Welcome to The Chesnut Cottage, located in the beautiful and historic capital city of Columbia, SC. The Cottage was the home of Mary Boykin Chesnut who lived here when she wrote A Diary from Dixie. The Chesnut Cottage Bed and Breakfast offers five comfortable, elegant rooms, each with it's own special character and history. Explore The Cottage through our site and contact us about your stay. We look forward to your visit to The Cottage and to the capital city. The Chesnut Cottage, circa 1850, is one of the most historically significant homes in the Southeast. During the War Between the States it was the home of General James and Mary Boykin Chesnut. In October of 1864, the Chesnuts hosted President Jefferson Davis and his traveling party in their home. President Davis gave his last speech to the citizens of Columbia from the front porch of the Cottage. Four months later Columbia was in ashes, with fires destroying houses less than a block away from the Cottage.

Mary Chesnut's memoirs were first published in 1905 under the title Diary from Dixie. Beginning in January of that year. it was serialized in five weekly issues by the Saturday Evening Post, whose editor gave it its name. In 1982 C. Vann Woodard's revised edition of the diary won the Pulitzer Prize in history. Woodward's edition combined the best of her original diary, and her two subsequent versions, both incomplete, into a historical treasure. Most of Mary's original copybooks and notes survive and are located in the Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina. The Diary has been continuously in print by various publishers since it was introduced. The Chesnut Cottage is tucked into a charming historic neighborhood which contains Columbia's few surviving antebellum homes and mansions. Perfect for a private getaway, the Chesnut Cottage is one of Columbia's "best kept secrets".