Robert Mills House & Gardens 4.43

One of only five National Historic Landmarks within Columbia, the Robert Mills House exemplifies the skill of the first architect born and trained within the United States who designed some of the nation's most prominent buildings, including the Washington Monument. Today, the structure stands as a testament of its designer's architectural ability and the preservation efforts of generations of Columbians.

In 1823, Englishman Ainsley Hall and his Lower Richland County wife Sarah, hired Robert Mills to plan this stylish Classical Revival townhouse, one of few private residences he ever designed. Ainsley Hall died before the house was finished leaving a contested estate due to an outdated will. Ultimately, Sarah sold the mansion to the Presbyterian Synod of South Carolina and Georgia, which established a seminary there in 1831. Several influential pastors of the Presbyterian Church taught at the seminary including George Howe, Sr., who was instrumental in the institution’s founding, Dr. Joseph R. Wilson, Woodrow Wilson's father, and Dr. James Woodrow, the future president's uncle, who held positions on the faculty. In 1927, the Columbia Theological Seminary moved to Decatur, Georgia, and the campus served the Westerveldt Academy and later the Columbia Bible College, until 1960. A major grassroots movement led to the founding of Historic Columbia Foundation, which saved the house from demolition in the early 1960s. After extensive restoration, the property opened in 1967 as an historic house museum.