Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway Marker
1600 block of Taylor Street
Installed November 1, 1923
Funded by the City of Columbia and the South Carolina Division, UDC (with donated materials)
Produced by the Nigel Marble Yard with granite from Palmetto Quarry
Northeast corner of State House grounds
Installed circa 1949
Current location
Installed circa 1962-1963
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Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway Marker, 2019. Historic Columbia collection
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A worker stands beside the hole that will hold the Jefferson Davis Highway marker, which is being moved to the northeast corner of the State House grounds. Taken in 1962, the South Carolina Monument to the Women of the Confederacy and Trinity Church are visible in the background. Image courtesy The
As part of national movements to name interstate highways for the Confederate general Robert E. Lee and president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, the state division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) dedicated two routes through South Carolina to the men in the early twentieth century. Through public monuments and educational programs, the UDC glorified the Confederacy, explained secession as a political act rather than a defense of slavery, and vilified the federal government’s empowerment of African Americans during Reconstruction.
Begun by the national UDC in 1913 and eventually stretching 4,600 continuous miles, the Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway was an attempt to dedicate interstate highways to the memory of the only president of the Confederate States of America. The South Carolina UDC erected this boulder to establish the route of the highway in South Carolina, which crossed the state from Cheraw to North Augusta. The marker was originally unveiled at the 1600 block of Taylor Street in 1923 but was moved to the State House grounds in 1949 when US-1 was rerouted to Gervais Street. Highway US-1 in South Carolina is still dedicated to Jefferson Davis.