Midtown - Downtown in Columbia in Richland County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Reclaiming a Horticultural Destination
A Gift from the Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 17, 2026
1. Reclaiming a Horticultural Destination Marker
Through diaries, newspaper articles, and even poetry, visitors recorded the varied trees, plants, colors, and textures they saw while strolling this garden's pathways for more than 100 years. Wanting to revive the quality of life that these grounds once provided the community, the Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation generously funded the planting of native and exotic species that historically grew here and the installation of improved walkways and landscaping lighting.
[Captions:]
An Idyllic Campus Setting
Surrounded on three sides by an eight-foot-tall brick wall and filled with towering trees and mature shrubs, the former antebellum estate of the Hampton and Preston families created a unique campus for students at both the College for Women [1890-1915] and Chicora College [1915-1930].
Today's Planting Scheme
Today's landscape incorporates cultivars of plants known to have grown here during the property's heyday as a garden destination, such as Magnolia acumitata, referenced in the January 1910 issue of Country Life in America.
Erected by Historic Columbia.
Topics. This historical marker is listed
this page online
Location. 34° 0.632′ N, 81° 1.78′ W. Marker is in Columbia, South Carolina, in Richland County. It is in Midtown - Downtown. It can be reached from Blanding Street east of Pickens Street, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1615 Blanding St, 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 the North Atlantic Region, 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: Form, Function, and Fashion (here, next to this marker); "Everything of the best. Silver, glass, china, table linen - damask - &c&c"
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), January 17, 2026
2. Reclaiming a Horticultural Destination Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on January 25, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 25, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 68 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on January 25, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
