South Caroliniana Library

Dedication of the Kendall Memorial Room in the South Caroliniana Library. The room is named for industrialist Henry Plimpton Kendall, who gave the Library one of the nation’s finest collections of early maps of Carolina and the adjoining regions. The most architecturally distinctive building on the Horseshoe, the South Caroliniana Library was the first separate college library building in the United States. Elements of the design are attributed to famous nineteenth-century architect Robert Mills. Two fireproofs wings designed by J. Carroll Johnson were added in 1927. After serving as the University library for 100 years, the building became a repository for published and unpublished materials relating to the history, literature, and culture of South Carolina. The Caroliniana, whose name means “things pertaining to Carolina” has developed one of the most significant collections on Southern history in the United States. J. Rion McKissick, beloved president of the University from 1936-1944 and a devoted student of South Carolina history, is buried in front of the building.

Photo of South Caroliniana Library taken from Sumter Street in the early 1900s.

The most architecturally distinctive building on the Horseshoe, the South Caroliniana Library was the first separate college library building in the United States. Elements of the design are attributed to famous nineteenth-century architect Robert Mills. Two fireproofs wings designed by J. Carroll Johnson were added in 1927. After serving as the University library for 100 years, the building became a repository for published and unpublished materials relating to the history, literature, and culture of South Carolina. The Caroliniana, whose name means “things pertaining to Carolina” has developed one of the most significant collections on Southern history in the United States. J. Rion McKissick, beloved president of the University from 1936-1944 and a devoted student of South Carolina history, is buried in front of the building.

An alcove in the main reading rooom of the South Caroliniana Library, looking down from the balcony. The most architecturally distinctive building on the Horseshoe, the South Caroliniana Library was the first separate college library building in the United States. Elements of the design are attributed to famous nineteenth-century architect Robert Mills. Two fireproofs wings designed by J. Carroll Johnson were added in 1927. After serving as the University library for 100 years, the building became a repository for published and unpublished materials relating to the history, literature, and culture of South Carolina. The Caroliniana, whose name means “things pertaining to Carolina” has developed one of the most significant collections on Southern history in the United States. J. Rion McKissick, beloved president of the University from 1936-1944 and a devoted student of South Carolina history, is buried in front of the building.

View of the main reading room from the balcony in the South Caroliniana Library. The most architecturally distinctive building on the Horseshoe, the South Caroliniana Library was the first separate college library building in the United States. Elements of the design are attributed to famous nineteenth-century architect Robert Mills. Two fireproofs wings designed by J. Carroll Johnson were added in 1927. After serving as the University library for 100 years, the building became a repository for published and unpublished materials relating to the history, literature, and culture of South Carolina. The Caroliniana, whose name means “things pertaining to Carolina” has developed one of the most significant collections on Southern history in the United States. J. Rion McKissick, beloved president of the University from 1936-1944 and a devoted student of South Carolina history, is buried in front of the building.