Slavery Historical Marker

Horseshoe Landmark (top of Horseshoe)

This marker acknowledges the vital contributions of enslaved people at the university during the antebellum era. Many of
the historic buildings on the Horseshoe were made of slave-made brick and constructed and maintained by enslaved
workers. The marker further states that: Enslaved workers were essential to the daily operations of the college, whether
they were owned by the faculty or the college itself, or hired from private citizens. 

Jonathan Maxcy Monument

Horseshoe Landmark | Robert Mills, Designer

South Carolinian Robert Mills, the nation’s first federal architect, designed the granite and marble monument that stands
in the center of the Horseshoe. It was erected by the Clariosophic Literary Society in honor of South Carolina College’s
first president, Jonathan Maxcy (1768-1820). Maxcy Monument is Mills’ first known use of an obelisk; his most famous
one is the Washington Monument

McKissick Museum (1940)

Old Campus building, became current Horseshoe building after 1940 demolition of the Original President's House

Architect: Henry C. Hibbs

Constructed just behind the original President’s House, McKissick is the only twentieth-century building on the Horseshoe,

replacing the South Caroliniana Library building as the new main library in 1940. The building was rededicated as a

museum in 1984.

The building is named for James Rion McKissick (1894-1944), one of Carolina’s most beloved presidents, who lay in

repose in the building after his sudden death in 1944. The building was named for him shortly thereafter. The student
body petitioned the board of trustees to allow McKissick to be buried on campus. His grave is in front of the west wing of

the South Caroliniana Library.

Osborne Administration Building (1952)

Current campus building on Old Campus grounds

Architect: J. Carroll Johnson

Osborne is the first building constructed on campus exclusively to house administrative offices. In 1973 the building was

named in honor of longtime board of trustees member Rutledge L. Osborne (1895-1984). Osborne was a member of the

board from 1947 until he resigned in 1975 at the age of 80. He served as board chairman from 1952 to 1970, longer than

any individual in the university’s history.

In 1963 the building was the site of the historic second — and final — desegregation of the University of South Carolina.

On September 11, 1963, Henrie Monteith, Robert Anderson and James Solomon received advisement in Osborne and

then walked to the naval armory to register, becoming the first African-American students at the university since

Reconstruction. In 2014, the garden to the north of the building was renovated and rededicated as the 1963

Desegregation Commemoration Garden.

Osborne was also the site of a major student riot in May 1970, when a large group of students briefly took over and

ransacked part of the building, trapping President Thomas F. Jones and members of the board of trustees in their offices.

When students congregated again on the Horseshoe, the South Carolina Army National Guard and the State Law

Enforcement Division used tear gas to disperse them.

DeSaussure College (1809)

Horseshoe building

Architect: Richard Clark

DeSaussure College was named for Henry William DeSaussure (1763-1839), who served in the Revolutionary War and

later as a politician in both chambers of the South Carolina legislature. He advocated for the establishment of the college

as a member of the General Assembly in 1801, and he served as one of its first trustees. A lawyer and later a judge,

DeSaussure also served as the second director of the United States Mint.

The structure, constructed as a twin of Rutledge College, served as a hospital during the Civil War, and was the site of the

first medical school at Carolina from 1866-1873. During Reconstruction, one wing served as a federal military prison while

the university and the city were occupied. During World War I, one wing served as the first women’s dormitory.
During the 1970s Horseshoe Restoration Project, archaeologists discovered DeSaussure’s original foundation had been

100 feet closer to Rutledge.

McCutchen House (1813)

Horseshoe building

Architect: Unknown

McCutchen House was the second faculty double residence constructed at South Carolina College, likely designed after

the Blacklock House in Charleston, S.C. The house hosted two of the longest-serving faculty members in school history

— Maximilian LaBorde (1804-1873) and George McCutchen (1876-1951).

LaBorde occupied half of the duplex during his entire academic career at the college from 1842 to 1873. An alumnus of

South Carolina College, he served as a trustee, state legislator and secretary of state of South Carolina before joining the

college faculty.

The building is named for George McCutchen, who taught economics from 1900 to 1948. McCutchen lived in the house

from 1915 until the university stopped providing faculty housing in 1945.

In the 1940's, the building was converted to academic use, and then later converted into a faculty club. In 2003, the

College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management took over operation of the McCutchen House as a restaurant

management and food service teaching facility open to the public.

Elliott College (1837)

Horseshoe building

Architect: Unknown

Elliott College was designed solely as student housing and lacks central academic space. The building was named for

Stephen Elliott (1771-1830), a botanist, educator, state legislator and one of the founders of the State Bank of South

Carolina in 1812. Elliott was also one of the founders of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston in 1825,

and he taught natural history and botany at the school until his death.

Harper College (1848)

Horseshoe building

Architect: Unknown
Harper College and its twin, Legare, were constructed at the same time and follow the pattern established by Rutledge

College of a central academic section flanked by wings of student housing. Its third floor meeting hall was used by the

Euphradian Literary Society, one of the first two student organizations at South Carolina College.

