Name/Title
Key FobEntry/Object ID
2017.15.4Description
Pressboard key fob from the former tourist home at the Hampton-Preston Estate. The address for Hampton Preston House and the number 4 is on the front side.Use
The fob ensured that lost keys would be returned to the boarding house through the United States Post Office.Context
Thomas E. Hair opened the Hampton-Preston Tourist Home in 1944. The property, equipped with 25 rooms, was one of several boarding houses in Columbia. Boarding houses allowed for visitors to stay overnight without paying large bills to hotels. Hair's site was adorned by many antiques in order to provide an ambiance one might expect to feel in a southern home. Focus shifted away from this feeling to be provide more necessary needs. However, this caused more wear on the home, eventually leading to the Tourist Home's closure in 1966.
Many tourist homes, including the Hampton-Preston Tourist Home, did not rent to African Americans in accordance to Jim Crow laws. African Americans would utilize the Negro Travelers' Greenbook to discover safe travel plans and lodgings.Dimensions
Height
4-1/2 inWidth
1-11/16 inDimension Notes
With chain extendedRelationships
Related Places
Place
Location
Hampton Preston MansionCity
Columbia, South Carolina