Historically Speaking Fall 2021

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A NEWSLETTER OF HISTORIC COLUMBIA

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FALL 2021

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Historically Speaking

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From our

PRESIDENT As we come to terms with another year impacted by the global pandemic and look toward the future, we have much to be thankful for.

November 2021 marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of Historic Columbia. During the past six decades, Historic Columbia has matured to become recognized as one of South Carolina’s leading historic preservation organizations touted for its leadership in advocacy, in educating the public on the importance and relevancy of history in our contemporary lives, and in preserving and interpreting six historic 18th- through early 20th-century sites and their related gardens and grounds. As our world has become more dynamic, nuanced, and challenging, Historic Columbia has positioned itself through an extensive menu of services, programs, and events to offer insight, provide perspective, and create spaces for respite and reflection.

These efforts have been manifested in many ways — our achievements since our milestone 50th anniversary in 2011 are astounding. Highlights include: • • • •

Rehabilitating and reinterpreting the Woodrow Wilson Family Home in 2014 (today’s Museum of the Reconstruction Era, the only site of its kind in the state) Partnering with the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network (WREN) to establish the City of Women Initiative in 2018 Rehabilitating and reinterpreting the Modjeska Monteith Simkins House in 2020, highlighting the Palmetto State’s greatest human rights advocate Growing our preservation easement portfolio to 13 properties in 2020

Moreover, look no further than the multi-phased capital projects at the Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens that have transformed both the building and its four-acre grounds into a destination for cutting-edge interpretation and educational programs, as well as a stunning special events venue — thanks to the generosity of the Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation, with additional support from Richland County and a handful of private donors.

The last 18 months have no doubt brought unimagined challenges, but thanks to a creative, resilient, and dynamic staff, board, and membership, we have and will continue to come out on top. While this has been an incredibly difficult two years to serve as Board President, I am proud of what we have accomplished in the face of such adversity. I look forward to commemorating six decades of Historic Columbia over the next year and to setting the stage for future success.

Historically Speaking Fall 2021 | Volume 61 | Issue 04 President Gina Lesslie 1st Vice President Mark Jones 2nd Vice President Kim Jamieson Treasurer Jamie Keller Secretary Jeff Payne We share the complex history of Columbia and Richland County through historic preservation advocacy, innovative educational programs, and strategic partnerships.

In This Issue 3 4-5

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Board & Staff, Financial Statement From a Diamond in the Rough to an Invaluable Resource: Celebrating 60 Years of Historic Columbia Looking Back at 2020-21 Collections Spotlight

On the cover Highlights of Historic Columbia’s fiscal year include the opening of a new exhibit in the Modjeska Monteith Simkins House, virtual Behind-the-Scenes Tours and Jubilee: Festival of Black History & Culture.

Gina Lesslie

Board of Trustees President

Visit us on the web: HistoricColumbia.org

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HISTORIC COLUMBIA | NEWSLETTER

Board of Trustees Board of Trustees Gina Lesslie, President Mark Jones, 1st Vice President Kim Jamieson, 2nd Vice President Jeff Payne, Secretary Jamie Keller, Treasurer Ex-Officio Members Kenneth Childs Alex Guzman Patrick Cleary

Palladium Board of Directors At-Large Members Mike Adams Carroll Heyward Katherine Hopkins Dr. Isa Mandell Dawn Mills-Campbell Doug Quackenbush Rodrick Shiver Alison Summey

City and County Liaisons Gretchen Barron Bryant Davis Sam Davis Overture Walker

HC Advisory Council Alex Guzman, Chair David Bornemann Janice Bowman Frank Braddock Susan Brill Anne Bristow Jim Byrum Ann Cameron David Campbell Frank Cason Kenneth Childs Debbie Cohn Beryl Dakers Jim Daniel Fred Delk Lauren Dillon

Kate Dixon Jessica I. Elfenbein Lindsey Griffin Jamie Harpootlian Mel Hart Monya Havekost David G. Hodges Kathy Hogan Ann Holtschlag Michelle Hurley-Johnson Gloria S. James Brian P. Johnston Richard Linden Andrew R. Lucas Esther Maldonado Betsy McDonald

