Columbia, South Carolina
In May 1540, a Spanish expedition led by Hernando de Soto traversed what is now Columbia while moving northward on exploration of the interior of the Southeast. The expedition produced the earliest written historical records of this area, which was part of the regional Cofitachequi chiefdom of the Mississippian culture. During the colonial era, European settlers encountered the Congaree in this area, who inhabited several villages along the Congaree River. The settlers established a frontier fort and fur trading post named after the Congaree, on the west bank of the Congaree River. It was at the fall line and the head of navigation in the Santee River system. In 1754 the colonial government in South Carolina established a ferry to connect the fort with the growing European settlements on the higher ground on the east bank. One of Columbia's more prominent geographical features is the fall line, the boundary between the upland Piedmont region and the Atlantic Coastal Plain, across which rivers drop as falls or rapids. Columbia developed at the fall line of the Congaree River, which is formed by the confluence of the Broad and Saluda rivers. The Congaree was the farthest inland point of river navigation. The energy of falling water also powered Columbia's early mills.
State Senator John Lewis Gervais of the town of Ninety Six introduced a bill that was approved by the legislature on the 22nd of March 1786, to create a new state capital. Considerable argument occurred over the name for the new city. According to published accounts, Senator Gervais said he hoped that "in this town we should find refuge under the wings of COLUMBIA", for that was the name which he wished it to be called. One legislator insisted on the name "Washington", but "Columbia" won by a vote of 11, 7 in the state senate. The site was chosen as the new state capital in 1786 due to its central location in the state. The State Legislature first met there in 1790. After remaining under the direct government of the legislature for the first two decades of its existence, Columbia was incorporated as a village in 1805 and then as a city in 1854. The commissioners designed a town of 400 blocks in a square along the river. The blocks were divided into lots of and sold to speculators and prospective residents. Buyers had to build a house at least long and wide within three years, or face an annual 5% penalty. The perimeter streets and two through streets were wide.
The Union Army, under Gen. Sherman, captured the city on the 17th of February 1865. Much of the city was destroyed by fire between the 17th and 18th. The idea that General Sherman ordered the burning of Columbia has persisted as part of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy narrative. However modern historians have concluded that no one cause led to the burning of Columbia and that Sherman did not order the burning. Rather, the chaotic atmosphere in the city on the occasion of its fall led to the ideal conditions for a fire to start and spread. As a newspaper columnist noted in 1874, "the war burned Columbia." A considerable military infrastructure sprang up in Columbia during the Civil War. The state arsenal was located in Columbia, along with the state military academy. The University of South Carolina grounds were converted into a military hospital since its role as an educational institution had been made moot after its entire student body volunteered for the Confederate Army. Numerous industrial facilities produced war materiel. By 1865, it was also the Confederacy's last breadbasket.
In 1917, the city was selected by the US Army to be developed as the site of Camp Jackson, a U.S. military installation that was officially classified as a "Field Artillery Replacement Depot". The first recruits arrived at the camp on the 1st of September 1917. In 1940 Camp Jackson was reactivated after war started in Europe, and was designated as Fort Jackson. City leaders and the congressional delegation had lobbied to gain such a permanent military installation. Fort Jackson is the U.S. Army's largest training post. McEntire Joint National Guard Base is under command of the South Carolina Air National Guard. Approximately two-thirds of Columbia's land area, much of which consists of uninhabited training grounds, is contained within the Fort Jackson Military Installation. Major manufacturers such as Square D, CMC Steel, Spirax Sarco, Michelin, International Paper, Pirelli Cables, Honeywell, Westinghouse Electric, Harsco Track Tech, Trane, Intertape Polymer Group, Union Switch & Signal, FN Herstal, Solectron, and Bose Technology have facilities in the Columbia area. There are over 70 foreign affiliated companies and fourteen Fortune 500 companies in the region.
In 1945, a federal judge ruled that the city's black teachers were entitled to equal pay to that of their white counterparts. But, in following years, the state attempted to strip many blacks of their teaching credentials. Other issues in which the blacks of the city sought equality concerned voting rights and segregation (particularly regarding public schools). In 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education, the US Supreme Court ruled that segregated public schools were unconstitutional. On the 21st of August 1962, eight downtown chain stores served blacks at their lunch counters for the first time. The University of South Carolina, a public institution, admitted its first black students in 1963. Around that same time, many vestiges of segregation began to disappear from the city: blacks attained membership on various municipal boards and commissions, and the city adopted a non-discriminatory hiring policy. These and other such signs of racial progress helped earn the city the 1964 All-America City Award for the second time (the first being in 1951). A 1965 article in Newsweek lauded Columbia as a city that had "liberated itself from the plague of doctrinal apartheid".
During the 1990s and early 2000s the city worked to revitalize the downtown, as businesses had been pulled out to the suburbs. The Congaree Vista district along Gervais Street, once known as a warehouse district, became an area of art galleries, shops, and restaurants. The Colonial Life Arena (formerly known as the Colonial Center) opened in 2002, and brought several major entertainers and shows to Columbia. EdVenture, the largest children's museum in the Southeast, opened in 2003. The Village at Sandhill shopping center opened in 2004 in northeast Richland County. The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center opened in 2004, and a new convention center hotel opened in September 2007. In 2009, Columbia's most recent skyscraper, the Tower at Main and Gervais, was completed. Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin started his first term in July 2010, elected as the first African-American mayor in the city's history. As of the 2020 census, there were 136,632 people, 45,474 households, and 22,243 families residing in the city.
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Common questions
When did Hernando de Soto's expedition first traverse the area now known as Columbia South Carolina?
Hernando de Soto's Spanish expedition traversed what is now Columbia in May 1540. This event produced the earliest written historical records of the area which was part of the regional Cofitachequi chiefdom of the Mississippian culture.
Why was Columbia chosen to become the capital city of South Carolina in 1786?
The site was selected as the new state capital in 1786 due to its central location in the state. The colonial government established a ferry there in 1754 to connect the fort with growing European settlements on the higher ground on the east bank.
Who captured Columbia South Carolina during the Civil War and when did this occur?
The Union Army under Gen. Sherman captured the city on the 17th of February 1865. Much of the city was destroyed by fire between the 17th and 18th though modern historians conclude that no single cause led to the burning and Sherman did not order it.
What military installations are located within Fort Jackson in Columbia South Carolina today?
Fort Jackson is the U.S. Army's largest training post and contains approximately two-thirds of Columbia's land area including uninhabited training grounds. McEntire Joint National Guard Base is also located there under command of the South Carolina Air National Guard.
When did Columbia South Carolina admit its first black students to the University of South Carolina?
The University of South Carolina admitted its first black students in 1963. This occurred around the same time that many vestiges of segregation began to disappear from the city as blacks attained membership on various municipal boards and commissions.