Mom's Day Off and Roads Less Traveled

As both of my faithful readers know, every year I give myself the day off for my birthday. I've been doing this since before I was married. Now that I'm a mom, this day has become even more precious to me. This year we had trouble finding time for the day, so it wasn't until yesterday that I was finally able to take it. Usually I spend the day relaxing, getting a pedicure, going to a movie, etc., but this year I decided to do things that are hard to do with the kids. It was an active, but very fun day. I took over 100 pictures. They're not all on this blog post, but this is still a lengthy post.

I actually started my day the night before by giving myself a sunless tan - Neutrogena Sunless Tanning Spray Micro Mist - with mixed results. I had never applied a sunless tan before, so I believed the can when it said I didn't need to rub it in. Consequently, I ended up with some stripes like shown below.

I still think the tan is pretty cool though. (Although they should have warned me that it could turn my white clothes orange.)

I decided to spend this day discovering more of historic Columbia. I have to take a minute to say that as an outsider, I think Columbia has really missed the mark when it comes to preserving its history. Nearby Charleston and Savannah have capitalized on their history and built thriving tourist industries. Columbia could have done the same, but from what I've been able to read, it wasn't until the 70's that individuals started fighting to save historic places. Before that, the local government demolished numerous historical treasures. Not only that, but if a cemetery was in the way of development, on occasion they would dig up the graves and relocate the remains, or just build on top of them.

One building that is falling apart, but that is awesome, is the Columbia Lunatic Asylum (originally called the S.C. Lunatic Asylum and school for the deaf and dumb, and later the S.C. State Hospital for the Insane). The entire complex is 178 acres and is comprised of various buildings. By far the largest one is the Babcock building, which was built around 1858.

(I did not take this picture. It came from here. I did take all the rest of the pictures on this post.)

The grounds were used as a prison camp for Union officers and later the asylum became a refuge for many residents when Sherman destroyed about 1/3 of the city of Columbia. Like the rest of the South, the asylum struggled to survive after the war. As the population grew, it became more and more difficult to treat patients effectively and eventually the asylum became largely a dormitory to house the mentally ill. Originally the asylum housed people who were wealthy enough to pay for their own care, but with the demise of the South, more and more poor people were admitted and the hospital turned more and more to the government for funding.

Later, when slavery was abolished, African American residents of the asylum increased. This led to the additional problem of how to separate the races. The facility was also used to house people ill with tuberculosis and other diseases. The building was used until about 1980 when it was no longer used to house patients.

Today the building is completely deserted. It looks like something from a horror movie. I wanted so badly to climb in through an open window or door and go exploring, but I was too freaked out to try, especially as a woman by myself. I felt a little uneasy while I was taking pictures. You might think I was exaggerating if you didn't know that I was actually grabbed by an insane man when I was only five years old.

It is obvious that the entire campus was beautiful at one time and it would be a shame to let it fall into further disrepair. I imagine restoring it would be incredibly expensive, but it seems like there should be something that could be done to save this important piece of history.

This is the road I drove on to explore the grounds. I'm not sure I was supposed to be here, but I just waved at the patrolman when he drove by to see what I was doing. He waved back.

The original building on the campus is the Robert Mills Asylum building constructed in 1828. Robert Mills was ahead of his time when it came to architecture (famous for fire proofing) and was particularly sensitive to the needs of the mentally ill. He designed the facility to have the most natural light possible, to separate men and women, to have roof top gardens, and designed the locks on the doors so they were hidden and helped the patients feel less like prisoners. (Mills was the architect of the Washington Monument, among numerous other structures.)

My next stop was actually the Robert Mills house - a Columbia mansion he designed. I arrived early, so I spent about 30 minutes reading (Zorro, by Isabel Allende) in the English garden.

Robert Mills was known for symmetry in all his designs. Everything had balance. So far, every one of his buildings I've seen have had red brick with big columns.

This building was designated for demolition when a group of women banded together and literally stood arm in arm to stop the bulldozer. That was the beginning of the Columbia Historical Society.

Mills did not design many residences. He was more known for official buildings. He designed this home for a friend. Actually, the story is an interesting one and has to do with another home I toured, the Hampton-Preston home.

This home was originally called the Ainsley Hall home. Ainsley and Sarah Hall lived in this beautiful home. Wade Hampton I (Revolutionary War lieutenant colonel, War of 1812 general and famous Columbia native) wanted to buy the home, but it wasn't for sale. After pleading several times, Hall and Hampton struck a deal for $45,000, provided the Halls moved out that day and left behind all the furniture. Ainsley Hall had neglected to tell Sarah that he had even talked about selling the home, so she was quite shocked to be told she had to leave everything behind. She went to New York to buy new furniture and Ainsley was to follow shortly thereafter. He stopped to visit his mistress on the way and ended up dying. Since the Ainsley home had been sold and the Mills home wasn't finished, Sarah was homeless. Women couldn't inherit and she was left with very little. On top of all that was the fact that her husband never hid that he had a mistress. It is said that Sarah went a little crazy after that and never recovered. Who could blame her?

