The State House

(Front) Columbia was founded in 1786, replacing Charleston as the state capital. The first State House here, built in 1789, was a small wooden building just W. of this site. Construction on this State House, designed by John R. Niernsee, began in 1855; exterior walls were almost complete when work was suspended in 1863 during the Civil War.

In February 1865 Union troops burned the old State House, shelled this unfinished building, and raised the United States flag over it. (Reverse) Niernsee supervised postwar repairs and new work until his death in 1885. His partner J. Crawford Nielson succeeded him, followed by Niernsee's son Frank.

In 1901 the General Assembly hired Frank P. Milburn, but often clashed with him over workmanship and his design for the present dome, a radical departure from J.R. Niernsee's original design. He was replaced * Marker never erected. by Charles C. Wilson in 1903. A major renovation by the firm of Stevens and Wilkinson was completed in August 1998.

Erected by The Columbia Committee of The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America in the State of South Carolina, 1999 Formed 1890 as the Essex Troop of Lt. Cavalry; mustered into the N.J. National Guard in 1893. After World War I service, became 102nd Cav. in 1921. Reorganized 1940 as 102nd Cav.

(HorseMechanized); mobilized for active duty in World War II and trained here 1941-42. Saw more than 300 days of combat in France, North Africa, Italy, the Ardennes, the Rhineland, and Central Europe. Erected by the Essex Troop, 2001