Historical and Architectural Significance of the Olympia Mill Village Museum
1170 Olympia Avenue
In the early 1900's, mill villages were created throughout the South to entice rural workers to move away from the farms and become part of the labor force in the mills. Moving from poor dirt farms to a new and “modern” mill village a powerful motivator that created loyalty to the mills and established what became known as “mill village” culture. Just on the outskirts of Columbia City limits, Olympia Mill Village was one of the most significant in our state.
The houses built for workers were of several different types. There was the three-room “L Shape”, the three-room “Shotgun” style, the four-room “Two Up, Two Down” style, and the six-room “Two Rooms Up, Four Rooms Down” style. The property located at 1170 Olympia Avenue was one of the original mill village houses constructed in early in 1901 by Olympia Cotton Mill. This wooden frame house embodies distinctive characteristics of one type of mill house—it is constructed in the six room “Two Rooms Up and Four Rooms Down” style. Although there are a number of houses in the Olympia Mill Village built in this style still visible today, this particular house is significant in other ways, too. It is associated with events that have made significant contributions to the broad pattern of the history of Columbia in the 20th Century.
In the fall of 1901, this museum house was modified to become the first mill village school—Olympia School. The one-room school opened in October 1901 with an enrollment of about thirty pupils. Since the house was designed with four rooms downstairs and two rooms upstairs, the increased enrollment became too large for a one-room school. During the summer vacation period of 1902, the partitions between the front and rear rooms of the first floor, and that of the two upstairs rooms were removed to create three large rooms. By 1905, the school had an enrollment of 115 pupils. During the period from 1906-1909 the enrollment of the school increased so much that the old frame dwelling was becoming too small to house all the children, and plans were made to build a two-story brick school building next door on the site of the present-day Olympia School Campus.
The houses built for workers were of several different types. There was the three-room “L Shape”, the three-room “Shotgun” style, the four-room “Two Up, Two Down” style, and the six-room “Two Rooms Up, Four Rooms Down” style. The property located at 1170 Olympia Avenue was one of the original mill village houses constructed in early in 1901 by Olympia Cotton Mill. This wooden frame house embodies distinctive characteristics of one type of mill house—it is constructed in the six room “Two Rooms Up and Four Rooms Down” style. Although there are a number of houses in the Olympia Mill Village built in this style still visible today, this particular house is significant in other ways, too. It is associated with events that have made significant contributions to the broad pattern of the history of Columbia in the 20th Century.
In the fall of 1901, this museum house was modified to become the first mill village school—Olympia School. The one-room school opened in October 1901 with an enrollment of about thirty pupils. Since the house was designed with four rooms downstairs and two rooms upstairs, the increased enrollment became too large for a one-room school. During the summer vacation period of 1902, the partitions between the front and rear rooms of the first floor, and that of the two upstairs rooms were removed to create three large rooms. By 1905, the school had an enrollment of 115 pupils. During the period from 1906-1909 the enrollment of the school increased so much that the old frame dwelling was becoming too small to house all the children, and plans were made to build a two-story brick school building next door on the site of the present-day Olympia School Campus.