Current Projects and Initiatives
Historic Columbia is the primary preservation advocacy organization in Columbia and Richland County. We work with neighborhoods, City and County Council members, property owners and other interested parties to ensure the preservation of essential historic resources in the area. Learn more about local preservation projects and ways you can help advocate for them.
Columbia's Craftsman-Style Homes
Historic Columbia has been building its catalog of research on Craftsman-style residential architecture in Columbia. Through awareness initiatives, such as the Spring 2023 Palladium Tour, Historic Columbia hopes to reach owners of Craftsman-style properties around town and further work on preserving these buildings and sharing their stories.
Seibels House
The Seibels House—Columbia’s oldest remaining building—is in critical need. Using proceeds from the 2019-2020 Annual Fund enabled Historic Columbia to embark on the structural stabilization of this venerable landmark. Built circa 1796, it has hosted Historic Columbia’s administrative offices and has been a popular destination for private events and weddings since 1984, when its ownership was graciously transferred to Historic Columbia from Seibels family descendants.
Bull Street Campus
The Bull Street campus of the South Carolina State Hospital is a unique and important collection of interrelated structures that provide compelling insight into the lives of men, women, and children dealing with mental illness – either as patients, caretakers, or family members – from the early 19th century to the end of the 20th century.
Columbia's Green Book Sites
The Green Book, as it was commonly called, helped African American tourists navigate what was, according to distinguished historian Gretchen Sorin, "an uncertain landscape" that was "composed of white spaces where black people were forbidden or unwelcome." Katharine Allen, our Research & Archives Manager, was recently able to compile a list of Columbia's own Green Book Sites.