South Carolina State Museum

The Museum has four large floors devoted to the disciplines of art, history, natural history and science/technology. It houses both long-term exhibits and five changing exhibit galleries. The State Museum has more than 70,000 artifacts in its collection, and it is still a very young institution.

The State Museum is housed in its largest artifact, the former Columbia Mill. This former textile mill also is a world-first. When it opened in 1894, manufacturing cotton duck cloth (a canvas-like material), it was the first totally-electric textile mill in the world. It was also the first major industrial installation for the General Electric corporation. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.