The building was named for William Harper (1790-1847), an early graduate of South Carolina College (1808) who served

as a state legislator, United States Senator, judge, state chancellor and member of the board of trustees.

South Caroliniana Library (1840; 1927)

Horseshoe building

Architect: Robert Mills, in part; J. Carroll Johnson

The South Caroliniana Library is the oldest freestanding academic library in the United States. The structure is based on

plans submitted by Robert Mills, a South Carolinian, the nation’s first federal architect and the designer of the Washington

Monument.

The second floor reading room is a replica of the original reading room of the Library of Congress. Wings designed by J.

Carroll Johnson were added in 1927 to provide more storage and work space.

It served as the main college library for 100 years. The historic building became the South Caroliniana Library, a

repository for published and unpublished materials relating to the history, literature and culture of South Carolina, and one

of the nation’s top repositories of Southern manuscripts. The term “Caroliniana” means “things pertaining to Carolina.”

Horseshoe Wall (1835-1836)

Old Campus structure

Architect: Thomas H. Wade (carpenter); Thomas R. Davis (bricklayer)

The Horseshoe Wall, constructed out of solid brick, originally stood 6 feet 9 inches high. It wrapped around the campus on

Sumter, Greene, Bull and Pendleton Streets, and the only entrance was on Sumter Street.

The wall failed in its original purpose to prevent students from sneaking into Columbia’s taverns at night, but helped save

the campus during the burning of Columbia during the Civil War on the night of February 17-18, 1865, by keeping flames

off the college grounds.

The wall has been greatly altered since the 1880s, with portions opened and closed, lowered and raised. By 1899 the

original center entrance on Sumter Street had been closed and replaced by two openings, giving the old campus its

horseshoe shape.
Lieber College (1837)
Horseshoe building

Architect: Thomas H. Wade (contractor)

The third faculty double residence constructed, Lieber College was used as a faculty residence until the 1940s, when the

university ceased providing faculty housing. The building is named for Francis Lieber (1800-1872), who lived in the house

until 1855. Lieber was an internationally known professor of history and political economy, founder of the Encyclopedia

Americana and one of the college’s most illustrious scholars.

Emma LeConte, daughter of Professor Joseph LeConte, witnessed the burning of Columbia in February 1865 from the

family’s home in Lieber. During the four years in the 1870's that the university was desegregated, Lieber College was the

home of Carolina’s first African American faculty member, Richard T. Greener (1844-1922).

Pinckney College (1837)

Horseshoe building

Architect: Unknown

Pinckney College, like Elliott College, was designed solely as student housing and lacks the central academic portions of

other Horseshoe buildings.

Pinckney is named for Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (1746-1825) and his cousin, Charles Pinckney (1757-1824). Charles

C. Pinckney was a Revolutionary War general, legislator, diplomat and one of the first members of the college’s board of

trustees. Charles Pinckney was a representative in the Continental Congress, a United States senator and representative,

a state legislator and governor, and United States minister to Spain. Both men served as delegates to the Constitutional

Convention of 1787 and signed the United States Constitution.

Legare College (1848)

Horseshoe building

Architect: Unknown

Legare College is named for Hugh Swinton Legare (1797-1843), an 1814 alumnus and former president of the

Clariosophic Literary Society. A lawyer, Legare also served as a state representative, state attorney general, United

States congressman, United States attorney general, charge d’affaires to Brussels and interim United States secretary of

state.
The building's design included a meeting hall on the third floor for the Clariosophic Literary Society, one of the first two

student organizations in Carolina history.

Legare was used as a Confederate hospital during the Civil War and, when the university was desegregated from 1873-

1877 during Reconstruction, it became the primary residence hall for the predominantly African American student body.

Among its residents was T. McCants Stewart, the first African American graduate of Carolina

President's House (1810; 1854)

Horseshoe building (as first professor's house)

1810 Architects: Yates and Phillips [or Philips]

1854 Architect: P. H. Hammarskold

Serving as the President's House since the 1950's, the original building on the site was a faculty double residence erected

in 1810. The original structure was demolished and rebuilt in 1855, and it remained as a faculty residence until the

university ceased providing faculty housing.

President Donald S. Russell renovated the building, converting it into the President's House. A centerpiece of the campus,

it has hosted numerous visiting dignitaries, including Pope John Paul II in 1987.

Rutledge College (1805)

Horseshoe building

Architect: Richard Clark; Robert Mills

The original campus building, Rutledge was named in 1848 for brothers John and Edward Rutledge. John Rutledge

(1739-1800), served as governor of South Carolina, a Supreme Court justice, a state legislator and a United States

congressman. His brother Edward Rutledge (1749-1800) also served as governor of South Carolina and as a state

legislator, and was the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence.

During the Civil War, Rutledge served as a Confederate hospital. The college was desegregated from 1873-1877, and

Rutledge College hosted the State Normal School, which trained African-American teachers.