Midtown - Downtown in Columbia in Richland County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Pieces of the Past
Seibels House & Garden
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 5, 2019
1. Pieces of the Past Marker
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.
[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
Erected by South Carolina Midlands Master Gardeners Association; Historic Columbia Foundation.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Architecture.
Location. This marker has been replaced by another marker nearby. It was located near 34° 0.781′ N, 81° 1.879′ W. Marker was in Columbia, South Carolina, in Richland County. It was in Midtown
this page online
Regionally, this marker was in the Midlands. It was also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it was in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it found itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this location: Links to the Past (here, next to this marker); A View Worth Remembering (within shouting distance of this marker); Rooted in the Past, Enhancing the Future (within shouting distance of this marker); A Horticultural Heritage (within shouting distance of this marker); By Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet (within shouting distance of this marker); A Nurturing Nature (within shouting distance of this marker); Seibels House (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named An Enduring Landmark (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbia.
Another marker is no longer nearby. An Enduring Landmark (was within shouting distance of this marker but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Regarding Pieces of the Past. The Seibels House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places #71000804
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker. This marker has replaced the linked marker.
Courtesy of Library of Congress
2. Marker detail: Early homes for wealthy Columbians
(support buildings outlined in yellow)
(support buildings outlined in yellow)
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.)
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.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, May 5, 2019
4. Seibles House Kitchen
(marker visible near center at southwest corner of building)
(marker visible near center at southwest corner of building)
Credits. This page was last revised on January 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 7, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 419 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on June 8, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
