Midtown - Downtown in Columbia in Richland County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Southeastern Freight Lines
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Columbia Truck Terminal
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 16, 2026
1. Southeastern Freight Lines side of the marker
Southeastern Freight Lines. This is the original site of Southeastern Freight Lines (SEFL), a regional U.S. trucking company. Its roots go back to M.D. Hicklin Motor Trucker Inc., a firm chartered in 1934 that W.T. Cassels Sr. and C.L. Fuller Jr. acquired in 1945 and renamed Southern States Motor Lines. The company split in 1950 at which time Cassels founded SEFL and continued to operate at this site. SEFL relocated to West Columbia in 1955.
Columbia Truck Terminal. This was the site of the Columbia Truck Terminal, a truck stop opened in 1940 by M.D. Hicklin, W.T. Cassels Sr., and C.L. Fuller Jr. It included a service station and two-story building with offices, sleeping quarters, restaurant, and dance hall. Newspapers said it was the such first establishment in the city. The Terminal adjoined a warehouse first used by Hicklin's trucking company and later by Southeastern Freight Lines (SEFL) from 1950 to 1955. It no longer stands.
Erected 2020 by South Carolina Department of Archives and History, sponsored by Southeastern Freight Lines. (Marker Number 40-225.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is
this page online
Location. 33° 59.882′ N, 81° 2.61′ W. Marker is in Columbia, South Carolina, in Richland County. It is in Midtown - Downtown. It is on Gervais Street (U.S. 1/378) west of Pulaski Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 520 Gervais Street, Columbia SC 29201, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Midlands. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds 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 marker: Confederate Printing Plant (within shouting distance of this marker);
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 16, 2026
2. Columbia Truck Terminal side of the marker
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 16, 2026
3. Southeastern Freight Lines / Columbia Truck Terminal Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on January 24, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 24, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 39 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on January 24, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
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