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

100 National Park Road

Congaree National Park

The Santee River Cypress Logging Company harvested timber from land belonging to Francis Beidler from 1881 until about 1914, when Beidler realized the difficulty and unprofitability of the operation and he placed his land under “timber reserve status.” The area remained in private hands within the Beidler family until the 1950s when Harry R.E. Hampton, a member of the Cedar Creek Hunt Club and editor of The State, advocated for the preservation of the Congaree Swamp. Soaring timber prices in the 1960s prompted Hampton and others’ conservation advocacy efforts to ensure the site’s future. Ultimately, their leadership led to the 22,200-acre site being designated a National Monument by President Gerald R. Ford in 1976. President George W. Bush designated Congaree a National Park in 2003 following research that demonstrated the area was the largest intact old-growth, bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States and that it retained many agricultural remnants from earlier settlers such as cattle mounds, dikes and bridges.

Click the link below to see the transcript of President Gerald R. Ford’s Speech designating the park a National Monument. http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/library/document/0122/1253087.pdf

  • Robert Mills' Atlas, published in 1825

    Most of Congaree National Park was once called "swamp land," or "rich land." Robert Mills' Atlas, published in 1825, referred to the sub-region as "low ground." Image courtesy Library of Congress

33.8296195, -80.8233754

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