Midtown - Downtown in Columbia in Richland County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Ladson Presbyterian Church
Erected 1938 by The Columbia Sesquicentennial Commission of 1936. (Marker Number 40-14.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Churches & Religion. A significant historical year for this entry is 1838.
Location. 34° 0.555′ N, 81° 2.107′ W. Marker is in Columbia, South Carolina, in Richland County. It is in Midtown - Downtown. Marker is on Sumter Street near Blanding Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Columbia SC 29201, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Laurel Street (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Site of Blanding House (about 500 feet away); Beth Shalom Synagogue (about 600 feet away); DeBruhl-Marshall House (about 600 feet away); The Walls Came Tumbling Down (about 600 feet away); Blanding Street (about 600 feet away); Columbia City Hall (about 600 feet away); Sidney Park C.M.E. Church (about 800 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbia.
Regarding Ladson Presbyterian Church. Built in 1896, Ladson Presbyterian Church continues to be inhabited by its original congregation. In 1838, First Presbyterian Church organized their African American members into a separate but affiliated congregation that met at the same site. The congregation is the oldest African American congregation in Columbia and the fifth oldest religious congregation in the city. In a cordial split, Ladson became independent of First Presbyterian in 1874. Its architecture remains today as an excellent example of Romanesque Revival design that was popular for non-residential buildings in the late 1800s. The church features the style’s hallmark round arches, tripartite entrances, canted towers, and brick or rough stone construction. It is a one-story-over-raised-basement red brick building with a rectangular plan, featuring a gable-front roof and two brick entrance towers set on the diagonal. According to WPA records and testimonials from older church members, a renovation occurred prior to World War II which replaced the building’s two wooden pyramidal-roofed steeples and belfry with the castellated towers that are present today. Listed in the National Register April 30, 1998. (South Carolina Department of Archives and History)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 1, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 925 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 1, 2010, by Mike Stroud of Bluffton, South Carolina. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.