Midtown - Downtown in Columbia in Richland County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)

Pieces of the Past

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 5, 2019

1. Pieces of the Past Marker

Inscription. Early homes for wealthy Columbians featured support buildings, or dependencies, including kitchen houses, carriage houses and stables, barns, and even greenhouses (outlined in yellow). Separate kitchen buildings offered fire protection for the main house and defined social relationships between property owners and enslaved workers before the Civil War. As the last structure of its kind in Columbia, the Seibels House kitchen is a link to our city's architectural and social past.

(photo caption)
Archaeology has uncovered clues about the families who once lived here through the artifacts they left behind. Included in the items discovered are thousands of pieces of various types of cooking and eating wares.
—Image courtesy of Historic Columbia Foundation Collection

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Architecture.

Location. 34° 0.781′ N, 81° 1.879′ W. Marker is in Columbia, South Carolina, in Richland County. It is in Midtown - Downtown. Marker is on Pickens Street north of Richland Street, on the right when traveling north. Marker is located beside the sidewalk, at the southwest corner of the Seibels House kitchen building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1601 Richland Street, Columbia SC 29201, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers

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are within walking distance of this marker. An Enduring Landmark (within shouting distance of this marker); Seibels House (within shouting distance of this marker); Colonel Thomas Taylor (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); 1900 Block of Henderson Street / William J. Sumter (about 600 feet away); Site of Columbia Male Academy (about 600 feet away); South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building (approx. 0.2 miles away); Thomas Taylor / Taylor Cemetery (approx. 0.2 miles away); Taylor Burying Ground (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbia.

Regarding Pieces of the Past. The Seibels House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places • #71000804

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. Seibels House

Also see . . . Hale–Elmore–Seibels House (Wikipedia). The best guess for the date of construction stems from a purported "1796" carved into a beam in the basement. Much of the early history of the house is uncertain, but it is thought to be the oldest building in Columbia. (Submitted on June 9, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Marker detail: Early homes for wealthy Columbians<br>(<i>support buildings outlined in yellow</i>) image. Click for full size.

Courtesy of Library of Congress

2. Marker detail: Early homes for wealthy Columbians
(support buildings outlined in yellow)

Marker detail: Siebels House Property Map • 1918 image. Click for full size.

Courtesy of South Caroliniana Library

3. Marker detail: Siebels House Property Map • 1918

Built in the late 1890s for the Seibels family's carriages, this one-and-a-half story dependency (outlined in red) was later renovated to shelter automobiles. Domestic workers who tended the garden and performed a number of duties essential to running the household lived in its second story rooms.

Seibles House Kitchen<br>(<i>marker visible near center • at southwest corner of building</i>) image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, May 5, 2019

4. Seibles House Kitchen
(marker visible near center • at southwest corner of building)

Garage (former carriage house) is visible behind the kitchen building; at far left side of image.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 7, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 214 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 8, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.