS Maine 
    Mount for Spanish Cannon
    Palmetto Regiment Monument
    Partisan Generals Monument
    South Carolina Armed Forces Monument
    South Carolina Monument to the Confederate Dead
    South Carolina Monument to the Women of the Confederacy
    Spanish American War Veterans Monument
    Stars and Inscriptions on the State House 

  • State House 1904

  • grounds 1904

Take the Tour

Online Tour

Walking Tour

Saturday, January 23rd

11 a.m. — 12 p.m.

Outdoor Multi-Site Tour

1616 Blanding St., Columbia, SC 29201

Led through the grounds of HC properties, visitors will get a chance to learn about the history of the Robert Mills House and Gardens and Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens. Visitors will connect to the history of 19th century Columbia by learning about architecture, the planter class, enslaved individuals and the...

Learn More

Tuesday, January 26th

12 — 1 p.m.

Research Roundtable | Modjeska Monteith Simkins House

Join Katharine Allen, director of research, for a virtual tour of the recently completed exhibit “Modjeska Monteith Simkins: An Advocate of the People.” Spread across four rooms in the Modjeska Monteith Simkins House, a gathering place for human rights activists for nearly 60 years, this multimedia experience documents Simkins’ upbringing...

Learn More

Thursday, January 28th

11 a.m. — 12 p.m.

Outdoor Multi-Site Tour

1616 Blanding St., Columbia, SC 29201

Led through the grounds of HC properties, visitors will get a chance to learn about the history of the Robert Mills House and Gardens and Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens. Visitors will connect to the history of 19th century Columbia by learning about architecture, the planter class, enslaved individuals and the...

Learn More

Friday, January 29th

10 — 11 a.m.

Historic Gardens Tour

1616 Blanding St., Columbia, SC 29201

Explore the native and exotic with Historic Columbia's Director of Grounds, Keith Mearns, as he offers insight into the varied and beautiful gardens at the Robert Mills House and Hampton-Preston Site. Each encompassing a full city block, the development of the gardens at these sites is guided by collections policies...

Learn More

Friday, January 29th

11 a.m. — 12 p.m.

Outdoor Multi-Site Tour

1616 Blanding St., Columbia, SC 29201

Led through the grounds of HC properties, visitors will get a chance to learn about the history of the Robert Mills House and Gardens and Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens. Visitors will connect to the history of 19th century Columbia by learning about architecture, the planter class, enslaved individuals and the...

Learn More

Saturday, January 30th

11 a.m. — 12 p.m.

Outdoor Multi-Site Tour

1616 Blanding St., Columbia, SC 29201

Led through the grounds of HC properties, visitors will get a chance to learn about the history of the Robert Mills House and Gardens and Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens. Visitors will connect to the history of 19th century Columbia by learning about architecture, the planter class, enslaved individuals and the...

Learn More

Thursday, February 4th

11 a.m. — 12 p.m.

Outdoor Multi-Site Tour

1616 Blanding St., Columbia, SC 29201

Led through the grounds of HC properties, visitors will get a chance to learn about the history of the Robert Mills House and Gardens and Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens. Visitors will connect to the history of 19th century Columbia by learning about architecture, the planter class, enslaved individuals and the...

Learn More

Thursday, February 4th

6 — 8 p.m.

The Color of Law: Session Four - Where Do We Go from Here: Innovative Solutions from Today’s Mayors

The City of Columbia and local partners have worked together to host four virtual sessions on the book The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America. The purpose of these sessions is to explore the concepts presented in the book to understand their role in...

Learn More

Friday, February 5th

10 — 11 a.m.

Historic Gardens Tour

1616 Blanding St., Columbia, SC 29201

Explore the native and exotic with Historic Columbia's Director of Grounds, Keith Mearns, as he offers insight into the varied and beautiful gardens at the Robert Mills House and Hampton-Preston Site. Each encompassing a full city block, the development of the gardens at these sites is guided by collections policies...

Learn More

Friday, February 5th

11 a.m. — 12 p.m.

Outdoor Multi-Site Tour

1616 Blanding St., Columbia, SC 29201

Led through the grounds of HC properties, visitors will get a chance to learn about the history of the Robert Mills House and Gardens and Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens. Visitors will connect to the history of 19th century Columbia by learning about architecture, the planter class, enslaved individuals and the...

Learn More

Saturday, February 6th

11 a.m. — 12 p.m.

Outdoor Multi-Site Tour

1616 Blanding St., Columbia, SC 29201

Led through the grounds of HC properties, visitors will get a chance to learn about the history of the Robert Mills House and Gardens and Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens. Visitors will connect to the history of 19th century Columbia by learning about architecture, the planter class, enslaved individuals and the...

Learn More

Thursday, February 11th

11 a.m. — 12 p.m.

Outdoor Multi-Site Tour

1616 Blanding St., Columbia, SC 29201

Led through the grounds of HC properties, visitors will get a chance to learn about the history of the Robert Mills House and Gardens and Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens. Visitors will connect to the history of 19th century Columbia by learning about architecture, the planter class, enslaved individuals and the...

Learn More

Friday, February 12th

10 — 11 a.m.

Historic Gardens Tour

1616 Blanding St., Columbia, SC 29201

Explore the native and exotic with Historic Columbia's Director of Grounds, Keith Mearns, as he offers insight into the varied and beautiful gardens at the Robert Mills House and Hampton-Preston Site. Each encompassing a full city block, the development of the gardens at these sites is guided by collections policies...

Learn More

Friday, February 12th

11 a.m. — 12 p.m.

Outdoor Multi-Site Tour

1616 Blanding St., Columbia, SC 29201

Led through the grounds of HC properties, visitors will get a chance to learn about the history of the Robert Mills House and Gardens and Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens. Visitors will connect to the history of 19th century Columbia by learning about architecture, the planter class, enslaved individuals and the...

Learn More

Friday, February 12th

5 — 8:30 p.m.

Movies in the Garden: Scream

1615 Blanding St., Columbia, SC 29201

Historic Columbia is excited to bring you Movies in the Garden sponsored by The ART of Real Estate. Leave behind the sappy Valentine’s Day for a horror-filled evening with Movies in the Garden: Scream. Bring your chair and a blanket to watch the modern classic Scream in socially distanced pods...

Learn More

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Historic Columbia

© 2021 Historic Columbia

1601 Richland Street,
Columbia, SC 29201

(803) 252-7742
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