The mansion was used as a Union Army headquarters (for General John A. Logan) in February 1865 and survived destruction thanks to Sister Bapista Lynch, who implored Sherman to spare the home for use as a temporary convent. (She had previously taught Sherman's daughter.)

This home was the smallest, but the most fascinating one I toured. Celia Mann and Ben Delane were former slaves who first constructed a small home on this property in around 1843. They were freed slaves before the Civil War. They added on to the home and built other structures on the block such as a grocery store and diner. The family lived on the property until 1970. The city of Columbia was going to tear down the home (seriously, Columbia!!), but one of the daughters petitioned to save it.

Next I was off to the cemeteries. It was blistering hot.

Burial place of the above-mentioned Mr. Hall; his wife gave him a nice epitaph despite his philandering ways.

Burial place of Woodrow Wilson's parents

Sherman was a Roman Catholic, so Trinity Episcopal Church was disguised to match that denomination. Its Episcopal symbols were taken away and in their place, paper-mache crosses were added to the roof. Consequently, the building was spared.

Spanish American War

Confederate General

17-year-old casualty of the War Between the States, died of fever

Wade Hampton II - Soldier in War of 1812, Aide to General Andrew Jackson

Colonel Wade Hampton III - Confederate calvary leader, governor, senator

Hampton Family Plots - The Hamptons had some of the largest plantations and it is said that Wade Hampton III had the largest number of slaves. It is also said that he was very angry when black federal troops occupied South Carolina.

I came across this cemetery one day by accident and have always wanted to go back and explore it a little more. It is the resting place of Confederate veterans and their families. Outside the fenced in area, patients of the asylum are also buried, but almost all of those are unmarked. In total 1,723 people are buried here.

The headstones are pretty much illegible.

This is the entrance to the white cemetery, Elmwood Cemetery. It has several very old tombstones, including some from the Civil War. It is still used today.

I saw several headstones that looked like wood logs and carried the emblem shown below "Woodmen of the World Memorial." I had never heard of that before.

I did some research after I got home and learned that it is the largest fraternal benefit society with open membership in the United States. You can learn more about the organization here.

Throughout the cemetery, you see confederate flags or markers that show C.S.A. for Confederate States of America.

Grandson of Wade Hampton I

The above markers are an example of why I find cemeteries fascinating. They can tell such a story. In this family, two children died on the same day - one aged five and the other three. Just one month and two days later, the family lost a one-year-old child. Ten years later, they lost another one-year-old child. Such a tragedy shown in just a few dates.

Just south of the white cemetery is a black cemetery, Randolf Cemetery.

This is the entrance to Randolf. I was immediately struck by the difference between the two entrances.

Benjamin Franklin Randolph marker, namesake of the cemetery.

The epitaph shows that he died "at the hands of assasins."

While the black cemetery was much more unkempt than the white one, I found it much more lovely. I loved the wild and natural look of it.

Can a cemetery be romantic? I absolutely loved this place. I didn't dare walk around much because I was in sandals and I was worried there might be snakes or fire ants in the long grass.

And this is the last road I took. My family will not be at all surprised to know that I took my poor little Chevy Cobalt "offroad." They are used to me (and by association, them) getting stuck in places where I shouldn't have gone in the first place. This is a dirt road that leads out of Elmwood Cemetery. It goes through a construction zone. It was after 5:00 p.m., so no one was there.

After winding down off the hill, I found this marker. This is an example of where Columbia moved remains from one place to another. Although this marker was here, I never saw where these people were reburied.

These are the headstones I was actually looking for. This is the penitentiary cemetery. There used to be a state penitentiary nearby and this is where they buried prisoners. Again, I wanted to wander, but was too afraid to do much wandering. I was in the middle of nowhere, by myself, surrounded by woods.

While some of the headstones are concrete, some are just metal plates with the prisoner number on them. I found an interesting document online that shows who each prisoner buried here is and why their families didn't claim them. (In most cases they could not afford to bury them.) This document also states that since Columbia no longer secures the gates to the cemetery, numerous headstones have been stolen, including every one of any prisoner that was executed. The headstone of an infant girl that was born to a female inmate has also been stolen. This is morbid and truly sad.

Just north of the penitentiary cemetery is a small plot surrounded by a plastic fence where the remains of cadavers used by the USC Medical School are buried.

I was afraid that I would get stuck, but the little Cobalt pulled through. It was filthy dirty, but I made it out okay.

By that time, it was almost 7:00 p.m. and I hadn't had anything to eat or drink since breakfast. I was hot, thirsty and tired, so I used a coupon to score a free lemonade at McDonald's. (I cannot drink one of these without getting a brain freeze.)

Then I went to Panera Bread for 1/2 sandwich (turkey artichoke) and 1/2 salad (fuji apple) combo while I read a little longer.

It was an amazing day.