Old Confederate Printing Plant – Columbia, South Carolina

This picture taken in Columbia shows the old Confederate Printing Plant in the downtown Vista area. It was photographed in the fall of 2002 by Victoria Bennett Beyer of Guernsey, Wyoming. The building, located on the corner of Huger and Gervais, was built by the Evans and Cogswell Company, for the purpose of printing Confederate currency during the Civil War.

Victoria describes her photo: “I love historic buildings, and this one in Columbia’s Vista is a gem. It was built in 1864 as the Confederate Printing Plant. After it was burned down by Sherman’s troops, it was rebuilt and subsequently used by the state to dispense alcohol during the Temperance Movement. It was also used during the 30s and 40s as storage for the U.S. Seed Loan Program, and then later as a warehouse for paper and then furniture.”

Victoria Bennett is an artist and photographer with roots in South Carolina. Be sure to click here to visit her website.

The building you see in the picture has changed a lot and has now been renovated to house a supermarket. Some have criticized the renovation, but many have hailed it as a positive step in the ongoing revitalization of downtown Columbia’s Vista district.

To learn more about the history of the building and see some current pictures, click here.