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National Register of Historic Places

South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building

South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building is a historic place in Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina, listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places on June 5, 1970, and designated a National Historic Landmark. Its National Register reference number is 70000890.

Columbia, Richland County, South CarolinaListed June 5, 1970NRIS #70000890★ National Historic Landmark
Photograph of South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building
Photo: South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building via Wikimedia Commons — see the file page for author and license. Image source
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South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building

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About this place

What is South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building?

The South Carolina State Hospital was a publicly funded state-run psychiatric hospital in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1821 as the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum, it was one of the first public mental hospitals established in the United States. The Mills Building, its first building, was designed by early American architect Robert Mills, and is a National Historic Landmark. The hospital had more than 1,000 patients in 1900, but with the transition of mental health facilities to community settings, it closed in the late 1990s. While buildings on the campus were temporarily used for inpatient services into the early 2000s, they were not part of the State Hospital, but other inpatient facilities of the agency. Several buildings on its campus housed offices and storage facilities of the state's Department of Mental Health until approximately 2014. In October 2014, the Department sold the first parcels of the property into private ownership and received the first sale proceeds. The William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute remained on the campus until 2015, when it moved to a new facility on Department's Northeast Columbia Campus. As of January 2021, 100% of the South Carolina State Hospital property had been transferred to private ownership. Proceeds from the sale of the Bull Street property must be used to benefit patients of the Agency. As of August 2020, the SC Mental Health Commission had authorized the expenditure of $10 million of the proceeds for the development of additional community housing for patients.

Source: Wikipedia, text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

Listing details

Name
South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building
City
Columbia
County
Richland County
State
South Carolina
Listed on the National Register
June 5, 1970
NRIS reference number
70000890
Resource type
building
National Historic Landmark
Yes
Coordinates
34.01459, -81.03315
When was South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building listed on the National Register?

South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 5, 1970.

Where is South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building located?

South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building is located in Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina at approximately 34.01459, -81.03315. See the map above.

Is South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building is designated a National Historic Landmark, the highest federal recognition for a historic place.

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