Facade	Left Elevation	Rear Elevation	Right Rear Oblique	Right Elevation

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.

View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property. In addition, the Historic Resources of Columbia includes historical background information for this and other related National Register properties.

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