Remembering Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia, South Carolina—the capital of the Palmetto State for more than 200 years—has earned a well-deserved reputation as a history-rich Southern city.  Columbia has been the site of a vast array of momentous events, and those well-documented episodes in the city's past have solidified its important historical role in the state, the South, and the country.    Columbia's vibrant past, however, features much more than these well-documented events.  The city's history is brimming with a fascinating cast of characters whose various exploits have helped to shape and enrich the colorful story of Columbia.    Remembering Columbia, South Carolina: Capital City Chronicles, by Columbia resident and history professor Miles Richards, is a collection of historical vignettes that reveals the intriguing—but lesser known—characters and events in the city's twentieth-century history.  From South Carolina Penitentiary escapees who rode a stinking trash heap to their freedom, to a pair of amorous bootleggers, to a raucous crowd gathered to greet Rudy Vallee at the train station on Gervais Street, this collection will delight Capital City residents and visitors alike.