Women's History Month - Lugenia Key Hammond

Columbia Housing is proud to celebrate the women who have improved their communities and added to the 90 year history of our organization.

LUGENIA KEY HAMMOND

Lugenia Key, the oldest of 13 children of Ella and Ed Key, was born in 1897 on the Henry Mckie plantation in Edgefield. In 1914, Lugenia Key married Sam Hammond. They worked in Congaree, Trenton and Edgefield before purchasing a home in the Camp Fornance section of Columbia in1953.

Camp Fornance, known as "Black Bottom" to some, was one of the most dismal residential areas in Richland County. Poverty, despair, unemployment, dilapidated buildings, inadequate health and recreational facilities blighted the area. Lugenia Key Hammond soon put her leadership skills to work. Her mission was to revitalize the community and make it a wholesome place to live. She opened a nursery so that children could learn while their mothers worked. She taught Sunday School and instilled not only spiritual values, but also financial planning, self-respect and family cohesiveness. Clean streets, recreational facilities, meal planning, nurseries, health and dental clinic were the results of her efforts. She informed political leaders such as senators Ernest Hollings and Strom Thurmond of the housing needs of Camp Fornance. Funds were then found to demolish the slum housing and build new public housing. By 1974, Camp Fornance was no longer "Black Bottom" but instead an oasis of hope with affordable public housing, a community center, spacious yards and health and dental facilities.

Lugenia Key Hammond, servant of the people, died on March 20, 1991, in Columbia.

Columbia Housing celebrates its 90th Anniversary in 2024. We currently serve over 16,000 individuals and families in the City of Columbia, Richland County, and the City of Cayce.