Columbia Parks & Recreation Department unveils historic marker recognizing Eau Claire’s Lincoln Park

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)– This Black History Month, Columbia Parks and Recreation unveiled a historical marker for Lincoln Park on Monday.

Dr. Bobby Donaldson who serves as a professor of History and the Executive Director of the Center for Civil Rights History and Research at the University of South Carolina-Columbia, and is the founding director for the Columbia SC 63 shared the park’s history at the unveiling.

The park opened in 1901 during the segregation era when the city allocated space and the funding for African Americans.

But the promise was deferred and it was closed a few years later in 1905.

It was a park where African Americans gathered for the outdoor theater, swimming, picnics and more.

Dr. Donaldson says his hope is that the park would be improved to look like Hyatt Park, a park also popular during that time.