The historic PTA House at 1826 Henderson Street in downtown Columbia dates back to 1884.

The first permanent office for the SCPTA is located in downtown Columbia at 1826 Henderson Street. This house is in the historic Garden District, which includes the Robert Mills House, Hampton- Preston Mansion, Woodrow Wilson Family Home, Mann- Simons Cottage and the Seibels House.

The property was owned by Thomas Taylor at the time of Columbia's founding in 1786. Robert W. Johnson acquired the property from Benjamin F. Taylor in 1854. The house was built by Johnson's adopted daughter, Susie R. Johnson, between 1884 and 1894. The home and lot have been owned successively by Carl and James Buster (1920), Sarah A. Smith (1921), Claude Reeder (1929), Edith P. Reeder (1947), Dorothy W. Reeder (1956), and Kendall O. Fields (1958). The SCPTA purchased the property from Fields in 1967 for $14,000. (This information comes from a thesis by USC student Everett Wilkie in 1978.)

The owners of the house usually rented it out to workers at the nearby railroad offices (now gone). They included conductors, office workers, warehousemen, flagmen, ticket agents, and mechanics. Fred C. Perry, a Columbia sheriff, lived in the home between 1911 and 1915. (Perry's grandson, a French professor at USC, was known by Wilkie.)

Nigel Lee installs National Register plaque on fence post of PTA Historic House.

The two- story, carpenter Gothic- style house has clapboard siding, gable tin roof, two brick chimneys, and originally rested on tall brick piers. The interior was remodeled by the SCPTA to accommodate offices. The fireplaces, originally designed to burn wood, were converted to coal then later enclosed for gas heaters.

The SCPTA Historic House Preservation Committee discovered that the house was already on the National Register of Historical Places and purchased an official plaque, which was installed on the post of the picket fence in front of the house on December 18, 2008, by committeeman Nigel Lee.

The committee also had an architectural study done on the house and determined it is desperately in need of repair including:

Members of the SCPTA Historic House Preservation Committee are (l- r, first row) Martha C. Knight, Gail Phillips, co- chairmen; (second row) Karen Kurimcak, Nigel Lee, and Patricia Gates.

• Upgrade of the electrical system

• Roof replacement

• Repair of cracks and mortar joints

• Installation of foundation vents

• Repair of exterior doors and locks

• Repair of front porch and replace shutters

• Painting of exterior, gate, and fence, and

• Replacing heating/ air conditioning system.

In order to raise money for the repairs, the committee has initiated a Historic House Preservation Fund called Pennies for PTA - Save Our House. At each PTA meeting in South Carolina, members are asked to drop pennies in a decorated container for the fund. Also, local chapters may donate to the fund in a person's memory or honor.