Columbia, South Carolina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Columbia
State capital city
Flag Seal
Nicknames:  Cola, Capital City, River City, Soda City
Motto(s):  "Justitia Virtutum Regina" (Latin) (Justice, the Queen of Virtues) "We Are Columbia"
Columbia Location in South Carolina Show map of South Carolina Columbia Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Country	United States
State	South Carolina
County	Richland, Lexington, Kershaw
Approved	March 22, 1786; 240 years ago (1786-03-22)
Chartered (town)	1805; 221 years ago (1805)
Chartered (city)	1854; 172 years ago (1854)
Named for	Columbia
Area
• State capital city	140.68 sq mi (364.37 km2)
• Land	137.81 sq mi (356.93 km2)
• Water	2.87 sq mi (7.44 km2)  1.68%
Elevation	276 ft (84 m)
Population  (2020)
• State capital city	136,632
• Estimate  (2025)	147,035
• Rank	205th in the United States 2nd in South Carolina
• Density	991.45/sq mi (382.80/km2)
• Urban	590,407 (US: 74th)
• Urban density	1,606.6/sq mi (620.3/km2)
• Metro	879,918 (US: 70th)
Demonym(s)	Columbian
Time zone	UTC−5
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4
ZIP code(s)	29201–29212, 29214–29230, 29240, 29250, 29260, 29290, 29292
Area codes	803, 839

Columbia is the exciting capital city of the American state of South Carolina. It is the second-largest city in the whole state. People often give it friendly nicknames like "Cola" or "Soda City."

The city sits right in the middle of South Carolina where two rushing rivers meet. The Broad River and the Saluda River join together here to make the mighty Congaree River. Because it is right where the rocky hills meet the flat sandy plains, boats long ago stopped here. This special spot is called the fall line.

Columbia was designed from scratch in 1786 to serve as the brand-new center for state leaders. Today, the tall dome of the South Carolina State House shines brightly in the center of town. The city is also home to the huge University of South Carolina and an enormous army training base named Fort Jackson.

Visitors love exploring downtown districts like the Congaree Vista and shopping along lively Main Street. The city features great museums, the famous Riverbanks Zoo & Garden, and sunny parks along peaceful river trails.

History of South Carolina's Capital City

Long before roads and brick buildings were built, Native Americans lived in this fertile river valley. In May 1540, a Spanish explorer named Hernando de Soto traveled across this area with his expedition. His writings are the oldest European records describing the powerful Cofitachequi chiefdom of the ancient Mississippian culture.

Later, the Congaree tribe made their homes in peaceful villages along the rivers. They fished the waters and grew corn in the rich bottomland soil. During the early 1700s, English settlers moved toward the interior of the colony of the Province of South Carolina.

To trade with Native Americans, colonists built a wooden outpost called Congaree Fort on the west riverbank. By 1754, a public ferry carried travelers across the water to settlements on the eastern bank. The river crossing grew rapidly because boats traveling up from the coast could not travel past the rocky river rapids.

How Was Columbia Planned and Founded?

After the end of the American Revolutionary War, leaders wanted a capital located in the center of the state. The old capital was Charleston, which was located far away on the Atlantic coast. Lawmakers wanted a government center that was easy for farmers living in inland districts to visit.

A state leader named John Lewis Gervais proposed building a completely new town near the rivers. The General Assembly approved his plan on March 22, 1786. They bought high land at Taylor's Hill, overlooking the Santee River water network. The new capital took the poetic name Columbia, a symbol representing freedom in the young nation.

A clever surveyor named John Guignard drew up a giant two-mile-square street grid with 400 blocks. Columbia became one of the first planned communities in America, created years before Pierre Charles L'Enfant's plan for Washington, D.C. The streets were designed to be unusually wide so fresh air could blow through the town.

Workers built the first wooden State House in 1786, and lawmakers first gathered there to pass laws in 1790. In 1801, lawmakers founded South Carolina College, which later became the University of South Carolina. This school helped bring young scholars together from the coastal Lowcountry and the hilly Upcountry.