Staff Katharine Allen, Director of Research Jessica Asel, Youth Programs Facilitator Heather Bacon-Rogers, Tour & Program Coordinator Trey Black, Facilities Assistant Nathan Brown, Office Manager & Executive Assistant Charles Calhoun, Development Coordinator Daisha Calhoun, Rentals Coordinator Renee Chow, Director of Marketing and Communications Fielding Freed, Director of Historic House Museums Eric Friendly, Research Coordinator Debbie Giles, Director of Administration and Finance Kevin Jennings, Facilities Coordinator Betsy Kleinfelder, Visitor and Interpretive Services Keith Mearns, Director of Grounds Kirk Mishrell, Curatorial Assistant Melanie Murray, Groundskeeper James Quint, Director of Education Andrew Ramspacher, Public Relations Coordinator Dave Ruff, Head Gardener John Sherrer, Director of Cultural Resources Robin Waites, Executive Director Chandler Yonkers, Marketing Coordinator

Todd Miller Stuart Moore Kathy Norton Lorin Palmer Debbie Parker Eleanor Pope C.D. Rhodes Henry Roe Scottie Smith Jenna Stephens Holly Suggs Cleve Walker J. Calhoun Watson Mozella White

Patrick Cleary, President Lauren Elliott, Vice President Janie Campbell, Secretary Parrish Behles Carter Davis Jordan Heavner Rebecca Hartner Abi Snyder Brad Shell Hardy Childers Bailey Dunlap Kip Dillihay Jessica Raper Mary Kate Korpita Caroline Jackson Megan Pinckney

2020-21 Financial Statement Historic Columbia’s Statement of Activities for the year ending on June 31, 2020.

Operating Income City of Columbia..................................485,625 Richland County................................. 436,643 Individual/Corporate Donations.........331,462 Grants.................................................... 37,869 Assets Released from Restriction........109,255 Rentals................................................... 74,620 Tours/Public Programs..........................34,611 Other...................................................... 64,138 Total Operating Income.................... 1,574,223 Operating Expenses Program Expenses.............................1,284,541 General Supporting..............................184,741 Fundraising Expense........................... 156,316 Total Operating Expense.................. 1,625,598 Net Operating....................................... -51,375 Non-Operating .................................... 503,333 Increase in Unrestricted Net Assets .....451,958 Increase in Donor Restricted Net Assets ............................................ -18,209 Increase in Net Assets .........................433,749 Net Assets, beginning of year......... 2,870,083 Net Assets, end of year..................... 3,303,832

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From a Diamond in the Rough to an Invaluable Resource:

CELEBRATING 60 YEARS OF HISTORIC COLUMBIA

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oday is tomorrow’s history.

Twenty, fifty, a hundred years from now . . . our grandchildren will want to know what manner of men and women the Founders were,” so wrote Charles E. Lee, Vice President of the Historic Columbia Foundation and the Director of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, at the publication of Be It Remembered in November 1962. This was the first anniversary of Historic Columbia’s official founding.

Though referencing the people behind the Cold War-era grassroots preservation movement that would rehabilitate the Ainsley Hall House (today’s Robert Mills House) by 1967, Lee’s remarks presaged a far more epic story that would evolve over the next six decades.

Founded to preserve one building for posterity, Historic Columbia has matured into one of South Carolina’s premiere preservation and education institutions. Much of that growth has taken place in the past decade.

As we draw closer to November 2021, and the kickoff to Historic Columbia’s 60th anniversary year, we find an institution that has grown exponentially beyond the expectations of our 20th-century forebears — in capacity, scope, and strategic vision.

So much of that maturation and increase has come in just the past decade as Historic Columbia elevated its platform from the solid foundation it had in place in 2011.

Read along for our highlights.

Fruitful partnerships, such as the one Historic Columbia has forged with WREN, have filled gaps in this historical record, culminating in a more inclusive representation of our city and county’s past. HC and WREN partnered for The Architecture of Strength Monument, completed in June 2021.

