From streetcars to breweries.

This is part of our #TBT collaboration with Historic Columbia + their new “Getting to Know Your Neighborhood” series.

Let’s talk Cottontown.

❓ Where did Cottontown get its name?

I mean—context clues, y’all. We’ve all heard of cotton before. For the majority of the 19th and late 20th centuries, the South’s biggest cash crop was cotton. The city’s economy lived and died by the cotton industry. Soda Citizens couldn’t get enough of it (just look at the city’s old flag). Less than a century ago, warehouses filled with the stuff lined Upper (now Elmwood) and north Richardson (now Main) St.

By the turn of the 20th century, larger cotton warehouses (hello, Palmetto Compress Building) popped up along Gervais Street + in the Congaree Vista. Cottontown’s significance as a commercial district shrank. The cotton warehouses that didn’t burn down were demolished. Things didn’t look great for this stretch of the city – but there’s a happy ending; we promise.

TL;DR: Cottontown is named for the warehouses used to store cotton in its boundaries in the late 19th century.

But here’s the deal – Cottontown used to get lumped in with Bellvue. This was a marketing ploy to get folks to move to the neighborhood. Bellvue sounding more hifalutin. But in the end, street cred won out and in the 1990s, Cottontown regained its true identity.

❓ When was Cottontown established?

There are references to a “Cotton Town” in maps dating back to 1895. However, in 1902, a row of cottages sprang up along Bull St. between Elmwood + Jefferson St. (They’re still there today. Put on your sleuthing shoes and go hunt for them. #preservationmatters) These plain dwellings are largely thought of as the seed of the neighborhood.

Image courtesy South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina

❓ But how did this measly strip of houses become Cottontown? Enter: the streetcar.

One of the Columbia’s streetcars makes its way to Eau Claire, north of today’s Cottontown | Image courtesy South Carolina State Museum

It’s 1895 and you’re an employee at a bank on Main St. Good for you! You have to be at work every morning at 8:00. You don’t own a car (none of the roads are paved anyway). Where is the best place for you and your family to live?

In the immortal words of Macklemore: Downtown. Probably above the bank where you work or in an apartment down the block. You certainly don’t want to live 2.5 miles away in Cottontown.

A streetcar glides down Main Street in downtown Columbia, ca. 1910 | Photo courtesy Historic Columbia Foundation collection

But wait. 1900 rolls around and now there’s public transportation to get you where you need to go quickly and cheaply. Suddenly, there’s a new possibility for city workers: the suburbs. You and your family can move out of your cramped apartment at Lady + Main and into your very own home beyond the hustle and bustle of city life. You can make it to the office by 8:00 and be home for dinner in your very own backyard.

And that’s what drew people to Cottontown. All aboard.

❓ Did any notable Soda Citizens live in Cottontown?

Playing Arabic music was a favorite pastime for (left to right) Norman Barkoot on a derbekee, George Sabbagha on the oud, Robert Barkoot on the violin, Chick Sabbagha on a tambourine, and Solomon Tibshrany on the flute. Take that, Five Points Drumming Circle.

You bet your booty they did. Cottontown was one of the most diverse suburbs in the Columbia’s history. Cottontown offered new housing opportunities for both established Columbians + newcomers, including citizens of Greek, Lebanese, Italian, Sicilian, and Russian descent. Those were HOA meetings I would not have skipped.

👤 Mayor Lester Bates | 2408 Marion St.

Mayor Bates was responsible for much of the modernization of Columbia. During his 12 years in office, he opened and expanded the Columbia Metropolitan Airport, incorporated Fort Jackson into the Cola city limits, and built the Carolina Coliseum (which is supposedly on track for a major renovation).

Image courtesy South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina

Most significantly, however, Bates guided Columbia through a peaceful integration process during the 1960s. Bates’ family remembers Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson seeking Bates’ advice on the matter. He established the Columbia Community Relations Council, which brought black and white subcommittees together to orchestrate peaceful race relations in Columbia. So, yeah, JFK called Cottontown. NBD.

👤 Isadore Gergel | 1324 Confederate Ave.

Isadore Gergel was a Russian immigrant and the owner of the Washington Street Theater. He was one of four brothers who immigrated in the early 20th century. His brother Joseph’s grandson is Judge Richard Gergel, appointed by President Barack Obama to the federal circuit.

Seder dinner in Columbia, South Carolina, circa 1930. Isadore Gergel is seated closest to the photographer. To Isadore's immediate right are his nephew and niece, Melvin and Shirley Gergel, and their parents, Jean Fingerhut and Joseph Gergel. Photo courtesy Historic Columbia Foundation.

In 1915, Isadore Gergel rescued the House of Peace Synagogue Torah scrolls from a fire. Since then, he became a local legend in the Jewish community. Later in life, he helped negotiate the sale of the former House of Peace building on Park St. The distinct wood-frame building became the Big Apple Dance Club, which is now located on Hampton St. next to Richland Library.

👤 Asylum Doctors | 2608 Cardinal St.

Just like our hypothetical banker, doctors at the S.C. State Hospital also wanted to move farther away from work. As Cottontown developed, more and more Bull Street campus employees moved their families into its quaint cottages. On Cardinal St., this particular house hosted no fewer than four hospital employees.

Pathologist E. Leroy Horger, Sr. lived in Cottontown during his tenure as a doctor at the South Carolina State Hospital | Image courtesy South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina

While employees were spread out among Cottontown’s various streets, this residence offers an interesting perspective into the two communities. Doctors and nurses often walked to and from work (there was no 277 at that time, so it was much less like a game of Frogger). The next time you’re walking from Cottontown to Spirit Stadium, remember Columbia’s finest psychiatric specialists.

Image courtesy SC Department of Mental Health

❓ What makes Cottontown unique in the Cola community today?

Many, many, many things including walkability and kind neighbors. The community’s continued commitment to preservation is also pretty dope. The War Mouth, Indah, Lamb’s Bread Vegan Cafe and the soon-to-be-open Cottontown Brew Lab are all great examples of new life being found in an old building. We’re excited to see what happens next.

As always, the best way to get to know your neighborhood is to get out and explore for yourself. Here’s an online guide to the neighborhood (free, as always, and a perfect way to snoop on the neighbors).

If you’re trick-or-treating through Cottontown this weekend, be sure to look download the neighborhood’s app (yeah, I know – they’re the coolest) for more info + great throwback pics.

Do you have something to share? At Historic Columbia, we are invested in community stories – and we’re always on the lookout for family stories or photographs to help grow our community collections. Don’t be shy – get in touch. As you continue to make history in this city, it’s important to know what happened #OnThisSpot in the past.

If y’all need me, I’ll be at Indah.

–Lois from Historic Columbia + Sam