Builders dug the historic Santee Canal in 1800, creating an inland water highway for cargo boats going toward the coast. Soon, new steam railroads arrived in the 1840s, making travel and trade much faster than slow riverboats. In 1805, Columbia officially became a town, led by its first leader John Taylor, and gained its full city charter in 1854.

During these years, cotton was the main product shipped by trains across the state. However, this wealthy farming economy relied heavily on the forced work of enslaved people. Enslaved workers built homes, repaired roads, labored in shops, and served at the college. Around 1,500 enslaved people lived here in 1830, rising to about 3,300 people by 1860.

The Civil War and Rebuilding the City

During the American Civil War, Columbia was an important center for the Confederacy. On December 17, 1860, delegates met inside the First Baptist Church to discuss leaving the United States. A sudden outbreak of the disease smallpox forced them to move to Charleston to finish their vote.

During the war, factories in Columbia made military clothing, gunpowder, and supplies for southern troops. The college campus stopped holding regular classes and was turned into a hospital for injured soldiers. By early 1865, it was one of the last major supply hubs left standing in the region.

Union Army soldiers led by General William T. Sherman marched toward Columbia after their March to the Sea. On February 17, 1865, Union forces captured the capital, and a terrible fire broke out that night. High winds and piles of burning cotton quickly spread flames from building to building. Much of the city burned down before the fire could be put out.

During the Reconstruction period after the war, citizens worked very hard to clear rubble and rebuild damaged streets. The state legislature included formerly enslaved African Americans and free men of color who helped make new laws. Workers fixed damaged train tracks, opened new grocery shops, and rebuilt the downtown business district.

Industry, Mills, and the Progressive Era

Toward the end of the nineteenth century, Columbia transformed into an energetic manufacturing city. The completion of the Columbia Canal provided rushing water power to run giant spinning wheels and textile machines. Huge factories opened up, including the Richland, Granby, and Olympia mills.

Thousands of workers moved into company houses built right around these giant factories. By the 1890s, humming electric streetcars carried passengers across paved avenues and into growing neighborhoods.

City leaders joined the nationwide City Beautiful movement in 1905 to add green parks and cleaner roads. New high-rise office towers sprang up, changing the skyline above Main Street.

The most famous tower was the Palmetto Building, built in 1913 with decorative stone details. Modern hospitals, public grammar schools, and state agency offices opened throughout the bustling town center.

When the nation entered World War I in 1917, the military opened Camp Jackson. This giant training camp taught thousands of recruits how to serve in the armed forces. It became a permanent base named Fort Jackson in 1940 right before World War II. Famous pilots like Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle trained nearby at what is now Columbia Metropolitan Airport for the daring Doolittle Raid.

Civil Rights and Growing Suburbs

After 1945, many families purchased cars and built houses in newly built suburban neighborhoods. Wide highways like Interstate 26, Interstate 20, and Interstate 77 connected the capital to other cities. Some historic buildings were replaced with sleek modern government offices and wide parking lots.

African American citizens organized peaceful marches and legal challenges to end unfair Jim Crow laws. In 1945, a courageous legal battle ensured that Black teachers received equal pay to white teachers. Following the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, public institutions steadily integrated.

Downtown lunch counters began welcoming Black customers in August 1962, and the University of South Carolina integrated peacefully in 1963. Because of these positive community efforts, Columbia received the proud All-America City award. A famous article in Newsweek magazine praised the city for breaking down racial barriers.

During the late 1960s, citizens started caring deeply about preserving their oldest buildings. Groups restored the historic Robert Mills House, the elegant Hampton-Preston House, and the Woodrow Wilson Boyhood Home. The university restored its original brick courtyard known as the Horseshoe, and the South Carolina State Museum opened in 1988.

Twenty-First Century Revitalization

Starting in the 1980s, Mayor Kirkman Finlay Jr. led projects to make downtown exciting again. A former railroad yard was transformed into Finlay Park, which quickly became a popular spot for outdoor concerts. Builders constructed tall commercial towers like the Tower at 1301 Gervais, the Capitol Center, and the Bank of America Plaza.

