Saturday Stroll | Arsenal Hill

Historic Columbia’s guided walking tour highlights the architecture and history of this historic neighborhood. Named for the military academy established here in 1842, Arsenal Hill rests within the northwest section of Columbia’s original two-mile-by-two-mile city limits. Traditionally, this 30-block area has been bounded by Upper (today Elmwood Avenue), Assembly, Taylor, and Huger streets. As the highest point within the capital city’s downtown, with impressive vistas to the south and west, Arsenal Hill became a desirable residential area for white elites during the antebellum era and then for middle- and working-class African Americans during the later 19th and 20th centuries. Combined with this residential development soon after came industrial, commercial, spiritual, educational, and governmental institutions, all of which have resulted in an eclectic mix of architecture and community histories.

Tour begins at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church.