Hampton-Preston House

Infobox_nrhp | name =Hampton-Preston House
nrhp_type =


caption =
location= Columbia, South Carolina
lat_degrees = 34
lat_minutes = 0
lat_seconds = 37
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 81
long_minutes = 1
long_seconds = 46
long_direction = W
locmapin = South Carolina
area =
built =1818
architect= Philips,Zachariah; Yates,Robert
architecture= Other
added = July 29, 1969
governing_body = State
refnum=69000172cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2008-04-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

The Hampton-Preston House is a historic mansion in Columbia, South Carolina, that was the home of members of the prominent Hampton family. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Ainsley Hall, a wealthy Columbia merchant, had the house constructed in 1818. It was purchased a few years later by former War of 1812 general Wade Hampton I, a wealthy cotton planter. In turn, his son Wade Hampton II and grandson Wade Hampton III also resided in the home at various times, although ownership passed after Hampton I's death to his daughter Caroline and her husband, State Senator John S. Preston. [ [http://www.thecolumbiastar.com/news/2008/0718/potpourri/042.html The "Columbia Star"] ]

During the latter part of the American Civil War, the house was used as the headquarters of Union Maj. Gen. John A. Logan during the occupation of Columbia. The South Carolina Presbyterian Institute for Young Ladies acquired the mansion in 1890. [ [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/19/columbia-formative-home-of-redeemer-of-lost-cause/ The "Washington Times"] ]

The house is of a post-Colonial, Classical Revival style, having a broad veranda across the front with Doric columns and a fanlight above. Inside is a sweeping circular stairway with mahogany rails. A crystal chandelier hangs in the middle of the hall. The rooms are spacious, and one is adorned with a white marble mantel by the sculptor Hiram Powers. The gardens covered a city block and were known throughout the state, but have been plowed under and felled, later becoming a parking lot. [ [http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/richland/S10817740001/ SDAH] ]

The Hampton-Preston House was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 29, 1969. The mansion was restored and reopened to the public in 1970 as a museum that epitomizes the lives of the planter elite in antebellum South Carolina. [ [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/19/columbia-formative-home-of-redeemer-of-lost-cause/ The "Washington Times"] ]

References

* [http://www.nationalregister.sc.gov/richland/S10817740001/ South Carolina Department of Archives and History]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.wadehamptoncamp.org/hist-sb.html Columbia nun saves the Hampton House]