DeBruhl Marshall House

This house was erected in 1820 by Jesse DeBruhl a low country planter and broker. and is locally attributed to Robert Mills. While it has a good many of Mill's characteristics, it does not have quite the scale in details that would identify it as such. So far as the known records indicate, there is no basis to attribute the work to Mills.  DeBruhl family legends state that Jesse knew Robert Mills
The house was built for the DeBruhl family, a family long prominent in South Carolina political life, and the date of erection suggests it was built for Jesse DeBruhl, Jesse was very active in the public life of the city, and during the Harrison vs Van Buren presidential campaign was the leader of The Democrats in Richland County. The DeBruhl family intermarried with another prominent local family named Marshall, and the house has for years been known as the DeBruhl-Marshall house. In the early pert of the 20th century the property was purchased by James H. Sams, for years a prominent Columbia architect. Sams died about 1938. The house was operated as a rooming house until 1947 and had gotten in a very poor state of repair.
In 1947 the property was purchased by Mrs. George H. Rhodes and restored as a residence. Mrs. Rhodes made so many interior changes that little remains of the original plan except the center hall and major rooms. The stair, which was originally in a room at the rear of the house, is now in the center hall.
Mr. DeBruhl was twice married. His widow married a Mr. Wylie, and Mrs. E. G. Coker, of Columbia, says that during Mrs. Wylie's lifetime, between 1885 and 1895, the following changes were made: the small rear porch was removed and the present rear porches added; the bath was removed from the first floor to the basement; a window bay was added to the rear of the east room of the first floor; the stairs were removed from what is now the kitchen to their present position in the main hall.
Mrs. Wylie died in 1905, John Quitman Marshall, Esq., who next owned the house, added electricity and one bath.  He also added the staircase from the old Court House.  He installed a new roof and removed the old gutters, that may have contained the initials of the Architect Robert Mills.
The Confederate general, James A. Johnston, made the residence his headquarters in 1865. When General Sherman's army captured  Columbia in February 1865 the City was surrendered but on the second night of the occupation the troops started to systematically burn the City.  The fire reached the DeBruhl house the troops started fires in the attic.  Mrs Wylie Jesse DeBruhl's widow appealed directly to General Sherman to save her home.  General Sherman ordered guards to be placed around the house. Thus was saved this magnificent mansion.  When workers were doing some roofing work
in recent years they discovered the scorched roof rafters from that terrible night when an entire army
of 60,000 men took their revenge on the capital city of South Carolina, the State that led the
Secessionist Movement.  John Quitman Marshall was Secretary of State of South Carolina.
He completed the State Capitol Building, brought electric power to the City,  brought the electric street car system to the City.  He bought the DeBruhl Marshall mansion and remodeled it around 1900.  Jesse DeBruhl was John Quitman Marshall's grandfather.  His mother was Elizabeth DeBruhl
Marshall.  Mrs Wylies only son was William Jesse DeBruhl.  John Quitman Marshall as Secretary
of State administered the oath of office to Governor Wade Hampton a democrat his victory broke the
Carpet Bag rule over South Carolina in 1880 officially ended the occupation since 1865.  John Quitman Marshall left a lasting legacy on Columbia.  He insisted on the wide streets modern transportation system, paved streets, electric street lights, landscaped capitol grounds,
finished the capitol building. Not a bad legacy for one native son of Columbia.












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