South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building
Hospital in South Carolina. Added to the National Register in 1970, and a National Historic Landmark.
What it is
The South Carolina State Hospital was a publicly funded state-run psychiatric hospital in Columbia, South Carolina. Founded in 1821 as the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum, it was one of the first public mental hospitals established in the United States. The Mills Building, its first building, was designed by early American architect Robert Mills, and is a National Historic Landmark. The hospital had more than 1,000 patients in 1900, but with the transition of mental health facilities to community settings, it closed in the late 1990s. While buildings on the campus were temporarily used for inpatient services into the early 2000s, they were not part of the State Hospital, but other inpatient facilities of the agency. Several buildings on its campus housed offices and storage facilities of the state's Department of Mental Health until approximately 2014. In October 2014, the Department sold the first parcels of the property into private ownership and received the first sale proceeds. The William S. Hall Psychiatric Institute remained on the campus until 2015, when it moved to a new facility on Department's Northeast Columbia Campus. As of January 2021, 100% of the South Carolina State Hospital property had been transferred to private ownership. Proceeds from the sale of the Bull Street property must be used to benefit patients of the Agency. As of August 2020, the SC Mental Health Commission had authorized the expenditure of $10 million of the proceeds for the development of additional community housing for patients.
Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The record
| Property type | Building |
| Address | 2100 Bull St., Columbia, SC |
| County | Richland County |
| Listed | Jun 5, 1970 |
| Listed for | Health and medicine, Science, Architecture, Social history |
| Level of significance | National |
| Reference number | 70000890 |
| Architect | Robert Mills |
| Type of place | hospital, psychiatric hospital, former hospital |
| Designations | National Historic Landmark |
| Contributing resources | 1 building |
The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗
Visiting
| Address | 2100 Bull St., Columbia, SC |
| Coordinates | 34.0146° N, 81.0332° W · Directions ↗ |
| Also in Columbia | 160 listed places in Columbia → · walking tours → |
| Nearest national park unit | Congaree National Park · 22 miles · on Park Atlas |
| Federal campgrounds nearby | Longleaf Campground 17 miles · Congaree Picnic Shelter 18 miles · Bluff Hike In Camping 18 miles |
Explore
Map
Nearby in Richland County
Local history books for Columbia
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Guidebooks to historic places in South Carolina
Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.
Reference
Questions people ask
When was South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building listed on the National Register?
Jun 5, 1970. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.
Source: National Park Service
Who designed South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building?
Robert Mills.
Source: Wikidata
Where is South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building?
2100 Bull St., Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina. The nearest national park unit is Congaree National Park, 22 miles away.
Source: Congaree National Park
Where is the nomination form for South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building?
The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.
Source: National Archives
Are there campgrounds near South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building?
Three federal campgrounds are within reach. The closest is Longleaf Campground, 17 miles away. Congaree Picnic Shelter is 18 miles away, and Bluff Hike In Camping is 18 miles away.
Source: Campsite Atlas
Is there cell service at South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building?
FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G at the listed point. Coverage indoors and behind old masonry is another matter.
Source: FCC Broadband Map
Is there a wildfire near South Carolina State Hospital, Mills Building right now?
2 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-10-17, nearest Harry Hampton East Csp Rx, 17 miles away.
Source: Map
Sources
Location, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Listing dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet where it carries the listing. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 70000890. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA.