If you’ve been following us, you know that we like history and we’ve enjoyed visiting state capitol buildings. We got this idea from Doug’s parents who saw a lot of them when they travelled as well. It should not surprise you, then, that we felt the need to stop in Columbia, South Carolina, if for no other reason than to visit its state house. Our friend, Elizabeth, also attended the University of South Carolina.
The opulence of Pennsylvania’s capitol in Harrisburg still reigns supreme (post here) but this one was also quite elegant with its main rooms done in evocative colors like deep cerulean blue, cornflour blue, dark caramel, marigold, and cantelope.
Parking near the state house or near the University of South Carolina is nearly impossible. Luckily, this city is compact, so getting to the state house and then from there to the university is not difficult.
It is said that over 2/3 of Columbia South Carolina was burned by General Sherman in early 1865. It was late 1864 when Sherman began his famous “March to the Sea” from Atlanta to Savannah and it is believed that he took much pleasure in continuing his scorched earth warfare policies as he headed north into South Carolina, the first state to secede. Thus, unlike many other southern cities, as we walked, we didn’t see historic downtown homes or buildings in Columbia that pre-date this timeframe.
The students on campus were buzzing. Nearby were museums, a nice park, and a live theater. We opted instead for an old graveyard and an Atlas Obscura recommendation – the largest fire hydrant. LOL!
We enjoyed strolling around Columbia, have always liked the idea of settling in a college town, and could see why a college student would enjoy it here as the college seems to dominate this town! In fact the median age in Columbia is around 28 years old with 25% of the city between the ages of 20 and 29. Over 60% of the people here have never been married. Strangely, it didn’t check more of our retirement boxes because there wasn’t much other than the college in the area.
