Historic Columbia Celebrates

The new Boyd Foundation Horticultural Center opens with 60th anniversary gala and community day events

You only turn 60 and open a state-of-the-art greenhouse once! To celebrate, we held a ribbon cutting and threw two parties in one week. Historic Columbia staff, City of Columbia and Richland County partners, and members of the Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation met on March 9 for a ribbon cutting ceremony. On March 11, guests experienced The Party of the Decade, an elegant evening on the grounds of the Hampton-Preston Mansion. Then on March 13, the public was invited to see the new Boyd Foundation Horticultural Center at Celebrating 60.

RIBBON CUTTING

Here’s to Susan! Mayor Daniel Rickenmann presented Susan Boyd with a key to the city and proclaimed March 9, 2022 to be Susan F. Boyd Day at the ribbon cutting for the Boyd Foundation Horticultural Center and an historically inspired gatehouse.

This party lived up to the name with beautiful views of the greenhouse, food from Loosh Culinaire, specialty cocktails from Twist Bartending, and music from Seven Station Band. What better way to mark 60 years than with 600 of your most enthusiastic supporters? Photos by Sean Rayford

Historic Columbia welcomed 450 community members to the Hampton-Preston Mansion & Gardens on March 13th for garden and house tours; talks with Amanda McNulty (host of SCETV’s Making It Grow) and Jenks Farmer (noted horticulturist); lawn games and indigo dyeing, and some amazing “Soda City” vendors, including Belgian Waffle Truck, Drip on Main, Mary’s Arepas, and Kombi Keg Columbia. Thanks to everyone who came out on a chilly but beautiful day!

ABOUT THE BOYD FOUNDATION HORTICULTURAL CENTER

The greenhouse, a $2.5 million dollar gift from the Boyd Foundation, allows the historic site to serve as a hub for horticultural research and plant propagation, alongside ongoing interpretation and programming. The project supports the Boyd Foundation’s investment of more than $1.5 million dollars to date that has powered Historic Columbia’s transformation of the site into one of the most dynamic public gardens in the region.

This addition to the Hampton-Preston footprint is a gamechanger for Historic Columbia. We have been working towards this goal since 2006 and it would not have happened without the commitment of the Boyd Foundation.” - Robin Waites, Executive Director, Historic Columbia

Designed by Lambert Architecture + Construction Services with Cohn Construction as the general contractor, the greenhouse and gatehouse constructions are based on historic structures that once stood on the property. The greenhouse facility, located on the northwest quadrant of Hampton-Preston’s grounds, provides an enhanced capacity for HC to tend the 14 acres of grounds and gardens under the institution’s care. It also serves as a space to interpret the role that an extensive workforce of gardeners and horticulturists – Black, white, enslaved and free – have played in shaping this site for over 200 years.

The Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation is proud to have made possible the restoration of the North gardens at Hampton Preston and the construction of the Boyd Foundation Horticultural Center. We think these projects fit nicely with our objective of enhancing recreational opportunities for the citizens of Columbia and making Columbia a better place to live.” - George Bailey, President, Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation