Gardens

Inside Columbia, South Carolina’s Historic Hampton-Preston House

Columbia’s Hampton-Preston House and its grounds—built in 1818 on the corner of Pickens and Blanding Streets—survived General Sherman, a stint as the governor’s mansion, and four turns as various institutes of higher learning. But commercial real estate development during the mid-twentieth century nearly did the place in. Since 2012, though, in the hands of just two full-time gardeners and a dozen volunteers, the once overrun grounds have come back to life season by season. And on May 12, Historic Columbia celebrated the reopening of the renovated home and gardens to the public, coinciding with the two hundredth anniversary of Hampton-Preston’s construction. “The four acres are divided into garden rooms with a foundation of boxwood around a fountain, saw palmettos around the edges, and plenty of hydrangeas and roses,” says Robin Waites, the executive director of Historic Columbia. For plantings in the front and rear, gardeners thumbed through antique nursery catalogues to discover historically accurate varieties—deep red Camellia japonica ‘Anemoniflora’ dating to 1814; lilac evergreen azaleas from the 1830s. The backyard trails wind through ginkgo, chinaberry, and monkey puzzle trees, nods to the original owners’ global travels. “Historically, as now, the home had a public entrance for people to feel welcome to come through the gate,” Waites says, “allowing them to spend time in a beautiful green space in our city’s center.” Scroll through for a look at the property. 

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The former Hampton-Preston residence stood in considerable disrepair by 1968, when this photograph was taken. One year later, the structure was under rehabilitation for use as the centerpiece to the Midlands Exposition Center, which opened in April 1970.

Photo: Historic Columbia

Thanks to a gift from the Susan F. and Darnall W. Boyd Foundation, more than two acres of garden plantings and hardscapes were improved to complement existing beds and pathways surrounding the mansion.

Photo: Historic Columbia

The “new” look for the structure draws its inspiration from the aesthetic the family embraced when it oversaw a massive renovation of the structure between 1848 and 1850.

Photo: Historic Columbia

The original garden fountain by famed nineteenth-century sculptor Hiram Powers proved too fragile to display outside. However, digital scans led to the creation of a faithful replica.

Photo: Historic Columbia

A Crinum Lily in the garden.

Photo: Historic Columbia

A newly installed period room depicts the property’s use as a tourist home from 1945 through the early 1960s.

Photo: Historic Columbia

Established period rooms recently received conserved or acquired pieces.

Photo: Historic Columbia

The design of this ornate, hand-crafted gazebo mimics the arches and curves within the canopy of live oak trees.

Photo: Historic Columbia

A collection of branches come together to form a public art installation within the Children’s Garden.

Photo: Historic Columbia