The Spanish were the first Europeans to encounter Native Americans in South Carolina, a region that the inhabitants referred to as Chicora.  During one of the explorers’ incursions on the coast they abducted a native man, whom they named Francisco de Chicora, and brought him to Spain. On the return voyage, Francisco dove overboard and returned to his nation, escaping from a life of slavery. Native Americans had occupied South Carolina since the Pleistocene era, originally as bands of hunter gatherers following the migrating herds of large game.  Over the millennia these bands settled into more permanent villages, and inhabitants on the coast of the state were the first to develop pottery in North America. By the time that the Spanish first made contact, the Native Americans of South Carolina had coalesced into tribes, lived in small towns, and were experienced farmers of the three main domesticated crops of squash, maize and beans.­ At the this time there were 29 named tribes in South Carolina.  Sadly, initial encounters with Europeans brought these Native tribes in contact with Old World diseases such as small pox and influenza, which devastated their populations.  By the time the English founded Charles Town in 1670; Native American society in South Carolina had already been altered dramatically.  Furthermore, outside groups such as the Yamassee and Westo entered and took advantage of the weakened tribes. These new tribes were eventually defeated by the English colonists and the Catawba and Cherokee became the dominate Native American powers.  During the Revolution the Catawba became fierce allies of the colonists while the Cherokee, fearing encroachment on their lands by the Americans, sided with the British. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced the Cherokee to move from their ancestral lands in South Carolina while the Catawba were allowed to stay.     

Capital City Stadium has a long recreational history.  As early as 1825 the Mills Atlas shows a “Fishers Mill Pond” located on the property. In 1852 the Charleston Courier reported that the temperature had dropped so much Columbians were ice skating on Fisher’s Mill Pond.  The early part of the twentieth century brought an end to the historic Fisher’s Mill Pond when the Olympia Mill bought and drained the property.

Library Partners With Museum, Local Author to Enrich Third Graders’ Experience

In South Carolina, there is a noticeable gap in third grade reading levels and limited opportunities for students to experience authentic education on South Carolina history.

Richland Library has a diverse collection of historic photographs organized into sets on Flickr. This collection includes late 19^th- and early 20^th-century photographs of Columbia, the Columbia Army Air Base, historic places of Eastover, and images of obituaries from World War I servicemen published in The State newspaper. Please contact the Walker Local and Family History Center at (803) 929-3402 for permission to use these photographs.

A collection of over 100 programs dating from 1921 to 1999 from productions at the historic Town Theatre in downtown Columbia; which occupies the oldest community theatre building in continuous use in the United States. Full programs can be viewed online, hosted by South Carolina Digital Library.

Richland Library has recorded more than 70 conversations with Columbia personalities. We have made a selection available online for download through OverDrive. Contact the Walker Local and Family History Center at (803) 929-3402 for more information about our oral history collection.

This collaborative collection gives a broad picture of the history of Columbia, South Carolina from the 1800s to the end of the twentieth century through maps, photographs, directories and a selection of Columbia city minutes. Made available by the Richland Library, the City of Columbia, USC Libraries, South Carolina State Museum, South Carolina State Library, and the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

This searchable collection of Columbia City Directories from 1859 is an invaluable source for historians and genealogists. City directories offer an alphabetized listing of residents and businesses as well as a street-by-street listing of occupants. This collection is made possible through by Richland Library and University of South Carolina Libraries. Check back often this collection is always growing.

The renaming ceremony for Martin Luther King Park took place January 18, 1988.  Community activist Anna Mae “Saint Anna” Dickson said to an emotional crowd, “The renaming of this park not only honors a great leader, but it also recognizes the dignity of all our citizens, regardless of race, creed or color.”