Plan Your Visit
Plan Your Visit
Getting to Historic Columbia
There is a free museum parking lot for Historic Columbia visitors. It is located on the 1600 block of Henderson Street, between Taylor and Pickens streets. The gift shop is immediately adjacent to this lot. There is also free street parking nearby; after parking, please enter the Robert Mills House and Gardens through any open gate and make your way to the gift shop.
Get Directions
* Admission is free for nation’s active-duty military personnel, including the National Guard and Reserves, in collaboration with the 2023 Blue Star Museums program. The Blue Star Museums program begins on Armed Forces Day—Saturday, May 20, 2023, and ends on Labor Day—Monday, September 4, 2023. You can redeem Blue Star Museum admission when you purchase tickets online by typing in "BlueStar2023" in the discount code field.
About Blue Star Museums
Blue Star Museums is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and participating museums across America. For a list of participating museums, visit arts.gov/bluestarmuseums. The free admission program is available for those currently serving in the United States Military—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard as well as members of the Reserves, National Guard, U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps, NOAA Commissioned Corps—and up to five family members. Spouses and children of active-duty military may use this discount if they possess military idenitifcation. This program is not available to retired members of the military.
Accessibility
We recognize that 19th-century architecture poses some accessibility challenges and are always working to improve access to our homes for all our visitors. If you or your group have any accessibility concerns, please call 24 hours in advance of your tour so that we may best accommodate your needs. There is a small step to gain access to the Gift Shop where admission must be purchased. With 24-hour advance notice, we can place a ramp at the entrance to allow wheelchair access. Please contact (803) 252-1770 ext. 24 for more information about accessibility at any of Historic Columbia's properties. Weekend visitors should contact Historic Columbia during regular weekday business hours to plan for an upcoming visit.
Help me choose a tour!
Wondering which tour is right for you?
Let us help you decide or read more about each tour below.
Journey to Freedom Tour
Historic Columbia is offering a combined tour of both the Mann-Simons Site and the Modjeska Monteith Simkins House to learn more about Black history in Columbia.
History of the Mann-Simons Site
History of the Modjeska Monteith Simkins House
Tour Times
Wednesday - Saturday: 1:30 p.m.
Sunday: 3 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased in advance online up until midnight the day prior to the tour, OR tickets may be purchased the day of the tour at the Robert Mills Gift Shop. Please plan to arrive at the Gift Shop at Robert Mills 10 minutes before your tour begins. Guests should drive from there to the Mann-Simons site. After a semi-guided tour of the home, guests may either walk or drive the two blocks to the Modjeska Monteith Simkins House. Here guests will take a self-guided tour and conclude the combined tour.
Robert Mills House & Gardens
1616 Blanding Street | Columbia, SC 29201
One of only five National Historic Landmarks in Columbia, the Robert Mills House showcases the skill of the architect who designed some of our nation's most prominent buildings, including the Washington Monument.
History of the Robert Mills House
Tour Times
Wednesday - Sunday: 3 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased in advance online up until midnight the day prior to the tour, OR tickets may be purchased the day of the tour at the Robert Mills Gift Shop. Please plan to arrive at the Gift Shop at Robert Mills 10 minutes before your tour begins.
Hampton-Preston Mansion & Gardens
1615 Blanding Street | Columbia, SC 29201
One of Columbia's oldest remaining structures, the Hampton-Preston Mansion explores the lives of enslaved workers and their planter-class owners.
History of the Hampton Preston Mansion
Tour Times
Wednesday - Saturday: 12 p.m.
Sunday: 1:30 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased in advance online up until midnight the day prior to the tour, OR tickets may be purchased the day of the tour at the Robert Mills Gift Shop. Please plan to arrive at the Gift Shop at Robert Mills 10 minutes before your tour begins.
The Museum of Reconstruction Era at the Woodrow Wilson Family Home
1705 Hampton Street | Columbia, SC 29201
The nation's only museum dedicated to interpreting the post-Civil War Reconstruction period and South Carolina's only remaining presidential site, this distinctive circa-1871 Italian villa-style residence was home to a 14-year-old boy named "Tommy" Woodrow Wilson.
History of the Woodrow Wilson Family Home
Tour Times
Wednesday - Saturday: 10:30 a.m.
Sunday: 1:30 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased in advance online up until midnight the day prior to the tour, OR tickets may be purchased the day of the tour at the Robert Mills Gift Shop. Please plan to arrive at the Gift Shop at Robert Mills 10 minutes before your tour begins.
Mann-Simons Site
1403 Richland Street | Columbia, SC 20201
While only one house stands today, the Mann-Simons Site historically was a collection of commercial and domestic spaces owned and operated by the same African American family from at least 1843 until 1970.
History of the Mann-Simons Site
Tour Times (Part of Journey to Freedom Tour)
Wednesday - Saturday: 1:30 p.m.
Sunday: 3 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased in advance online up until midnight the day prior to the tour, OR tickets may be purchased the day of the tour at the Robert Mills Gift Shop. Please plan to arrive at the Gift Shop at Robert Mills 10 minutes before your tour begins.
Modjeska Monteith Simkins House
2025 Marion Street | Columbia, SC 29201
Built between 1890 and 1895, this one-story cottage was home to Modjeska Monteith Simkins, one of South Carolina's greatest human rights advocates, from 1932 until her death on April 5, 1992.
History of the Modjeska Monteith Simkins House
Tour Times (Part of Journey to Freedom Tour)
Wednesday - Saturday: 1:30 p.m.
Sunday: 3 p.m.
Tickets may be purchased in advance online up until midnight the day prior to the tour, OR tickets may be purchased the day of the tour at the Robert Mills Gift Shop. Please plan to arrive at the Gift Shop at Robert Mills 10 minutes before your tour begins.