Mann-Simons Cottage
National Register Listing
Street Address:
1403 Richland St., Columbia, SC (Richland County)
NRHP Nomination
Record Number:
S10817740026
Description and Narrative:
The Mann-Simons Cottage, built ca. 1850, is an important site that illustrates a wide range of African American history. As the antebellum home of a substantial free black Columbia family, it is the prototype survivor of a cluster of houses belonging to a significant group in Columbia’s population before the Civil War. The cottage is a reminder that, during the antebellum period, free blacks lived and associated with the white community a great deal more than has heretofore been realized. Celia Mann, the earliest known owner of the house, was instrumental in establishing an early, post-Civil War, black church in the city. The First Calvary Baptist Church was organized in the Simons Cottage, with religious services held in the basement. Her daughter, Agnes Jackson, married Bill Simons, a free black musician who played with the local Joe Randal Band. The home is a one-and-one-half story cottage style house with a raised basement and a gabled roof with two corbel-capped chimneys. The façade has a porch that is supported by four brick posts. The porch roof is supported by four Tuscan columns and is enclosed by a balustrade. Listed in the National Register April 23, 1973.
Period of Significance:
1875;circa 1850
Level of Significance:
Local
Area of Significance:
Social History;Entertainment/Recreation;Religion;Ethnic Heritage: Black
National Register Determination:
listed
Date of Certification:
April 23 1973
