Panoramic Photograph of the Columbia Theological Seminary Campus

Name/Title

Panoramic Photograph of the Columbia Theological Seminary Campus

Entry/Object ID

1997.513.1

Description

Panoramic sepia-style photograph of three large buildings within a wooden frame. The foreground contains trees, some of which are nearly bare of all leaves. There are people scattered near and around the buildings. The centermost building has a center set of stairs and four white ionic columns supporting a white plain pediment and frieze. The large lettering on the frieze reads: "Theological Seminary, Founded 1830." A portion of a smaller fourth building can be seen on the far left of the image.

Photograph Details

Subject Place

Location

Robert Mills House

City

Columbia, South Carolina

Context

Finished in 1826, the site now known as the Robert Mills House was commissioned by Ainsley (1783–1823) and Sarah Hall (1791–1867) and intended to serve as their townhome. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the property was instead used as a campus for three different religious schools, including a Presbyterian theological seminary and the Columbia Bible College. This photograph shows the site as the Columbia Theological Seminary, which operated on the grounds from 1831 to 1927. This photo also depicts the graduating class of 1920, which included William Robinson (1897–1982), whose name is written on the back. After graduation, Robinson served as the pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Gettysburg before becoming a professor of ecclesiastical history at the Columbia Theological Seminary from 1927 to 1974. By that time, the seminary had moved to Decatur, Georgia.

Made/Created

Date made

1920

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Photograph

Height

6-3/4 in

Dimension Description

Frame

Height

14-3/4 in

Length

34 in

Relationships

Related Places

Place

Location

Robert Mills House

City

Columbia, South Carolina