- Margaret D.
- Friday, June 23, 2023
On October 28, 1938, First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt visited Columbia. Remarkably, we have photographs of this visit in the Walker Local and Family History Center at Richland Library.
Mrs. Roosevelt stopped in Columbia, S.C. while on a southeastern tour to deliver a lecture titled “A Typical Day in the White House” at the Township Auditorium, but she also came to serve as an unofficial good-will ambassador for her husband, President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
While in town, Mrs. Roosevelt handled a busy schedule. Newspaper articles from that time along with our photograph archives tell us that along with the lecture, Mrs. Roosevelt had tea with members of the Columbia Woman’s Club, visited the Town Theatre, held a press conference at the Jefferson Hotel, and had dinner with South Carolina’s Governor and First Lady Olin and Gladys Johnston at the Governor’s Mansion.
Mrs. Roosevelt’s lecture at the Township Auditorium was sponsored by the Columbia Woman’s Club and was reportedly attended by 2,500 people. As was the norm in Columbia at that time, seating was segregated with Black attendees restricted to the balcony. The Columbia College choir performed along with other musical entertainments before the lecture began. An elegant reception for Mrs. Roosevelt with local VIPs was held afterwards at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Langley at 930 Richland Street. Mrs. Roosevelt had a room at the Jefferson Hotel for some rest before her lecture but did not stay the night, as she returned to Washington, D.C. immediately after the reception. It was a 5-hour whirlwind visit which by all accounts Mrs. Roosevelt met with stamina and a warm, down-to-earth style.
On the day of Mrs. Roosevelt’s visit, The State newspaper reported that the First Lady had a connection to Columbia as her grandmother, Martha (Bullock) Roosevelt, had attended the South Carolina Female Collegiate Institute, also known as Barhamville School, which was located just outside of Columbia before the Civil War. In the 1870s Martha Bullock Roosevelt returned to Columbia with her son Elliott (Eleanor's father) to visit her old Barhamville roommate, Mary Jane (MacFie) McMaster, at 1429 Laurel Street.
In 1938, Mrs. McMaster’s daughter Agnes invited Eleanor Roosevelt to visit the McMaster home during her visit, thus daughter and granddaughter of the former Barhamville roommates could meet. It is not too surprising that the descendants of former students of this educational facility might meet again in positions of power and prominence, as it was the rare type of institution that provided a woman with a solid educational foundation that no doubt paid generational dividends. Coincidentally, Agnes McMaster was the first cousin twice removed of our current Governor Henry D. McMaster.
I do not know if Eleanor Roosevelt met Agnes McMaster during her visit, but Mrs. Roosevelt was known to value women’s power and connections while serving at First Lady. I noted that Mrs. Roosevelt was photographed sitting with S.C. First Lady Gladys Johnston during her visit at the Governor’s Mansion, though probably Gov. Johnston would have loved to have been in the photo shoot himself.
During the reception at the Langley home, Mrs. Roosevelt was questioned by a female reporter about the weekly press conferences she held at the White House for female journalists. She laughed and said she wanted to help “the girls” in journalism to get paid for their good reporting.
Through these surviving photographs and newspaper articles I see evidence that in this 5-hour visit to Columbia, Eleanor Roosevelt made an impression. Through her words and actions, she was able to express her pride in America and her feeling that Americans could accomplish a great deal through grit, personal responsibility, and compassion. And she even took off her hat and showed reporters her stylish short haircut.
Hats off to you, Eleanor!