A Walking Tour of Columbia, South Carolina

By Doug Gelbert

There is no better way to see America than on foot. And there is no better way to appreciate what you are looking at than with a walking tour. This walking tour of Columbia, South Carolina from walkthetown.com is ready to explore when you are. Each walking tour describes historical, architectural landmarks, cultural sites and ecclesiastic touchstones and provides step-by-step directions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Doug Gelbert
• Release date: Nov 11, 2010
• ISBN: 9781452369808

Book preview

A Walking Tour of Columbia, South Carolina

a walking tour in the Look Up, America series from walkthetown.com

by Doug Gelbert

published by Cruden Bay Books at Smashwords

Copyright 2010 by Cruden Bay Books

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including

photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system

without permission in writing from the Publisher.

In 1786 the South Carolina General Assembly convened in Charleston to pass legislation for a new capital city, one that would be more convenient for the growing number of residents leaving the coast and settling in the backcountry. The site selected for the new city, one of the first planned cities in the United States, had several advantages. First, it was located nearly in the center of the state and second, it was at the head of navigation on the Congaree River. The name for the new capital came from Christopher Columbus who was riding a crest in popularity for his travels to the West Indies in 1492.

The new capital was a success not just as a seat of government but as a center for education, commerce and transportation. A canal system was in places by the 1820s and rail service arrived in 1842. By the mid-1800s Columbia was the largest inland town in the Carolinas - twice as big as the next most populous town, Raleigh, North Carolina.

Columbia’s role in the Civil War was brief but lasting. America’s first