The brick warehouse district along Gervais Street was converted into the lively Congaree Vista. Old brick warehouses became colorful art galleries, family restaurants, and apartments. Big attractions opened nearby, including the Colonial Life Arena, the hands-on EdVenture children's museum, and the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

Athletics at the University of South Carolina energized the capital. The university built Founders Park in 2009 for the South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team, which won two straight national championships in 2010 and 2011. Led by coach Dawn Staley, the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team won national titles in 2017, 2022, and 2024.

In 2010, voters elected Stephen K. Benjamin as the city's first African American mayor. Today, Columbia continues to grow with modern riverfront trails, university research labs, and green parks.

Geography, Rivers, and Climate

Columbia is located near the very center of South Carolina along the fall line. At this boundary line, the rocky hills of the Piedmont slope down into the flatter Atlantic Coastal Plain. The city lies about halfway between the blue Atlantic Ocean and the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains.

The Broad River and Saluda River join together on the west side of town to form the Congaree River. These waterways provide drinking water, beautiful scenery, and fun places for paddling kayaks. The arched Gervais Street Bridge is a famous landmark that spans across the Congaree River, connecting Columbia with neighboring towns.

The United States Census Bureau records that Columbia covers 140.68 square miles. Of this area, about 137.81 square miles is land, and 2.87 square miles is water. Almost two-thirds of the land area belongs to the military training grounds of Fort Jackson.

Weather and Seasons in the Capital

Columbia has a humid subtropical climate (abbreviated by scientists as Köppen Cfa). That means the city has very warm, sunny summers and mild, comfortable winters. Because the city sits on sandy soils away from cooling ocean breezes, it experiences an urban heat island effect. This makes summer afternoons feel quite hot.

The city gets around 45 inches of precipitation each year. Afternoon thunderstorms frequently bring heavy downpours during the hot summer months. Winter weather rarely brings much snow, averaging only about 1.2 inches each winter. On June 29, 2012, thermometers at the university recorded an all-time record high of 113°F, while the coldest recorded temperature was -2°F back on February 14, 1899.

The Greater Metropolitan Area

Columbia serves as the anchor for the Columbia metropolitan area. It is the second-most populated metropolitan statistical area in South Carolina. The larger area includes six counties: Calhoun, Fairfield, Kershaw, Lexington, Richland, and Saluda.

Suburbs like Cayce, West Columbia, Forest Acres, and Lexington grow right alongside Columbia's borders. The continuous urban area holds over 600,000 residents who work, study, and play in the region.

Friendly Neighborhoods and Historic Districts

Columbia is divided into unique neighborhoods with their own history and style. High on a hill sits Arsenal Hill, named after the old military academy that once stood there. Close to the river, the Congaree Vista features busy brick sidewalks and dining spots.

Historic Elmwood Park is famous for Victorian houses, shady trees, and pretty front porches. Near the university campus, Five Points is a shopping hub with bookstores, clothing shops, and ice cream parlors. Other historic areas include Granby Mill Village, University Hill, and the proud Waverly Historic District.

People and Community

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1830	3,310		—
1840	4,340		31.1%
1850	6,060		39.6%
1860	9,052		49.4%
1870	9,298		2.7%
1880	10,036		7.9%
1890	15,353		53.0%
1900	21,108		37.5%
1910	26,319		24.7%
1920	37,524		42.6%
1930	51,581		37.5%
1940	62,396		21.0%
1950	86,914		39.3%
1960	97,433		12.1%
1970	113,542		16.5%
1980	101,208		−10.9%
1990	98,052		−3.1%
2000	116,278		18.6%
2010	129,272		11.2%
2020	136,632		5.7%
2025 (est.)	147,035		13.7%
U.S. Decennial Census

At the 2020 United States census, 136,632 people lived inside the city of Columbia. The city has a young median age of 29.9 years because thousands of college students attend universities here. About 17.1% of the people living in Columbia are children and teenagers under the age of 18.

Columbia has a welcoming and diverse population. The 2020 census showed that about 49.2% of residents were non-Hispanic White and 38.1% were African American. Around 5.9% were Hispanic or Latino, and over 3% were Asian.

Faith and Community Gatherings

People practice many different faiths across Columbia's neighborhoods. Trinity Episcopal Cathedral is the mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina. It is located right across the street from the State House.

