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In anticipation of inclement weather, Historic Columbia will be closed Sunday, January 25. This includes all gardens and historic house museum tours. The Heathwood Walking Tour has been rescheduled to February 1. 

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1226 Bull Street

Site of Lyons Family Residence

Henry Lyons (1805-1858), the eldest son of Isaac Lyons (1774-1843), was a prominent politician who arrived in Columbia in the 1820s. He served as Columbia's warden from 1842 until 1850, when he was elected as the city's intendant, or mayor, for one year, becoming the second Jewish man to hold this post.

Lyons' garden was renowned locally and beyond, originally having been owned and developed by Nicholas Herbemont, a well-known winemaker who cultivated hundreds of grape varieties. Lyons was an accomplished plantsman as well, growing prunes, oranges, peaches and walnuts and becoming the first person in North America to successfully seed the Chinese Peach, later renamed the Honey Peach in 1858.

  • Mayor Lyons

    Henry Lyons, circa 1850. Artist Unknown. Historic Columbia collection, HCF 2015.1A

  • Honey Peach

    Reprinted from The Horticulturist, and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste, Volume 13, 1858

34.003824553207, -81.028916498811

NTHP Preservation Award Winner
Historic Columbia

© 2026 Historic Columbia

Administrative Offices
1601 Richland Street
Columbia, SC 29201

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

Questions? Call (803) 252-7742.

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