Skip to main content
Menu

Historic Columbia

search toggle

Donate
menu close

Historic Columbia

Donate
collapse

Navigation

  • Tours
    • House Tours
      • Robert Mills House and Gardens
      • Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens
      • Mann-Simons Site
      • The Museum of the Reconstruction Era
      • Modjeska Monteith Simkins House
      • Hours and Pricing
    • Garden Tours
      • Garden Database
      • Plant Sale
    • Offsite Tours
      • Bus Tours
      • Walking Tours
    • African American History Tours
    • Online Tours
    • Group Tours
  • Events
  • Education
    • Field Trips
      • House Tours
      • Bus Tours
      • Walking Tours
      • Early Adventures
    • Traveling Trunk
    • Homeschool Friday
    • Scout Troops
    • Summer Camp
    • Adult Education
  • Preservation
    • Current Projects and Initiatives
      • Bull Street Campus 
      • Columbia's Green Book Sites
      • Veterans Administration Regional Office
      • Women’s Club of Columbia
    • Preservation Awards
    • Resources for the Public
      • For Property Owners
      • For Neighborhoods
      • Take Action!
  • Support
    • Corporate Support
    • Donate
    • Membership
      • General Membership
      • Palladium Membership
      • Corporate Membership
    • Volunteer
    • Partners and Donors
  • Rent a Venue
    • Gardens of the Woodrow Wilson Family Home
    • Seibels House and Garden
    • Robert Mills Carriage House and Gardens
    • Gardens of the Hampton-Preston Mansion
    • Recommended Vendors
    • Contact Us
  • About
    • Blog
    • Board Members
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
    • Gift Shop at Robert Mills
      • Online Store
    • Local History
      • Columbia Jewish Heritage Initiative
    • Newsletter
    • Staff Directory
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  1. Home
  2. Online Tours
  3. African American Heritage Sites Tour
  4. Wheeler Hill

Wheeler Hill

320 Pickens Street

  

Once a predominantly black neighborhood, Wheeler Hill lost most of its African American population during the 1970s and 1980s due to the expansion of the University of South Carolina and the government sanctioned policy of eminent domain. The demolition of structures in Wheeler Hill, which forced the majority of the community’s residents to relocate, happened on a larger scale two decades earlier in the Ward One neighborhood as part of a massive urban renewal effort. The Saxon School on Blossom Street was one of the buildings destroyed in that area at the time.

  • Black youth gather in front of a lunch room that formerly stood at 320 Pickens Street.

    Black youth gather in front of a lunch room that formerly stood at 320 Pickens Street. Image courtesy John Hensel Photograph Collection, South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina

Directions:

    Previous530 Marion Street

    Next6808 North Main Street

    Newsletter Signup

    newsletter signup

    Subscribe to our monthly newsletter for events, news, and updates from Historic Columbia!

    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Flickr
    Historic Columbia

    © 2021 Historic Columbia

    1601 Richland Street,
    Columbia, SC 29201

    (803) 252-7742
    Website by Cyberwoven