Historic Columbia rings in holiday season with home tours

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — In downtown Columbia, it’s already starting to look a lot like Christmas.

Some historic homes in Soda City have also begun the holiday season. Wednesday at noon, the doors opened for the first Holiday Home Tours hosted by Historic Columbia.

“Our holiday tours cover both the Robert Mills House and the Hampton-Preston Mansion. Visitors will experience Christmas and New Year’s in the 1820s through the 1850s,” said Kat Allen, Historic Columbia director of outreach.

If you missed out today, the tours continue through December 30th. 

“Our hours are Wednesday through Saturday. The tours are at 12 and 3 pm,” the director said. “Every Sunday the tours are at 1 and 3 pm. You can also buy tickets online.”

While Christmas time is a great time to visit the historic sites in Columbia, that’s not the only time you can explore these buildings.

“We’re a historic preservation advocacy organization that stewards five sites, these are just two of them,” Allen said. “We rely on public support and people experiencing them so we can continue to maintain them for future generations.”

Tours of the two homes are offered year round Wednesday through Sunday and Historic Columbia also maintains three other sites as well as multiple gardens. 

“Historic Columbia stewards 14 acres of grounds. They are open to the public several days a week from 10 am to 4 pm. The only day we’re closed is Monday,” Allen said. “We encourage people to come out and enjoy them for free.”

The Holiday Home Tours are not the only event being put on this season by Historic Columbia.

“Please come out and see our Candlelight Tours on December 9th. It’s a completely different experience. The homes will be lit up with candles,” Allen said. “We will also have a holiday market. I hope everyone comes out to see us.”

To find out more about Historic Columbia, the holiday events, tickets and hours, check out their website here.