Columbia unveils historic market for Columbia Female Institute

Officials with the city of Columbia have unveiled a new historical marker at the site of the former Columbia Female Institute, now the Columbia Plaza. The institute played a significant role in the history of education for women in the region, established in 1834 by a group of prominent Episcopalian families from St. Peter’s Church. The institute was known for offering courses like geology, chemistry, and physics that were traditionally only offered to male students. The Institute closed down in 1932 due to the Great Depression and was repurposed for a variety of uses, including housing WPA workers, a local business college, and a nursery school. It was destroyed by fire in 1959.