South Carolina Department of Archives and History
National Register Properties in South Carolina

Modjeska Monteith Simkins House, Richland County (2025 Marion St., Columbia)
S1081774010201 S1081774010202 S1081774010203 S1081774010204 S1081774010205
Facade Left Oblique Right Oblique Right Rear
Oblique
Rear Elevation
S1081774010206        
Left Rear
Oblique

The Modjeska Monteith Simkins house is significant for its association with the life and work of Modjeska Monteith Simkins, a leader in African American public health reform and the civil rights movement in South Carolina from 1931 to her death in 1992 and for its association with the civil rights movement. Although the property is over ninety years old, it achieved exceptional significance within the last fifty years as the home and work place of Simkins during the period of significance from 1932 to 1965. Throughout her career, Simkins used the house as a residence, lodging for civil rights associates, an office, and a meeting place. Guests of Simkins, including Thurgood Marshall, stayed in her house when hotels in the city were closed to African Americans. The house also became the target of a shooting by those opposed to the work of Simkins and other civil rights leaders. The house is a one-and-one-half-story, wood frame, vernacular dwelling with an L-shaped plan, side gabled roof, and a front porch. Although oral tradition indicates a date of construction as early as the 1850s, the house and the smaller similar structure behind it were probably built between 1895 and 1919. Listed in the National Register March 25, 1994.

View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property.

Most National Register properties are privately owned and are not open to the public. The privacy of owners should be respected. Not all properties retain the same integrity as when originally documented and listed in the National Register due to changes and modifications over time.

Images and texts on these pages are intended for research or educational use. Please read our statement on use and reproduction for further information on how to obtain a photocopy or how to cite an item.


Images provided by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.