Robert Mills House & Park
1616 Blanding Street

The Robert Mills House exemplifies the skill of the United States' first Federal architect. Robert Mills designed some of the nation's most prominent buildings, including the Washington Monument.

Ainsley Hall, a wealthy Columbia merchant, hired Mills to plan the Columbia townhouse in 1823. Mills designed few private residences. The house reflects the architect's preference for the classical revival style, with a large portico dominating the north façade. Like many of his public buildings, the Mills House is a brick structure with a symmetrical exterior and interior.

Hall died before the house was finished. His estate faced several legal battles, and the mansion was ultimately sold to the Presbyterian Synod of South Carolina and Georgia. The Presbyterian Theological Seminary began holding classes in the building in 1831.

In the 1850s, the property underwent many changes. The carriage house was converted into a chapel, and large dormitories replaced the small flankers on the sides of the house. Afterwards, the seminary's campus remained more or less unchanged for over a century.

Several influential pastors of the Presbyterian Church taught at the seminary. George Howe, Sr. was instrumental in the founding of the seminary. Dr. Joseph R. Wilson, Woodrow Wilson's father, and Dr. James Woodrow, the future president's uncle held positions on the faculty following the Civil War.

In 1927, the seminary moved to Decatur, Georgia, and the Columbia campus housed a series of other colleges. However, the buildings and property gradually fell into disrepair.

A major grassroots movement saved the house from demolition in the early 1960s. After extensive restoration, it opened in 1967 as a historic house museum.

The collection in the house displays decorative arts of the early 19th century, including American Federal, English Regency, and French Empire pieces. The basement contains service rooms with objects used for the storage and preparation of food.

The Robert Mills House survives as a testament of Mills' architectural ability.

Suggested Reading

• Colored Light: A Historical Study of the Influence of Columbia Theological Seminary 1818-1936, Louis Lamotte, Richmond, VA: Presbyterian Committee of Publication, 1937.
• Greek Revival Architecture in America, Talbot Hamlin, New York: Dover Publications, 1944.
• Robert Mills, Architect, John M. Bryan, ed., Washington, DC: The American Institute of Architects Press, 1989.
• Robert Mills: Architect in South Carolina, Blanche Marsh, Columbia, SC: R.L. Bryan Company, 1970.