Monuments on the South Carolina State House Grounds
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.
Explore the Grounds
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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
Saturday, January 23rd
11 a.m. — 12 p.m.
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...
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...
Thursday, January 28th
11 a.m. — 12 p.m.
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...
Friday, January 29th
10 — 11 a.m.
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...
Friday, January 29th
11 a.m. — 12 p.m.
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...
Saturday, January 30th
11 a.m. — 12 p.m.
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...
Thursday, February 4th
11 a.m. — 12 p.m.
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...
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...
Friday, February 5th
10 — 11 a.m.
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...
Friday, February 5th
11 a.m. — 12 p.m.
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...
Saturday, February 6th
11 a.m. — 12 p.m.
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...
Thursday, February 11th
11 a.m. — 12 p.m.
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...
Friday, February 12th
10 — 11 a.m.
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...
Friday, February 12th
11 a.m. — 12 p.m.
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...
Friday, February 12th
5 — 8:30 p.m.
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...