Built between 1890 and 1895, this one-story cottage was home to Modjeska Monteith Simkins, one of South Carolina's greatest human rights advocates, from 1932 until her death on April 5, 1992.
Modjeska Monteith Simkins House
History
From a young age, Modjeska Monteith Simkins practiced social activism. Her career involved working with local and national civil rights leaders and NAACP lawyers such as Thurgood Marshall, who stayed at her home. Simkins' efforts in the realm of education, public health, and human rights led her to receive the Order of the Palmetto-the State of South Carolina's highest honor-before her death in 1992.
Today, her former residence continues to be a meeting space for people committed to improving the lives of the most underrepresented citizens in the community.
An Advocate of the People Exhibit
Spread across four rooms, this multimedia experience documents Simkins’ upbringing and career as a public health worker and state secretary of the South Carolina NAACP through the lens of the long civil rights movement. It invites visitors to connect the values of Simkins and her contemporaries to those of future generations of activists while closely examining the central—and complicated—role that the media has played in the struggle for equality.
Virtual Tour
Click here to take a virtual tour of "Modjeska Monteith Simkins: An Advocate of the People" and learn more about the life of one of South Carolina’s greatest human rights advocates.
This material was produced with assistance from the Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of the Interior.
Upcoming House Tours
21 Aug
Sunday, August 21st: 1 — 4 p.m.
Free Sundays Presented by Still Hopes | Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens
1615 Blanding Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Every third Sunday of the month, residents of Richland and Lexington counties are invited to tour of one of Historic Columbia’s house museums for FREE! This month, visit the Hampton-Preston Mansion.
18 Sep
Sunday, September 18th: 1 — 4 p.m.
Free Sundays Presented by Still Hopes | The Museum of the Reconstruction Era
1705 Hampton Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Every third Sunday of the month, residents of Richland and Lexington counties are invited to tour of one of Historic Columbia’s house museums for FREE! This month, visit The Museum of the Reconstruction Era, the nation's only museum dedicated to interpreting the post-Civil War Reconstruction period and South Carolina's only remaining presidential site.
16 Oct
Sunday, October 16th: 1 — 4 p.m.
Free Sundays Presented by Still Hopes | Robert Mills House
1616 Blanding St, Columbia, SC 29201
Residents of Richland and Lexington counties are invited to take a guided tour of one of our historic house museums on the third Sunday of every month for FREE! This month, visit the Robert Mills House & Gardens, one of only five National Historic Landmarks within Columbia, and explore architecture and daily life in the 1820s in Columbia.
20 Nov
Sunday, November 20th: 1 — 4 p.m.
Free Sundays Presented by Still Hopes | The Museum of the Reconstruction Era
1705 Hampton Street, Columbia, SC 29201
Every third Sunday of the month, residents of Richland and Lexington counties are invited to tour of one of Historic Columbia’s house museums for FREE! This month, visit The Museum of the Reconstruction Era, the nation's only museum dedicated to interpreting the post-Civil War Reconstruction period and South Carolina's only remaining presidential site.
18 Dec
Sunday, December 18th: 1 — 4 p.m.
Free Sundays Presented by Still Hopes | Mann-Simons Site
1403 Richland St., Columbia, SC 29201
Every third Sunday of the month, residents of Richland and Lexington counties are invited to tour of one of Historic Columbia’s house museums for free!
Civil Rights Advocate
Modjeska Monteith Simkins
An unrelenting activist and advocate for racial and social equality, her civic engagement extended to health care, women’s rights and the environment. As a member of the leadership of the SC NAACP, Simkins joined with other activists to challenge South Carolina’s continued flouting of established law and was influential in the fight for equal pay for black teachers, the fight to end the all-white Democratic primary in South Carolina, and the fight to end segregation in public schools. SHE DID, so that we live in a more just society.