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

1626 Gervais Street

Site of Josiah Morse Residence

Josiah Morse (1879-1946), the University of South Carolina's first Jewish professor, arrived in Columbia in 1911 and spent the next three decades tremendously impacting the lives of his students, including future Civil Rights advocate and state senator Hyman Rubin, Sr. (1913-2005). No stranger to prejudice (he changed his name from Moses to Morse after failed attempts to secure a university position), Morse improved race relations by organizing interracial activities with local black colleges and serving as a founding member of the University Commission on the Southern Race Question. He also proposed the reestablishment of the dormant B'nai B'rith lodge, a fraternal order of Jewish men, which was chartered on February 13, 1936. With Morse as its first president, the lodge assisted refugees fleeing the Nazi regime. It was later renamed in honor of the activist following his death in 1946.

  • Josiah Morse

    Josiah Morse's portrait in the University of South Carolina's Garnet & Black yearbook, 1912. Image courtesy South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia

34.0032458, -81.0258254

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