Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation, Inc

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Boyd Park At The Congaree Riverfront District

The Boyd Foundation has partnered with Guignard Associates, the City of Columbia, the University of South Carolina, Richland County and the USC Development Foundation to begin the planning process for the development of the Congaree Riverfront District. The District will encompass all of the land bounded by Senate Street to the North, Huger Street to the West, Blossom Street to the South and the Congaree River to the West, with the addition of additional riverfront land south of Blossom Street. Boyd Park will be constructed within the District on land to be donated to the City by Guignard Associates and the USC Development Foundation, most of which is in the floodplain or flood way of the Congaree River. The intention is to identify features and parameters that will provide for connectivity while also establishing a regional destination park that celebrates the natural features of the geography, honors the history of the area and also adheres to regulatory parameters guiding the park and surrounding private development.

The Park, along with the upcoming extension of Williams Street between Senate and Blossom, is expected to act as a catalyst, spurring development of the developable land East of Williams Street. The Boyd Foundation has pledged from $10-40 Million towards the construction of the Park. It is hoped that the creation of economic development activities within the District will encourage financial support from Richland County, the State of South Carolina and other sources.

Field Operations, a nationally know urban design and landscape architecture firm, has been hired by the City to develop a master plan for the Park, which is due to be completed by the end of 2026. A timeline for the actual construction of the Park depends upon funding, but construction is expected to be completed in phases as funding becomes available.

   

 

Boyd Dining Hall at Camp Woodie

 

The South Carolina Waterfowl Association conducts summer and school year camping programs for children.  Camp Woodie is a traditional summer camp where the campers learn about wildlife conservation, hunting, fishing, outdoor skills, and the environment. During the 2021 camping season, Camp Woodie is expecting over 1,100 campers registered for one of the ten one-week sessions it offers.

During the school year the SCWA facilities are utilized to conduct Camp Leopold.  The Camp Leopold campers are secondary school students who come the Camp for one, two or three day camp sessions designed to teach students from public and private schools about natural resource conservation, ecology and how mankind can live in harmony with Mother Nature.  SCWA expects to have over 9,000 students attend Camp Leopold during the 2021/2022 school year.  Camp Leopold attracts students from both public and private schools.  The program boasts over $250,000 in annual scholarship funding for title 1 school students to attend Camp Leopold.

On the weekends, SCWA also operates its Outdoor Heritage Events program.  Heritage events include parent child shooting sports clinics, duck, dove, and deer hunts, retriever trials, bass fishing tournaments, archery tournaments and wildlife management and hunting skills weekends.

During the winter waterfowl season the SCWA facilities are utilized by waterfowl hunters.

The use of SCWA property and facilities is efficiently maximized with four different uses, which do not overlap with one another.  With the growth in the number of campers at Camp Woodie from 100 in 1995 to over 1,100 in 2021, and the growth in the number of Camp Leopold attendees from 300 in 2013 to a projected attendance of over 9,000 in the 2021/2022 school year, the existing dining facilities were overwhelmed.  In 2020 ground was broken for the Boyd Dining Hall which was completed in April of 2021, just in time for the Camp Woodie 2021 campers.  The Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation was proud to provide the funding for the construction of the Boyd Dining Hall.

 

 

 

Boyd Lodge at Camp Woodie


The South Carolina Waterfowl Association conducts summer and school year camping programs for children.  Camp Woodie is a traditional summer camp where the campers learn about wildlife conservation, hunting, fishing, outdoor skills, and the environment.

The Boyd Lodge provides much needed accommodations for our campers and plays a vital role in helping us further our mission — to enhance and perpetuate our wildlife heritage through education and habitat conservation. With this lodge, we are able to expand hands-on conservation education to more young sportswomen, empowering future leaders in our field.

During the school year the SCWA facilities are utilized to conduct Camp Leopold.  The Camp Leopold campers are secondary school students who come the Camp for one, two or three day camp sessions designed to teach students from public and private schools about natural resource conservation, ecology and how mankind can live in harmony with Mother Nature.  SCWA expects to have over 9,000 students attend Camp Leopold during the 2021/2022 school year.  Camp Leopold attracts students from both public and private schools.  The program boasts over $250,000 in annual scholarship funding for title 1 school students to attend Camp Leopold.

On the weekends, SCWA also operates its Outdoor Heritage Events program.  Heritage events include parent child shooting sports clinics, duck, dove, and deer hunts, retriever trials, bass fishing tournaments, archery tournaments and wildlife management and hunting skills weekends.

During the winter waterfowl season the SCWA facilities are utilized by waterfowl hunters.

The use of SCWA property and facilities is efficiently maximized with four different uses, which do not overlap with one another.  With the growth in the number of campers at Camp Woodie from 100 in 1995 to over 1,100 in 2021, and the growth in the number of Camp Leopold attendees from 300 in 2013 to a projected attendance of over 9,000 in the 2021/2022 school year, the existing dining facilities were overwhelmed.  In 2020 ground was broken for the Boyd Dining Hall which was completed in April of 2021, just in time for the Camp Woodie 2021 campers.  The Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation was proud to provide the funding for the construction of the Boyd Dining Hall.

 

 

Hampton-Preston Mansion Greenhouse and Gatehouse

 

The Hampton-Preston Mansion, built in 1818, is owned by Richland County and operated by Historic Columbia as an historic house museum.  The building and its grounds occupy an entire city block, bounded by Blanding, Pickens, Laurel and Henderson streets.  The property’s extensive gardens were renowned throughout the United States from 1840 through the 1970s.

In 2020, the Foundation began its final project at the Hampton-Preston site, the reconstruction of a greenhouse at the Northern end of the property and a gatehouse.  Unfortunately, there are very few pictures of the original greenhouse, but the Foundation, Historic Columbia and Lambert Architecture + Construction Services have worked together to create something historically accurate as well as functional in today’s world.  The gatehouse will be an interesting addition to the west (Pickens Street) wall.  Originally the gatehouse was used as a point of ingress and egress for the public to enjoy the beautiful gardens, without disturbing the family by coming through the main gate on Blanding Street.  Again, historical data on the design of the original gatehouse is scant, but every effort has been made to replicate the original.