Name/Title
Side ChairsEntry/Object ID
2006.5.0070 A-FDescription
Set of six black wooden side chairs with a brown cane seat. The chairs all have metal accents. Each chair has seven vertical rails on the chair back and two horizontal rails connecting the chair legs. The five center rails are adorned with a circular design similarly to the rails connecting the front two chair legs. The finials resemble beehives.Context
These side chairs, believed to have been owned by members of the Mann-Simons family, were salvaged, preserved, and donated to the Mann-Simons Cottage in 1983.The Mann-Simons Cottage Museum of African American Culture was the operating name of the home at 1403 Richland Street prior to Historic Columbia assuming contractual stewardship of the site in 1996. Under Historic Columbia, the house and surrounding area is now known as the Mann-Simons Site, which uses these chairs and other family objects, oral history, and archaeological remains to tell the story of the Mann-Simons family.
The original donor of these pieces was Mabel Payne (1909-2004), a Columbia area preservationist associated with saving the Robert Mills House and many other historic homes in Columbia. Payne, a native of South Carolina, had a lifelong passion for history and loved to decorate old homes and refinish antiques. Upon settling in Columbia, Payne became a Community Relations Specialist with the city during a period of heavy demolition of historic sites in favor of urban renewal. Payne saw this destruction and became a pioneer in historic preservation, starting with the renewal of the Ainsley Hall House (today known as the Robert Mills House). Her constant research generated a wealth of information in the form of handwritten notes and hundreds of photographs, many of which are the only surviving images of demolished buildings in downtown Columbia. To her, "Columbia has far too much in tradition and history reflected in many of its old houses just to throw away. They are the things which give charter and flavor to a city" (Mabel Payne, 1964).Furniture Details
Furniture Type
Chair - SideDimensions
Height
42 inWidth
17-5/8 inMaterial
Wood, Cane, MetalRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Mabel PayneRelated Places
Place
Location
Mann Simons SiteCity
Columbia, South Carolina