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HISTORIC COLUMBIA | NEWSLETTER

By John Sherrer, Director of Cultural Resources

Historic Site Management and Interpretation Thanks to unprecedented support from Richland County and several corporate and private donors, Historic Columbia in 2014 oversaw a complete rehabilitation and reinterpretation of the Woodrow Wilson Family Home, transforming the ca.-1871 site into what today is The Museum of the Reconstruction Era — the only entity of its kind in South Carolina to interpret the post-Civil War Reconstruction period.

Building upon years of insight gained through archaeological investigations, staff facilitated a thorough reinterpretation in 2012 of the Mann-Simons Site that created a free, outdoor museum featuring ghost structures and wayside signage, and in 2017 adoption of new interior exhibits complete with updated research, technology, images, and pedagogical goals.

In 2012, funding from Save America’s Treasures empowered the organization to rehabilitate the rear building at the Modjeska Monteith Simkins Site for use by a scholar-in-residence program.

Rehabilitation and reinterpretation of the site’s main building followed in 2020 as a National Park Service grant resulted in new exhibits highlighting the early years of the Palmetto State’s greatest human rights advocate.

Support from donors, particularly the Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation, underwrote the refurbishment of the rear gardens at the Robert Mills House and the periodic introduction of new, historically accurate plantings at the property over the past decade.

Nowhere have capital projects played a greater role than at the Hampton-

Preston Mansion and Gardens. There, work has involved restoration of the historic cast and wrought iron gate and wall on Blanding Street (2011-2012); creation and installation of an identical replica of the Hiram Powers fountain (2011-2012); establishment of a children’s garden (2012); installation of a custommade gazebo in the children’s garden (2015); comprehensive rehabilitation of historically accurate garden pathways and planting of two-acres trees and shrubs and flowering plants (2017); comprehensive basement rehabilitation resulting in classrooms, public bathrooms, and rental suite (2019); construction of an interpretive sunken patio reflecting the footprint of the building’s former ca.-1850 addition; application of a historically accurate exterior aesthetic treatment including stucco restoration and restoration of shutters to reflect the 1850s-1870s era (2019); and revised site interpretation to include interior and exterior focus on the enslaved and postbellum domestic workers (2017-2019).

This unprecedented wave of capital improvements has resulted in the building and its four-acre grounds evolving into a destination for cutting-edge interpretation, educational programs, and special events. At the time of this writing, contractors are building a modern greenhouse for propagation, interpretation, administration, and programming (2021-2022), all proof that even the greatest aspirations may be realized when others share in your dreams.

Remarkable strides have been made in realizing horticultural potential of the Hampton-Preston Mansion and Gardens through partnership with the Boyd Foundation.

Connecting Communities through History Historic Columbia’s impact has been felt well outside the six properties for which it cares. Thousands of guests have attended programs throughout Columbia and Richland County via our Behindthe-Scenes Tours, Renovation Rodeos, classroom instruction, and after-hour and weekend specialty tours, lectures, and events. Added to those numbers are others who have accessed vital local history information and expanded their appreciation for the relevance of the past to contemporary events through Historic Columbia’s virtual resources, including its web-based tours and distance education.

At no time has this impact been felt greater than during the year-and-a-half-long pandemic, as patrons old and new benefited from our organization’s well-tended gardens, digital content, and staff outreach.

But we haven’t accomplished everything alone. Historic Columbia has partnered in exciting ways to explore unchartered aspects of our shared past. Chief examples include the Columbia Jewish Heritage Initiative (commenced in 2016); the Columbia City of Women Initiative (through a partnership with the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network, commenced in 2018); and the LGBTQ Columbia History Initiative (with UofSC Libraries in 2020).

During the decade in which these accomplishments have occurred, our

Those attending today’s educational programs will write the history of our efforts in the following decades.

world has become more dynamic, nuanced, and challenging. In response, Historic Columbia positioned itself through an extensive menu of services, programs, and events to offer insight, provide perspective, and create spaces for respite and reflection. During this anniversary year, we pause to reflect on where we have been and where we will go.

