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The Confederate Printing Plant in Columbia (SC) was originally constructed by the printing firm of Evans & Cogswell for the manufacture of Confederate bonds and other printing purposes.

At the start of the American Civil War in 1861, Evans & Cogswell in Charleston (SC) became one of the producers of bonds, certificates of stock and currency for the Confederate government.

In 1863-1864, the firm constructed the large building on Gervais and Huger Streets in Columbia and relocated its business there.

In February 1865, when Union General William T. Sherman’s army occupied Columbia on its march north through the Carolinas from Savannah, the building’s contents were seized and the plant was burned.

After the war, the building was eventually repaired. The structure was later used as a liquor warehouse for the South Carolina Dispensary System. During the 1930s, the building was used in conjunction with the U.S. Seed Loan Program.

Subsequently, the structure was continuously used as a warehouse until December 1977. Part of it became a local neighborhood super market in 2002 (pictured above).

The building now is a large two-story, commercial Greek Revival brick structure that spans the length of an entire city block. Originally it was a one-story structure with a gable roof. The second story was added after the building was burned in 1865. The southern façade is divided into repetitive bays by molded brick pilasters on both levels. A wide molded brick frieze separates the two stories.

The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Image by Ron Cogswell, using a Nikon D80 and minor Photoshop effects.