South East Rural Community Outreach (SERCO) is an organization whose mission is to create partnerships within the Lower Richland Community to provide charitable, religious, educational, and scientific programs to strengthen and expand the capacity of the community for a better quality of life for its residents.
SERCO plans to develop the Lower Richland Heritage Corridor in partnership with the Harriet Barber House, the Kensington Mansion and the Congaree National Park. The Heritage Corridor will enchance Richland County's inventory of venues by offering a variety of events that will attract a diverse audience to the historical sites in the Lower Richland area.
If you are interested in finding more information about SERCO or the Lower Richland Heritage Corridor, please contact us here, or you can contact one of the advisory board members directly.
LATEST NEWS:
Each year the Historic Columbia Foundation offers Awards of Excellence, which recognize groups and individuals whose work impacts the preservation of the "built" culture of our area and illuminates our history to residents of Columbia and Richland County. This year Historic Columbia Foundation presented the Celia Mann Award to the South East Rural Community Outreach Board. The Celia Mann Award is presented to a neighborhood or district that has researched and preserved, through a cohesive effort, structures and common areas in the region. The award was presented to Marie Barber Adams and the SERCO Board members at the annual meeting of the Historic Columbia Foundation, October 19, 2009 at the Seibels Gardens in Columbia.
The Barber House, according to family tradition, was constructed ca. 1880 and expanded in the early twentieth century. It is significant for its association during the late ninteenth century with the South Carolina Land Commision, a unique attemp by a southern state to give freedmen the opportunity to own land.


The Congaree Swamp Fest is held in three locations. A record crownd gathered at the Old Mt. Moriah Church site where the entertainment stage was set. Local singers, dancers, step teams and other performers entertained the visitors, and a variety of carnival rides delighted the young children.