So, in keeping with the ruminations Charles Lee entertained nearly 60 years ago when recalling the Historic Columbia’s founding members, we must ask ourselves, “What manner of women and men do we aspire to be for those who come after us twenty, fifty or more years from this diamond jubilee?” If the work accomplished over the past decade foreshadows that answer, the hopeful outcome will be no less precious.

Annual Fund

SPOTLIGHT As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of Historic Columbia, we are asking you — our longtime friends and supporters — to extend the legacy of the leaders who raised funds in 1961 to save the Robert Mills House from demolition. Support HC’s continued work in education, preservation, and advocacy so that the next 60 years have as great an impact as our organization’s past.

HistoricColumbia.org/Annual Fund Or complete and return the annual fund envelope located in this issue.

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Looking BACK JOINING THE FIGHT: HISTORIC COLUMBIA OPENED NEW MODJESKA MONTEITH SIMKINS EXHIBIT

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pread across four rooms, the exhibit “An Advocate of the People” at the Modjeska Monteith Simkins House is a multimedia experience that documents the upbringing and career of South Carolina’s greatest human rights advocate. Examples of Simkins’ work in public health and as state secretary of the South Carolina NAACP challenge 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.

Historic Columbia completed this exhibit in 2020 despite ongoing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Director of Research and project curator Katharine Allen collected and submitted to exhibit designer HealyKohler outstanding digital assets delayed due

to COVID-related closings of archival collections. Historic Columbia project personnel then reviewed, revised, and finalized design documents with HealyKohler, and also recorded the names of lynching victims and conceptualized and created the video for the RESIST room. Meanwhile, project partner Mahkia Greene created the video for RISE UP room.

Director of Museums Fielding Freed researched, selected, and ordered wallpaper resembling what Mrs. Simkins had in her home. Facilities Coordinator Kevin Jennings installed it in one of the classrooms as well as metal tracts for wall art and posters to be designed by students visiting the site.

designers from McWaters to design classroom space. The exhibit invites all who visit, but especially students, to join the fight for change where they see injustice and inequality today.

Education team members oversaw the installation of classroom amenities, such as a printer, button maker, computers, and more, while they also worked with

The Modjeska Monteith Simkins House is currently available for small, private tours. For more information, visit HistoricColumbia.org.

ENGAGING STUDENTS THROUGH VIRTUAL EDUCATION

HC’s education team completed a variety of virtual tours during the FY, including this showcasing of the Hampton-Preston Mansion.

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this tradition by bringing historic games to the school for children to play safely in their classroom pods, and by offering a virtual tour of Robert Mills.

uring the pandemic, onsite field trips suffered a 76% drop compared to the two previous school years. This was expected as all public-school districts paused field trips. However, Historic Columbia education staff quickly changed its offerings to accommodate the newly needed virtual components.

Until public schools return for onsite visits, HC staff will continue to meet the needs of students and teachers through virtual programming. All HC educational programs have been adapted for a virtual audience, including tours of our historic sites and virtual traveling trunks. In some instances, education staff have combined virtual tours with school visits. For example, Heathwood Hall usually visits each spring for an annual colonial and revolutionary themed tour of the Robert Mills House. HC was able to continue

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“An Advocate of the People” exhibit at the Modjeska Monteith Simkins House was completed in 2020.

The virtual traveling trunk programs have been adapted to include hands-on crafts that can be shipped or delivered to schools in advance of their virtual program and can be completed during the live virtual session with guidance from education staff. Windsor Elementary was the first school to take advantage of this and added Historic Columbia airplane spotting cards to their virtual WWII traveling trunk program. This activity significantly increased the engagement of this virtual program.

HISTORIC COLUMBIA | NEWSLETTER

Thank you for making this virtual and doing it for free! We appreciate it.”

