Skip to main content

Historic Columbia's administrative offices, gardens, and Gift Shop will close at 12:00 noon on Wednesday, June 7. All afternoon tours are cancelled.

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
    • Building Richland County
  • Support
    • Corporate Support
    • Donate
    • Membership
      • Palladium
    • 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

4101 McCords Ferry Road

Kensington Mansion

Colonel Richard Singleton, a wealthy cotton planter, lived at the 1853 Italianate plantation home overseeing the production of cotton, rice, potatoes, wheat, corn, rye and oats. The sprawling mansion’s details reveal international elements of wealth and luxury reflective of the original owner’s tastes. In addition to the main house, there once existed 54 buildings on the property, which included 40 cabins for enslaved workers and 13 farm buildings. In 1981, Union Camp Corporation, later superseded by International Paper, purchased 4,000 acres in Richland County, which included Kensington Mansion, to build a wood pulp and paper mill. The paper company restored the house and partnered with the Scarborough-Hamer Foundation six years later and offered tours of the mansion on select days of the week. Today, the site retains several extant buildings including the original kitchen building and one slave cabin; however, International Paper dissolved its partnership with the Scarborough-Hamer Foundation and the future of Kensington Mansion remains unknown.

  • Kensington 1890s

    Descendants of M.R. and Martha Singleton pose in 1892, shortly after Martha's death. Image courtesy Russell Maxey Photograph Collection, Richland Library

33.8778354, -80.6594771

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