South Carolina Department of Archives and History
National Register Properties in South Carolina A. P. Williams Funeral Home, Richland County (1808 Washington St., Columbia)
 |  |  |  |  |
| Facade | Porch Detail | Left Oblique | Right Oblique | Right Rear Oblique |
 | ||||
| Rear Elevation |
The A.P. Williams Funeral Home is significant for its association with the system of segregation in Columbia from 1936 to 1955, representing the creation of an alternative space by a black entrepreneur in order to serve the city’s black community. The home was built between 1893 and 1911 as a single-family residence. In 1936, Bessie Williams Pinckney and her son Archie Preston Williams, II converted part of the building to a funeral home with a residence on the second floor where they lived. At this time the white-owned funeral homes in Columbia served white customers only, and the black community needed its own funeral homes. In 1936, there were four funeral homes in Columbia that served white customers and six that served black customers. Archie Preston Williams, II was also a leader in the city’s black community who ran for election to both the Columbia City Council and the state legislature in the 1950s. He was also an officer in the Columbia Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for twenty-two years. Williams was instrumental in convincing Columbia to hire its first two African American police officers and to provide equal pay for African American city employees. The home is a two-story frame building featuring a hipped roof with lower cross gables and a columned porch running across the east half of the façade. Listed in the National Register September 28, 2005.
View the complete text of the nomination form for this National Register property. In addition, the Historic Resources of Segregation in Columbia, South Carolina, 1880-1960 includes historical background information for this and other related National Register properties.
Most National Register properties are privately owned and are not open to the public. The privacy of owners should be respected. Not all properties retain the same integrity as when originally documented and listed in the National Register due to changes and modifications over time.
Images and texts on these pages are intendedfor research or educational use. Please read our statement on use and reproductionfor further information on how to obtain a photocopy or how to cite an item.
Images provided by the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.