- Gilbert Elementary

School Attendance

276 280 876 1,238

In-person School Groups Virtual School Tours In-person Traveling Trunks Virtual Traveling Trunks

Looking BACK (CONTINUED)

THE ‘FORCE’ IS WITH HISTORIC COLUMBIA’S DEVELOPMENT TEAM

The annual Midlands Gives day of giving came on May 4, 2021, sparking Historic Columbia’s Star Wars-themed campaign of “May the Fourth be with You.” A variety of clips showcasing HC staff as Star Wars characters on social media helped us set an organization record by raising $54,132 from 479 donors.

Other numbers of note from the HC development team from the fiscal year: $20,801 – amount raised during the Palladium Silent Auction $30,000 – amount raised for LGBTQ Columbia History Initiative $52,625 – amount raised through corporate memberships

EXPANDED REACH The shift to virtual programming for 2020-21, while no easy feat, provided new opportunities for HC to extend its reach during the year as constituents engaged

with Historic Columbia programming from as far as California and New York City.

In September 2020, HC hosted a virtual Jubilee: Festival of Black History & Culture, a collaboration with WACH FOX and presenting sponsor Bank of America.

Reaching over 6,000 people through streaming options from WACH.com and broadcast TV, the festival maintained its core elements in connecting the community with Black entertainers, demonstration artists, and notable community activists and members.

Additionally, HC partnered with local organizations on the Color of Law and Our Vulnerable Democracy online series.

Through virtual events, the quality of programming was enhanced that may have otherwise been unavailable with in-person activities. For example, the “Vulnerable Democracy” program brought together speakers from across the Southeast region, including scholars from Duquesne University and Winthrop University.

OPENING DOORS – AGAIN In June 2020, Historic Columbia reopened its grounds for the general public and began offering outdoor guided tours covering history and its gardens.

These tour offerings continued for much of the 2020-21 Fiscal Year while the staff worked toward reopening the house museums in a safe and beneficial manner due to the pandemic.

In May 2021, HC’s house museums reopened for semi, self-guided tours after being closed since mid-March 2020. A total of 220 guests toured the historic houses in the final two months of the fiscal year when they were open, averaging 3-4 guests per tour. The house museums continue to have capacity restrictions of a limit to seven people, except for Mann-Simons Site with its limit of four people.

HC partnered with local organizations for engaging online series.

Spotlight

EDUCATE YOURSELF

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ducation for all ages is at the core of HC’s purpose, and we work each year to ensure opportunities to learn are available for everyone + everywhere. Our 2020-21 Fiscal Year featured one such project, in partnership with Dr. Lydia Brandt, a University of South Carolina associate professor of architectural history and art history.

HISTORICALLY COMPLEX: THE PODCAST What do the monuments represent?

How can we know? Historically Complex, a podcast series, peels back the layers on the history represented at the South Carolina State House.

This podcast series, funded by SC Humanities, is an extension of Historic Columbia’s efforts to drive conversations about the grounds and how historic places are interpreted in the community. While the podcast – a parallel to the web-based State House Monuments Tour –doesn’t take a position on what listeners should think or what should happen to the monuments themselves, it does take the view that monuments often tell us more about the moment in which they were erected than the historical person or moment that they commemorate.

HistoricColumbia.org/Podcast Available on Spotify, Stitcher and Apple Podcasts

The “Historically Complex” podcast debuted during the 2020-21 Fiscal Year.

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1601 Richland Street

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Columbia, SC 29201

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www.historiccolumbia.org

NONPROFIT ORG USPOSTAGE PAID COLUMBIA, SC PERMIT #1000

Collections

SPOTLIGHT

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hen it was donated to Historic Columbia in 1972, this portrait of Kate Hampton desperately needed stabilization, which it received to prevent large areas of flaking paint from falling off. Advances in art conservation over 40 years later enabled conservator Craig Crawford to remove layers of overpainting and decaying protective finishes to reveal a much more nuanced and accomplished original underneath than we ever knew existed. The painting’s story serves as an example of HC’s commitment over the past 60 years to our curation of over 4,000 objects. We look forward to future acquisitions while we continue our stewardship of those items that have been with us since the early years.