Downtown is also home to the Basilica of Saint Peter, which is South Carolina's only minor basilica. The city also features Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and non-denominational churches, along with Jewish synagogues, Islamic mosques, and Hindu temples. Nearby in Hopkins stands the Columbia South Carolina Temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Working and Doing Business in Columbia

As the capital city, government offices provide many jobs for local residents. Major employers include state agencies, courts, the University of South Carolina, and the military training facility at Fort Jackson. The tallest building in the city, the 26-story Capitol Center, houses many offices downtown.

Hospitals and healthcare organizations are also huge parts of the local economy. Prisma Health Midlands operates major hospitals and children's medical centers across the Midlands. Insurance companies like BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company have large corporate offices here.

Columbia is also a banking center for institutions like First Citizens Bank, AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, and SouthState Bank. Prominent regional law firms, including Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, have headquarters in town. Nearby factories run by international companies like Michelin, Honeywell, Square D, Westinghouse Electric Company, and FN Herstal make tires, electronics, and precision parts.

New Life in Historic Districts

Over the last few decades, builders have turned forgotten historic areas into exciting places to visit. The Congaree Vista transformed empty train warehouses into cozy bookshops, art studios, and delicious restaurants.

Main Street has undergone a wonderful comeback as well. Every Saturday morning, crowds visit the bustling Soda City Market to enjoy foods, handmade crafts, and street performers.

The largest city building effort is taking place in the BullStreet District. This 181-acre site on an old hospital campus features the grand, domed Babcock Building. The district includes modern apartments, medical offices, food halls, and the lively minor-league baseball stadium at Segra Park.

Exciting Arts, Culture, and Museums

Columbia has a lively arts scene with world-class museums, live theaters, and musical groups.

• Alternacirque is a local professional circus group that performs fun acrobatics, variety shows, and aerial dances.
• Busted Plug Plaza was the home of a massive 40-foot-tall silver fire hydrant sculpture designed by the Columbia artist Blue Sky.
• The Columbia Choral Society has gathered singers to perform classical choral music since 1930.
• South Carolina Ballet, formerly known as the Columbia City Ballet, puts on over 80 dance shows each season, including The Nutcracker.
• The Columbia City Jazz Dance Company, founded in 1990, performs high-energy dance routines across the United States and has toured in Austria and Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
• The Columbia Marionette Theatre puts on puppet shows that delight younger children.
• The Columbia Museum of Art on Main Street features classical oil paintings, marble statues, modern art, and art classes for kids.
• EdVenture is an enormous children's museum featuring Eddie, a giant 40-foot-tall plastic boy that kids can climb inside to learn how human organs work.
• McKissick Museum, located on the university campus, shows cool exhibits on folk art, rocks, minerals, and Southern history.
• The Nickelodeon Theater, known locally as "The Nick," is an independent movie theater founded by the Columbia Film Society that screens classic films.
• Palmetto Opera brings professional singers to the stage to perform famous musical stories.
• Pocket Productions organizes community outdoor art events that bring neighbors together in local parks.
• Richland County Public Library is an award-winning library system whose huge downtown main building features a wonderful children's room, computers, and books.
• The South Carolina Confederate Relic Room & Military Museum displays uniforms, flags, and military gear from colonial times up to modern astronauts.
• The South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra, led for many years by conductor Morihiko Nakahara, performs beautiful symphonies.
• South Carolina Shakespeare Company performs classic outdoor plays under the stars.
• The South Carolina State Museum is housed inside an old textile mill and features four floors filled with science exhibits, trains, a planetarium, and a giant telescope.
• The South Carolina State Library shares research books and materials with community branches across the entire state.
• The Town Theatre, operating since 1917, is the oldest community playhouse in continuous use in the nation and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Trustus Theatre is a downtown performance company that produces modern, imaginative stage shows.
• Workshop Theatre of South Carolina gives local actors and directors an opportunity to present Broadway-style musicals.

Columbia has also provided the backdrop for movies like The Program, Renaissance Man, Chasers, Death Sentence, A Guy Named Joe, and Accidental Love.

Performance and Event Centers

The city has many modern auditoriums and meeting spaces for concerts, graduations, and sports events.

