Skip to main content

The Robert Mills House will be closed to the public on Wednesday, March 22, through Sunday, March 26, 2023. Regular tours will resume on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Menu Close Menu

Historic Columbia

Donate
  • FAQs
Upcoming Events

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
    • Offsite Tours
      • Walking Tours
    • African American History Tours
    • Online Tours
  • Education
    • Field Trips
      • House Tours
    • Traveling Trunk
    • 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!
    • LGBTQ Columbia
  • Support
    • Corporate Support
    • Donate
    • Membership
    • Volunteer
    • Partners and Donors
  • Rent a Venue
    • Gardens of the Hampton-Preston Mansion
    • Seibels House and Garden
    • Robert Mills Carriage House and Gardens
    • Gardens of the Woodrow Wilson Family Home
    • Weddings
    • Photoshoots
    • 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

Donate

1209-1211 Main Street

Site of Parker Block

Built 1873
Named for owner Niles G. Parker
Demolished 1956
 

  • Parker Block, ca. 1874

    Parker Block, ca. 1874. Historic Columbia collection

One of the more enduring and hotly debated Reconstruction-era additions to Columbia’s skyline stood here from 1873 until 1956. The three-story Italianate building bore the name “Parker Block/1873,” for its owner, Niles G. Parker, the state’s former treasurer maligned for renting rooms out to state legislators for committee meetings and for drawing rent from its commercial spaces. For this graft, detractors nicknamed the building “Parker’s Haul" and "Parker’s Stumbling Block.” The state seized the property when Parker was forced from office after the fall of Reconstruction in 1876. Under this new ownership, the structure housed the Department of Agriculture from the late 1870s until, under the governorship of "Pitchfork" Ben Tillman, the property was used by the South Carolina Dispensary System as its headquarters. After 1892, the building held a vaudeville theater and then the Hotel Albemarle. While in use as Kimbrell's Furniture, the building suffered an extensive fire in March 1956, which resulted in it being demolished that July. 

34.001647, -81.034206

Newsletter Signup

newsletter signup

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

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

© 2023 Historic Columbia

Administrative Offices
1601 Richland Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Tours
All historic house and garden tours start at the Gift Shop at Robert Mills.
1616 Blanding Street
Columbia, SC 29201

Questions? Call (803) 252-7742.

Website by Cyberwoven