Historic Columbia is the 2024 recipient of the Trustees’ Award for Organizational Excellence, which recognizes a nonprofit organization, large or small, that has demonstrated sustained and superlative achievement in historic preservation.

At its core, Historic Columbia sees preservation not just as a means to protect buildings, but as a way to bring people together. Since its founding in 1961 to save the Ainsley Hall House (today known as the Robert Mills House and one of the city’s five National Historic Landmarks) from demolition, Historic Columbia has transformed itself into a community-centered institution that uses history to foster connection, understanding, and a sense of shared purpose.

Through creative preservation techniques, expanded advocacy efforts, and a steadfast commitment to inclusive interpretation, Historic Columbia is reshaping what historic preservation looks like in South Carolina’s capital city—and beyond.

The following Q&A is with John Sherrer, the director of preservation at Historic Columbia and the organization’s longest-serving employee, having been with the team since 1996. Learn more about the full slate of 2024 awardees.

Historic Columbia was founded in 1961, but the last 20 years have been a profound time of change for the organization. How has it grown and evolved?

We went from an organization that was underfunded, underappreciated, and underutilized into a leading historic preservation and local history institution. We did this by working on the basics first, addressing those things that make day-to-day work possible: Being fiscally responsible, being informed and scholarly in how we interpret the past, being inclusive in the stories that we tell and the people we ask to help us tell them.

Since 2004, Historic Columbia has performed no fewer than 25 capital improvement projects at the six sites under its care. These capital projects have involved replacing roofs, HVAC systems, repainting and carpentry—but they've also been as comprehensive as totally reinterpreting the historic properties, creating the first-ever Museum of Reconstruction, and highlighting the role of Modjeska Simkins during the 1940s and 50s as she went on to become the matriarch of South Carolina's human rights.

When Historic Columbia looks at historic preservation, we don't just look at it through the lens of our built culture. Historically, when preservationists have talked about finite resources, they think about bricks and mortar. But finite resources can also be those people among us that hold memory, and it's that memory that we want to capture in our various programs. History is always evolving and making sure that as many voices are part of that helps us create a more representative past that we've all shared in some way, even if we didn't necessarily know it at the time.

You’ve also made significant strides in diversifying the board and staff. Why was this important to achieve?

Historic Columbia has interpreted missing elements of historic properties through some really innovative methods. What was the inspiration behind these approaches, and how have they impacted visitors?

Historic Columbia has six historic sites under its care. If you were to look at how they historically operated, there were a lot more buildings and, in some cases, more structures on those properties. The memory of those rests in photographs and maps, references in newspapers, and in people's minds. One of the ways that we want to engage our visitors is to reveal those histories and to preserve those memories in ways that are unique, creative, and dynamic.

What strategies would you suggest to other organizations to build effective and lasting partnerships?

Whether you're a strict historic preservation organization, a museum, a historic site, or a private nonprofit—this is, quite frankly, just about relationships. Be transparent in what you can offer. Know your assets and your resources. Feel free to share them, but be forthright in letting individuals and organizations, businesses, whomever wants to partner with you know what you can do for them and let them know what you would like in exchange.

I think communication is of critical importance and transparency. There's never an opportunity for us to go it alone. It's always better to be in community. A community can be very diverse in its makeup, but at least it has a common cause. And our common cause is historic preservation.

Looking ahead, how does Historic Columbia plan to continue its legacy of organizational excellence?

In several ways—not the least of which is pursuing as one of the organization’s strategic goals the creation and implementation of a revolving fund. This is a way to empower our preservation advocacy and grant us an opportunity to be at several tables that previously we may not have been invited to.

We're also interested in building a larger network of our virtual representation of communities that can be accessed through our website and other means. We want to be able to empower our previously underrepresented, marginalized communities.