Columbia College | South Carolina Public Radio

"C" is for Columbia College. Chartered in 1854 by the South Carolina Methodist Conference, Columbia College is the eleventh-oldest women’s college in the United States. Initially called Columbia Female College, its first students entered in 1859 in a new facility on Plain (now Hampton) Street. Closed after the Civil War, it reopened in 1873. The college dropped the “female” from its official name in 1904. In 1905, the institution relocated to a new campus in the Eau Claire neighborhood north of the city. It was accredited in 1938. Under the presidency of R. Wright Spears (1951-1977), the college began a significant building program and enrollment dramatically increased. Throughout its history, Columbia College has focused its attention on the higher education needs of women, and curricular offerings have reflected the social and economic changes impacting women’s experience.