South Carolina ‘repurposes’ textile mill as state museum

Continuing to explore Columbia, S.C., our trail led to the four-story South Carolina State Museum, which occupies a historic textile mill along the Congaree River. 

It’s a great story with a happy ending “to preserve and repurpose” an old brick structure that is a central part of the city’s rich heritage.

 

The museum’s archivist tells us: “On April 15, 1894, Aretas Blood, president of Columbia Mills Company, pulled a switch to start the motors in the new Columbia Duck Mill. This event marked the first time that a textile mill anywhere in the world was operated completely by electric power.” 

The factory looms produced boatloads of woven heavy cotton duck fabrics (canvas-like material).

Aretas Blood was a wealthy industrialist who was primarily known for his contributions to the railroad industry in Vermont and New Hampshire. His primary companies built locomotive engines, and he amassed a fortune.

 

He had other holdings as well – with interests in the iron and steel, banking and timber/lumber industries. Blood also owned companies that manufactured fire engines, hardware products, paper products, sashes and blinds, axe handles, spokes and baseball bats.

What attracted him to Columbia was an extension of the Columbia Canal in 1891, which made use of a natural ravine to skirt the rapids where the Broad and Saluda rivers form the Congaree River – about a 3.5-mile canal.

The Columbia Water Power Company significantly improved the power generation potential of the waterway, making it suitable to power modern, large-scale manufacturing for the first time in its history.

Blood and his investors seized the opportunity and constructed the Columbia Mills factory on a bluff on the eastern banks of the Congaree.

 

A mill village was created about a mile from the textile plant on the western side of the river to provide housing for some of the mill workers and their families. 

The neighborhood, which was named “Aretasville,” was accessible by a bridge that crossed the river. 

Several styles of homes were available within the mill village, as shown below. Folks walked to work.

 

In December 1894, the little community was incorporated and took the name “Brookland.” 

Later on, the place assumed the name “New Brookland,” offering its residents amenities that included a park, a school and a lyceum hall (a public building used for educational and cultural events like lectures, debates, concerts and other entertainment).

New Brookland was hailed as “the finest mill village south of New England.”

The town took the name “West Columbia” in 1938 and was designated as a city in 1964. The current population is 18,418. 

(Locals have shortened the name to “WECO” or “WeCo.” 

See separate story at the bottom of this post.)

Initially, Columbia Mills specialized in weaving the durable duck fabrics used for belting, awnings, tents and sailcloth, which were “capable of withstanding the elements in all kinds of weather.”

 

Aretas Blood died in 1897 at age 81. Mount Vernon-Woodberry Cotton Duck Company of Baltimore acquired Columbia Mills in 1899. By 1907, the mill operated more than 30,000 spindles and had 1,200 employees.

During World War II, the mill, played a major role in the U.S. war effort. By 1942, it was operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, producing 1.5 million yards of duck cloth per week, used by the military to make more tents, tarpaulins, hatch covers, boat covers, gun covers, truck covers, collapsible pontoons, raft stretchers, cots, knapsacks, uniforms and shoes.

 

In the fall of 1980, Mount Vernon Mills announced that it was closing the Columbia factory because of a declining market for duck product.

Shortly thereafter, at the request of Gov. Richard W. Riley, the South Carolina State Museum Commission began to study the feasibility of repurposing the mill as the South Carolina State Museum.

 

Mount Vernon Mills donated the building to the state on Dec. 7, 1981. 

Sources said the cost to prepare the museum was $5.64 million.

 

The South Carolina State Museum opened in the building on Oct. 29, 1988. Its four floors house four disciplines: art, history, natural history and science/technology. 

The textile history of the state is featured prominently within the museum, with an assortment of displays showing the various stages involved in converting fibers to fabrics.

In 2014, the museum expanded to include a state-of-the-art observatory, a 55-foot digital dome planetarium and 4D theater with seats that move and vibrate.

Today, the museum employs a staff of 95 and welcomes about 125,000 visitors a year.

“Finn” the Megalodon is a large, iconic replica of the prehistoric shark located on the museum’s second floor amidst exhibits about ancient marine life and South Carolina’s prehistoric past. 

Finn is 43 feet long and weighs 3 tons. The work of art was created by the late Stavros Chrysostomides, a noted sculptor whose studio was in Columbia.