The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center opened in 2004 in the Congaree Vista. It contains a 25,000-square-foot exhibit hall, a huge ballroom, and multiple meeting rooms for gatherings and conventions.

The Koger Center for the Arts seats 2,256 people and presents Broadway touring shows, ballet recitals, and symphony concerts. Built using donations from Ira and Nancy Koger, its first show in 1989 featured the world-renowned London Philharmonic Orchestra.

The Carolina Coliseum opened in 1968 with 12,401 seats and once hosted USC basketball games, ice shows, and concerts by the Boston Pops and Chicago Symphony. It also served as home ice for the Columbia Inferno hockey team in the ECHL. Today, the building houses basketball practice courts and university classrooms.

The historic Township Auditorium opened in 1930 with handsome Georgian Revival brickwork. It can seat over 3,000 spectators and hosts concerts, community events, and shows. The auditorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

Sports in the Capital City

College sports are immensely popular in Columbia. Most fans cheer passionately for the South Carolina Gamecocks, who represent the University of South Carolina in the powerful Southeastern Conference (SEC).

Under head coach Dawn Staley, the South Carolina Gamecocks women's basketball team has won multiple NCAA national championships, becoming one of the most successful sports teams in college history. The South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team has also won two national championships at the College World Series.

In professional sports, baseball fans visit Segra Park to watch the Columbia Fireflies, a Minor League Baseball team playing in the Carolina League. Soccer fans cheer on the SC United Bantams in USL League Two, while the Columbia Old Grey club plays rugby matches.

Columbia has hosted major athletic events, including the U.S. Women's Olympic Marathon Trials and international canoe championships.

Big Sports Venues

On autumn Saturdays, over 77,000 fans pack into Williams-Brice Stadium to watch college football. First opened in 1934, the stadium has been expanded several times with huge upper decks, modern video boards, and loud sound systems.

Indoor sporting events and mega-concerts take place inside Colonial Life Arena. Completed in 2002, it is the largest indoor arena in South Carolina, seating 18,000 spectators.

College baseball games are played at Founders Park, which opened in 2009 with beautiful views of the field. Across town, Charlie W. Johnson Stadium serves as the home field for the Benedict College Tigers football team.

Green Parks and Outdoor Fun

Columbia offers lots of outdoor fun along its three wide rivers. The Three Rivers Greenway is a paved river path where families can walk dogs, ride bicycles, and spot turtles sunning on river rocks. Walkers can also follow pathways along the historic Columbia Canal.

In the heart of downtown, Finlay Park covers 18 green acres. It features outdoor playgrounds, grassy lawns for picnics, and a grand waterfall cascading down stone terraces.

Animal lovers enjoy visiting Riverbanks Zoo & Garden along the Saluda River. The zoo features more than 3,000 animals, including lions, giraffes, koalas, and sea lions, along with a lush botanical garden.

Just southeast of the city lies Congaree National Park, which protects the largest untouched old-growth hardwood forest in the American South. Visitors can walk along raised wooden boardwalks beneath giant trees. To the west, Lake Murray offers fun spots for boating, water skiing, swimming, and fishing for striped bass.

Local Government

Columbia uses a council-manager type of government. The citizens elect a Mayor and six members to the city council. A professional city manager manages daily city services like trash pickup, water pipes, and road repairs. Daniel Rickenmann became mayor in January 2022.

The capital city is also home to the South Carolina State House, where the South Carolina General Assembly meets each winter to pass state laws. Nearby buildings house the state Supreme Court and executive offices for the governor.

Police protection is handled by the Columbia Police Department, and fire rescues are led by the Columbia-Richland Fire Department.

Education and Learning

Colleges and Universities

Columbia is South Carolina's main center for college education. The University of South Carolina was chartered in 1801 and now teaches over 30,000 students on its campus. Its Darla Moore School of Business is famous around the world for its international business courses.

The city is also proud of its historically Black colleges founded during Reconstruction in 1870: Allen University and Benedict College. The historic Chappelle Administration Building at Allen University was designed by a famous Black architect named John Anderson Lankford.

Other institutions include Columbia College, Columbia International University, Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary, and Midlands Technical College. Branch campuses are also operated by South University, the University of Phoenix, and Erskine Theological Seminary.

