The State House, 1790s. The act which established Columbia as the capital of South Carolina in 1786 included instructions that the funds gained from selling lots in the town were to be used to contract for the building of a State House. This building was to contain convenient rooms for the reception of the General Assembly, courts of justice, and all the other necessary state offices. The building was ready on January 4, 1794, when the General Assembly met for the first time in the new capital. Two stories tall, the brick over plaster building continued to be used until its destruction by fire during Sherman's occupation of the city in 1865.
Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.
