Historic residence transformed into a museum exploring the political, social, and cultural shifts during the post-Civil War Reconstruction period.
General Information
Garden Hours: Monday to Saturday: 10am to 4pm; Sunday: 1pm to 4pm
Seniors and military: $8
Youth (6–12): $5
Children under 6 and Historic Columbia members: Free
How to Get There
Take Gervais Street eastbound, turn left onto Pickens Street, then right onto Hampton Street; the museum is on the left.
Overview
The Museum of the Reconstruction Era at the Woodrow Wilson Family Home is the only museum in the United States dedicated to interpreting Reconstruction, 1865 to 1877. It occupies a restored 1871 Italian villa-style house where a young Woodrow Wilson once lived, and Historic Columbia runs it.
Immersive exhibits, guided tours, and interactive displays show how newly emancipated African Americans and other Columbians navigated the era, with figures such as Richard Greener, the first Black faculty member at the University of South Carolina, and Charles M. Wilder, one of the first African American postmasters. Victorian-inspired gardens surround the house.
This article uses material from the Wikipedia articles and official tourism pages for the Museum of the Reconstruction Era, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.
