Richland County · Marker 40-168
Harriet Barber House
intersection of Lower Richland Blvd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 40-37) & Barberville Loop Rd., Hopkins vicinity
Front inscription
In 1872 Samuel Barber (d. 1891) and his wife Harriet (d. 1899), both former slaves, bought 42 1/2 acres here from the S.C. Land Commission, established in 1869 to give freedmen and freedwomen the opportunity to own land. Barber, a well-digger as a slave, was a farmer and minister after the Civil War. The Barber family has owned a major portion of this tract since Samuel and Harriet Barber purchased it in 1872.
Reverse inscription
Samuel Barber’s wife Harriet (d. 1899) received title to this land in 1879. This one-story frame house was built ca. 1880. The Barbers’ son Rev. John B. Barber (1872-1957) inherited the property in 1899. He was a schoolteacher and pastor of St. Mark and New Light Beulah Baptist churches. This house was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.