Columbia: Capital on the Congaree and the Weight of 1865
Columbia was laid out in 1786 as a planned capital, chosen to replace Charleston because of its central location along the Congaree River. The grid of wide streets, unusual for the period, was designed to reduce the spread of disease and fire. Most of that original city burned on the night of February 17, 1865, when General William Tecumseh Sherman's army occupied the city during the final months of the Civil War. The South Carolina State House, still under construction at the time, survived. Six bronze stars fixed to its western wall mark where Sherman's artillery shells struck the building, and they remain visible today.
The University of South Carolina occupies the center of the city. Its Horseshoe, a shaded quadrangle ringed by buildings from the 1800s, sits a few blocks from the State House. Williams-Brice Stadium, home of the Gamecocks, holds more than 77,000 people on football Saturdays. Fort Jackson, on the east side of Columbia, is the largest initial entry training installation in the U.S. Army and processes roughly half of all soldiers entering basic combat training each year.
Riverbanks Zoo and Garden sits on both sides of the Saluda River where it joins the Broad to form the Congaree. The Three Rivers Greenway runs along the waterfronts of Columbia, West Columbia, and Cayce, providing a connected trail system used by runners and cyclists. The Congaree National Park, 20 miles southeast, protects one of the largest tracts of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States.
Escortservice.com reviews escort websites operating in the Columbia metropolitan area and lists them in its directory. The platform does not arrange meetings, verify licensing, or act as an intermediary. Access is limited to users 21 or older.
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Columbia was laid out in 1786 as a planned capital, chosen to replace Charleston because of its central location along the Congaree River. The grid of wide streets, unusual for the period, was designed to reduce the spread of disease and fire. Most of that original city burned on the night of February 17, 1865, when General William Tecumseh Sherman's army occupied the city during the final months of the Civil War. The South Carolina State House, still under construction at the time, survived. Six bronze stars fixed to its western wall mark where Sherman's artillery shells struck the building, and they remain visible today.
The University of South Carolina occupies the center of the city. Its Horseshoe, a shaded quadrangle ringed by buildings from the 1800s, sits a few blocks from the State House. Williams-Brice Stadium, home of the Gamecocks, holds more than 77,000 people on football Saturdays. Fort Jackson, on the east side of Columbia, is the largest initial entry training installation in the U.S. Army and processes roughly half of all soldiers entering basic combat training each year.
Riverbanks Zoo and Garden sits on both sides of the Saluda River where it joins the Broad to form the Congaree. The Three Rivers Greenway runs along the waterfronts of Columbia, West Columbia, and Cayce, providing a connected trail system used by runners and cyclists. The Congaree National Park, 20 miles southeast, protects one of the largest tracts of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the southeastern United States.
Escortservice.com reviews escort websites operating in the Columbia metropolitan area and lists them in its directory. The platform does not arrange meetings, verify licensing, or act as an intermediary. Access is limited to users 21 or older.
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