Schools and Libraries

Public schools are managed by several districts, including Richland County School District One and Richland County School District Two, while northern neighborhoods extend into Lexington & Richland County School District Five. Elementary students on the military base attend schools run by the Department of Defense Education Activity. Well-known private schools include Cardinal Newman School, Hammond School, and Heathwood Hall.

Readers find millions of books across the branches of Richland Library, which was named the National Library of the Year. College students use the massive Thomas Cooper Library on the university campus, which contains historic books, rare maps, and study spaces.

News, Television, and Radio

Columbia has several newspapers, including the daily morning paper called The State. A local edition of The Post and Courier covers news and the local arts scene. Other publications include The Columbia Star, Carolina Panorama Newspaper, and SC Black News.

USC students publish an award-winning student newspaper named The Daily Gamecock. Regional news magazines include Columbia Metropolitan Magazine and the LGBTQ paper Q-Notes.

Public broadcasting is anchored by the statewide headquarters of South Carolina Educational Television and South Carolina Public Radio. Commercial network television stations include WIS (NBC), WLTX (CBS), WACH (Fox), and WOLO (ABC). USC students also broadcast tunes and sports over WUSC radio.

Transportation and City Systems

Getting Around Columbia

Public transit is provided by The Comet, which operates colorful buses across the city and into neighboring suburbs like Cayce, West Columbia, Forest Acres, Arcadia Lakes, Springdale, and Lexington. The bus fleet includes buses powered by clean natural gas and specialized vans for riders with disabilities. Commuters can also rent shared street bicycles sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Several major highways cross through the area:

• Interstate 20 runs east-west toward Atlanta, Augusta, and Florence.
• Interstate 26 connects northwest toward Spartanburg and southeast toward North Charleston and Charleston.
• Interstate 77 heads north toward Rock Hill and Charlotte, providing direct access to Fort Jackson.
• Interstate 126 connects downtown straight to I-26 and the Riverbanks Zoo.
• Important state highways include SC 12, SC 16, SC 48, SC 215, SC 262, SC 277, SC 555, SC 760, and SC 768.
• Important federal routes include US 1, US 21, US 76, US 176, US 321, US 378, and US 601.

For longer trips, Columbia Metropolitan Airport offers airline flights on carriers like American Eagle, Delta Connection, and United Express. Richland County also runs the smaller Jim Hamilton–L.B. Owens Airport for private planes.

Train passengers board Silver Star trains at the downtown Amtrak station on Pulaski Street to ride north to Washington, DC, or south to Florida. In past decades, famous passenger routes like the Skyland Special, the Augusta Special, and the Carolina Special stopped at Union Station. Intercity bus transportation is provided by Greyhound Lines and MegaBus.

Healthcare and Green Energy

Columbia has top-quality hospitals, including facilities run by the Providence hospital network and Prisma Health. Prisma Health runs Prisma Health Richland Hospital, home to a Level 1 trauma emergency center and a dedicated Children's Hospital, along with Prisma Health Baptist Hospital. Military veterans receive specialized medical treatment at the Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center. In nearby Lexington County, the Lexington Medical Center operates hospitals and clinics.

The city has set a goal to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2036. Projects to protect the environment include building a solar farm at the wastewater treatment plant, stopping water leaks, modernizing the water metering system, and buying electric city vehicles.

Sister Cities Around the World

Columbia shares friendship, student exchanges, and cultural ties with eight sister cities:

• Kaiserslautern, Germany
• Cluj-Napoca, Romania
• Plovdiv, Bulgaria
• Chelyabinsk, Russia
• Yibin, China
• Accra, Ghana
• Taichung City, Taiwan
• Columbia, Mississippi, United States

See Also

In Spanish: Columbia (Carolina del Sur) para niños

• List of capitals in the United States
• List of municipalities in South Carolina
• Columbia High School (Columbia, South Carolina)
• Columbia, Newberry and Laurens Railroad
• Columbia Record
• Columbia Speedway
• Columbia South Carolina Temple
• Columbia Theological Seminary
• George Stinney
• List of tallest buildings in Columbia, South Carolina
• USS Columbia