Olympia Mill School

National Register Listing

Street Address:

1170 Olympia Avenue, Columbia, SC (Richland County)

Alternate Name:

Parker House

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NRHP Nomination

Record Number:

S10817740166

Description and Narrative:

The Olympia Mill School is locally significant under Criterion A in the areas of Social History and Education, with a period of significance dating from 1901 to 1909, its tenure as a school. It is significant as the first school established by the Olympia Mill, in Richland County, S.C., during a rapid period of industrialization in and around the state capital, Columbia. The Olympia Mill School maintains a high degree of historic integrity on the exterior. It is a two-story frame, residential building with a rectangular plan, a lateral gable saltbox roof, and a hip roof front porch, all features that are original to its construction in 1901. Its exterior appearance belies its early history as a school building as it appears identical to other mill housing in the Olympia Village. Enrollment at the Olympia School quickly expanded to the point where the small house became inadequate. A purpose-built school was constructed on a large lot southeast of the original school and it replaced this building in the fall of 1910, after which time the original Olympia School became housing for mill operatives. Listed in the National Register May 29, 2018.

Period of Significance:

1901 – 1909

Level of Significance:

Local

Area of Significance:

Education;Social History

National Register Determination:

listed

Date of Certification:

May 29 2018

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