Richland County · Marker 40-218
Manigault's Funeral Home
SE of Main St. and Green St., Columbia
Front inscription
This was the original site of Manigault-Gaten-Williams Funeral Home, est. 1923 and later run by the family of co-founder William Marion Manigault (1885-1940). Born in Kingville, Manigault was a veteran of Troop K, 10th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers), who became an undertaker after moving to Columbia in 1908. He ran the business with his wife, Annie Rivers Manigault, and his children, Anna May and Walter, both licensed embalmers.
Congaree Casket Company
In c.1930, the family opened the Congaree Casket Company on this site. It was one of the only such Black-owned firms then in the U.S. The company sold caskets to funeral directors across S.C. and the southeastern U.S. This site also included a 225-seat chapel, a casket showroom, and garages, with additional showrooms in Charleston and Georgetown. In 1959, the business moved to Two Notch Rd. to make way for the expansion of U.S.C.