The McKissick Museum, located in the building after which it is named, celebrates Southern history and culture through changing and traveling exhibitions, educational programs, and research. Particular emphasis is placed on Southern folkways and traditions. The university established it in 1976, consolidating the various collections dispersed in different departments around campus into one location. As a result, the museum contains a wide variety of artifacts, various specimens, decorative and fine artwork. These include gemstones and minerals, moths and butterflies, quilts and other household textiles, art glass, alkaline-glazed stoneware, and Catawba pottery. Also included are materials relating to the university itself.
South Caroliniana Library, constructed in 1840 and located on USC's historic Horseshoe, is the nation's oldest freestanding academic library and one of the premier research archives and special collections repositories in the state and Southeast. Its collections include rare diaries, maps, books, pamphlets, and newspapers; records of churches, plantations, and businesses; early photographs, postcards, and engravings; oral histories that document our state's business, educational, social and cultural past.
Benjamin Tillman was a South Carolina senator, populist, and outspoken defender of white supremacy who dominated the state's politics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Known by his nickname "Pitchfork Ben" after threatening to impale Grover Cleveland, Tillman rose to prominence after leading the Red Shirts, a white supremacist paramilitary group that took control of the state by force in the final years of Reconstruction. Though he enjoyed great support and popularity among white residents of the state throughout his life, his virulent racism and occasional advocacy of violence against African Americans has marred Tillman's legacy and made this statue a subject of controversy. During the early 20th century, most white South Carolinians continued to revere Tillman and on May 1, 1940, many came to celebrate the dedication of this bronze statue. At that time, the Democratic Party and most white citizens celebrated the life and legacy of Benjamin Tillman, and few thought twice about the propriety of erecting a statue to Tillman on the grounds of the state capital. Though troubling to many today, Tillman's statue continues to overlook the city--a reminder of the state's past that some wish to eliminate. Others believe it would be wrongheaded to sanitize the past by removing this reminder of the state's troubled history and hope to add markers that offer historical context. Other residents hope to replace the statue with one of a civil rights leader or other prominent South Carolinian.
On December 17, 1860 following the election of President Abraham Lincoln, South Carolina held an official convention in this church and voted unanimously secede from the United States. The state house at the time was not large enough to hold all of the delegates so the church was chosen because it had the largest room available in the state. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and declared a National Landmark in 1973. A new church addition was built in 1992 and since then worship services have been held there; the original church building is used for weddings and offices. Also in 1992, the church was renamed as the James Petigru Boyce Chapel.
The Chesnut Cottage Bed and Breakfast has hosted countless visitors in the capital of South Carolina for nearly forty years, taking them back in time a century and a half to when the Civil War swept through the nation. During those war-torn years, the Chesnut Cottage was home to Mary Boykin Chesnut, now one of the most important writers in women's history, and her husband James Chesnut Jr. who was a brigadier general in the Confederate army and closely connected with President Jefferson Davis. General James Chesnut was a very prominent figure in South Carolina because he was the only surviving son of one of the wealthiest slaveowners of the time. Also, he joined the United States Senate two decades into his marriage with Mary and remained a politician until his death in 1885. Mary died a year later at their plantation in Camden, SC where she and her husband spent most of their years together. The Chesnut Cottage in Columbia was nevertheless considered home during the most influential years of their lives and of American history.
Future president, Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), spent a few of his teenage years in this house from 1871-1874. His father, Rev. Joseph Ruggles Wilson, had it built since he believed that he and his family would reside there permanently; this was not case as he received a job in North Carolina. Despite the Wilson's having lived in the house for a few years, it is of course historically significant and in fact became a house museum in 1933. It was designed by Andrew Jackson downing in the cottage architectural style and is one of the best examples of this style in the state. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
Robert Mills was arguably America's foremost architect in the 19th century, known for designing numerous government buildings, churches, bridges and houses. His most famous work is the Washington Monument. The Robert Mills House is one of the examples of homes he designed left and is the best one among them. Mills designed it for a man named Ainsley Hall and his wife, Sarah and began construction in the early 1820s. Unfortunately, Ainsley passed away before its completion. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1973 for its association with Mills. The house features decorative arts from the 19th century as well as exhibit space for changing exhibitions.
The Columbia Museum of Art is home to an extensive collection of American, European, Asian, Modern/Contemporary, and the works of Vogel, with a special collection of renaissance and Baroque art donated by the Kress Foundation. One of the highlights of the Kress portion of the collection is a nativity scene painted by the master Florentine artist, Boticelli. This masterpiece is the only Boticelli fresco outside of Italy.
Established in 1869 by the Freedman's Bureau after the Civil War, the Howard Public School served African American children in Columbia, South Carolina. It was the only school for Black children in the area until 1916, catering to 800 young adults of various grades. Named after Oliver Howard, the head of the Freedman's Bureau Department of Refugees, Freedom, and Abandoned Lands, the school was a fixture in the African American community, even after its change of location in 1924.
Memorial Park is located at the corner of Gadsden and Hampton streets in downtown Columbia. The park covers four acres and was dedicated in 1986. Memorial Park includes a variety of monuments and historic markers that commemorate the service and experience of the state's veterans.
The South Carolina State Museum opened in 1988 and is the state's biggest museum, featuring 70,000 objects in its collection. Its scope is wide, covering South Carolina's cultural natural and military history, as well as art, science and technology. The museum's exhibits are divided in these areas. The cultural exhibits depict 14,000 years of human habitation in the state. The natural history exhibits feature specimens that date back hundreds of millions of years and highlights include a giant replica shark, a dinosaur and various South Carolina habitats. The science and technology exhibits contain numerous items such as farm equipment, tools, cars and planes. Perhaps the most intriguing part of science collection is the world class collection of American-made telescopes, with the oldest made in 1730. The art collection holds artwork created by South Carolina artists and includes portraiture, decorative arts and contemporary works.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
This walking tour begins at the McKissick Museum and concludes at the South Carolina State Museum. The tour includes sites related to the city's unique history as the epicenter of secession along with historical and cultural sites related to African American history, architecture, commerce, political history, and art throughout in downtown Columbia.
