Waverly

Waverly is a South Carolina historical marker in Columbia, Richland County, dedicated 2011.

Richland County · dedicated 2011 · 1400 block of Harden St., Columbia, Columbia

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

Front: Waverly has been one of Columbia’s most significant black communities since the 1930s. The city’s first residential suburb, it grew out of a 60-acre parcel bought by Robert Latta in 1855. Latta’s widow and children sold the first lots here in 1863. Shortly after the Civil War banker and textile manufacturer Lysander D. Childs bought several blocks here for development. Waverly grew for the next 50 years as railroad and streetcar lines encouraged growth. Reverse: The City of Columbia annexed Waverly in 1913. Two black colleges, Benedict College and Allen University, drew many African Americans to this area as whites moved to other city suburbs. By the 1930s this community was almost entirely black. The Waverly Historic District, bounded by Gervais, Harden, and Taylor Streets and Millwood Avenue, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Example

under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s

what this marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years here

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker data: South Carolina Historical Marker Program, SC Department of Archives and History
Sponsored by Historic Columbia Foundation, the City of Columbia, and the S.C. Department of Transportation

More markers nearby

On the National Register nearby

Waverly Historic District270 ft

Places within about 300 feet of this marker that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A nearby listing is not always the marker's own subject.