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Carter and Holmes Orchid Greenhouses
629 Mendenhall Rd, Newberry
(803) 276-0579
Columbia
Riverfront Park & Historic Canal
off Laurel St
Columbia. SC
Congaree Swamp National Monument
200 Caroline Sims Road
Hopkins, SC 29061
(803) 776-4396
Edisto Memorial Gardens Edisto Memorial Garden--To reach the gardens, drive 45 miles southeast of Columbia on I-26 and take U.S. 601 South to Orangeburg. The 165-acre park, on U.S. 301, is located along the banks of the Edisto River, the world's longest blackwater river. The garden is one of three test gardens in the United States and is known especially for its experimentation in roses. Some 5,000 varieties bloom from mid-April until October. Other vegetation and trees include camellias, dogwood, cherry trees, and thousands of azaleas that bloom from mid-March to mid-April. South Carolina's Festival of Roses, one of the 20 top festivals in the Southeast, is held here annually during the last weekend in April. The gardens are open daily from dawn to dusk, charging no admission.
Orangeburg, SC 29118
Finlay Park
930 Laurel St.
Columbia, SC
The Hampton-Preston Mansion Hampton-Preston Mansion, 1615 Blanding St., was purchased by Wade Hampton and occupied by his family until 1865, when Union Gen. J. A. Logan took over it. Much memorabilia of the antebellum period remains, including furnishings and decorative arts. The house dates from 1818. The Hamptons were once called "the Kennedys of the Old South," having grown rich from cotton instead of liquor. Columbia, SC
Historic Columbia Foundation, 1616 Blanding St. (803) 252-1770), you can purchase tickets and get a tour map of the capital's most historic homes. Tickets for each property cost $5 for adults and $2.50 for children. A combination ticket to all four properties is $18 for adults; $14 for ages 65 and older, military, and college students; $10 for children 6 to 17 years old; and free for children 5 and under. Hourly tours are conducted Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 4pm and on Sunday from 1 to 5pm, with tours starting every hour on the hour. On Tuesday to Saturday, the last tour is at 3pm; on Sunday, the last tour is at 4pm.
Manns-Simons Cottage Manns-Simons Cottage, 1403 Richmond St., is a small house from the early 1850s. It was the former abode of Celia Mann, an African-American slave who bought her freedom and walked from Charleston to Columbia. She'd earned money by working on the side as a midwife and started a church for blacks in her basement at the end of the Civil War. Today, her former home houses a museum of African-American culture and an art gallery. Columbia, SC
Memorial
Park
corner of Gadsden & Hampton Streets
Columbia, SC
Newberry Opera House
1201 McKibben Street
Newberry S.C. 29108
Riverbanks Zoo &Botanical
Garden
500 Wildlife Parkway
off I-126 at Greystone Blvd
Columbia, SC
(803)779-8717
Robert Mills House and Park Robert Mills Historic House & Park is at 1616 Blanding St. Mills served seven presidents as the first federal architect, designing such landmarks as the Washington Monument, the U.S. Treasury Building, and the Old Patent Office in Washington, D.C. This is one of the few residences that he actually designed. It's rich in art and furnishings of the Regency and neoclassical periods. Columbia, SC (803) 252-1770
The South Carolina State House The State House, at Main and Gervais streets (tel. (803) 734-2430), begun in 1855, was only half-finished when General Sherman bombarded Columbia in 1865. Today, the west and south walls are marked with bronze stars where the shells struck. In the fire that wiped out so much of the city, the State House escaped destruction, but the architect's plans were burned. As a result, the dome is not the one that was originally envisioned. Despite that fact, the building, with its Corinthian granite columns, is one of the most beautiful state capitols in the U.S. The landscaped grounds hold memorial tablets and monuments; inside are portraits and statues of South Carolina's greats. A more recently dedicated African-American monument also stands on the grounds. The Confederate flag has come down from the dome, where its flying generated nationwide protest. (It's still displayed on the grounds, however, and its presence remains a temper-raising issue in South Carolina.) The State House is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday 10am to 5pm, and the first Sunday in each month 1 to 5pm. Columbia, SC
Stanback Planetarium
S.C.State University
Orangeburg, SC 29117
(803)536-7000
Woodrow Wilson Boyhood HomeWoodrow Wilson's Boyhood Home, 1705 Hampton St., was built by the president's father in 1872. Much Wilson memorabilia remains, including the family's heirloom furnishings. The red-velvet music room and the plush parlor evoke the Victorian age. The 28th president lived here until 1875, leaving at age 14 when his family decided to move out of state. Columbia, SC
