Olympia Mill, Former textile mill complex in Columbia, South Carolina
Olympia Mill is a four-story red brick textile factory in Columbia located near the Congaree River. The rectangular building features corner towers with rounded windows and terra cotta details in the Romanesque Revival style, and once housed over two thousand machines that processed cotton.
Built in the late 1880s, it was the world's largest cotton mill at the time. The nearby Granby Mill opened in 1897 as the first cotton mill in South Carolina to use hydroelectric power from a distant source, an innovation designed by engineer W. B. Smith Whaley.
The name reflects the tradition of classical mills that powered the industrial South. The village was designed as an intentional community for workers, with matching houses, a church, a school, and a general store that together created a self-contained neighborhood where families lived and worked side by side.
The site is walkable and visitors can explore the old factory buildings and preserved village homes at their own pace. The location is close to the University of South Carolina and the Vista entertainment district, with nearby shops and restaurants, plus a shuttle route connecting to campus.
An original 1903 company store was later converted into a community center with gymnasium and swimming pool, remaining a popular event space today. The mill itself sat empty for years after closing in the 1990s until 2007, when it was transformed into residential apartments with modern amenities like granite countertops and fitness facilities.
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