Megalodon (meaning “big tooth”) was a giant species of shark that lived from about 23 to 3.6 million years ago, becoming one of the largest and most powerful marine predators ever, hunting whales and other large sea animals with a bite force powerful enough to crush bone.

Megalodon went extinct, likely due to global cooling during the Pliocene epoch, which affected sea levels and the availability of its large prey.

 

NASA’s Apollo 16 mission carried South Carolinian Charles Moss Duke Jr. to the moon on April 27, 1972. He was the Lunar Module pilot. 

Duke, who was raised in Lancaster, became the 10th astronaut and youngest person to walk on the moon, at age 36 years and 201 days.

The museum’s “South Carolina in Space” exhibit features South Carolinians who have made contributions to space exploration and aerospace research. Visitors are invited to sit inside a replica of the Apollo Lunar Rover Vehicle.

 

One of the most popular exhibits featured during 2025 at the South Carolina State Museum was “Heroes & Villains: The Art of the Disney Costume,” created by the Walt Disney Archives. 

Guests were able to view 70 famous costumes worn by characters representing nearly six decades of film and television production at The Walt Disney Company.

 

“Costumes are a significant and memorable element of building a character and telling a story,” said Becky Cline, director of the Walt Disney Archives. “The exhibition explored the craftsmanship required to produce these amazing costuming elements, as well as the immense talent and creativity that goes into every stitch.”

 

Upcoming is a new display titled “American Battlefield: South Carolina’s Revolution.” It is scheduled to open in June 2026 in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States.

 

The exhibit focuses on South Carolina’s critical role in declaring and fighting for independence, featuring objects from the museum’s collection as well as interactive elements that will help guests explore the more than 400 battles and skirmishes fought in South Carolina.

“Guests will discover the stories of the people – patriots, loyalists, women, enslaved, free blacks, and indigenous people – who comprised South Carolina’s revolutionary experience.”

 

It’s official: West Columbia is open for business. 

The WECO sign is back, but in a new and improved version.

News editor Jordan Lawrence was there in January 2023 to cover the “big event,” the relighting of the big WECO sign in the parking lot at 750 Meeting St. in West Columbia. Lawrence’s article ran in the Lexington County (S.C.) Chronicle.

The building started out as a grocery store in 1951 but was converted in the 1970s to a pool hall, known as WECO Billiards. 

The iconic sign featured three large pool balls that would light up – two stripes (Nos. 9 and 15) and one solid (No. 2).

The sign had become dilapidated over the years, Lawrence wrote. “Its posts rusted and its pool balls left dingy and discolored. But now, it’s returned to its former glory and is back lighting up the night in West Columbia.”

“Through a partnership between Riggs Partners (current owner of the building) and the city government, the sign was taken down in September 2023 and refurbished by locally based company Flagship Signs (headquartered in Columbia).

“Ever since we moved into the building in 2007 and took the time and resources to refurbish this building, we were also very interested in refurbishing the sign, not only because it’s a very interesting complement to our building, but because we knew the historical significance of it,” said Teresa Coles, president of Riggs Partners.

 

The illuminated “WECO” acronym is now supplemented with additional information: “West Columbia,” “South Carolina” and Zip Code “29169.”

West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles said: “We’ve used the WECO name for a long time in West Columbia,” he said. “That name has been around forever. The sign is iconic in West Columbia. And I’m very, very excited to see the sign be refurbished and be put back in good shape and to continue to serve as a landmark for everybody who comes over here.”

 

As to the refurbishment itself, Joel Merrill, managing partner at Flagship Signs, said the project stood out among others the company has done, both because of the uniqueness of the sign itself and its prominence in the community.

 

“Just the overall cool factor of a really old sign,” he said of what made the project interesting. “We found parts in there that were 40 years old, 50 years old. That craftsmanship that went into the original is not what you see these days.”

Merril said the fabrication process to replace necessary parts was time-consuming and took about a month to complete. Especially tricky were the pool balls.

“Once they came apart, they basically fell apart,” he explained. “So, we had to make new ones.”

 

Round globes aren’t a part of most signs they deal with, so it was a challenge to make sure they were handled properly and came out looking right when they were painted, Merrill added.

“But contributing to the landscape of the city made the process rewarding. Several of us are from the West Columbia area,” Merrill said. “The WECO sign’s an iconic piece of our history, our childhood.”

Riggs Partners is a creative marketing consultancy that aids its clients to develop successful business strategies, specializing in brand creation and management as well as marketing solutions.