Olympia-Granby in Columbia in Richland County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Olympia Cotton Mills 2022
Phil Moody
Rock Hill, SC
Olympia Cotton Mills 2022
Inkjet print on PVC panels with 1907
Stereograph
My project is derived from two sources, an interview with Carol Geddings who has lived on Heyward Street all her life, and whose father was a loom fixer in Olympia Cotton Mills in the 1960s, and a stereo photograph made inside the mill in 1907.
Over the past 30 years I have made work based on the history of South Carolina's textile industry. Using text created from interviews, along with borrowed family photographs, and imagery from scanned artifacts, my aim has been to present a creative response to what I have come across when out with my camera. Within this piece of work you will find pages from a 1930 mathematics book written specifically for school students whose future work would be in the region's cotton mills.
The guard house installations are part of 701 Center for Contemporary Art Mill District Public Art Trail. The project is supported by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation at Central Carolina Community Foundation, the City of Columbia and and Richland County. Additional support provided by PMC Property Group
Erected 2022
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Education • Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 2022.
Location. 33° 59.001′ N, 81° 2.187′ W. Marker is in Columbia, South Carolina, in Richland County. It is in Olympia-Granby. It can be reached from Heyward Street west of Olympia Avenue (South Carolina Road 40-762), on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 510 Heyward St, Columbia SC 29201, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Midlands. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Olympia Cotton Mills (a few steps
Credits. This page was last revised on January 23, 2026. It was originally submitted on January 23, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 26 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 23, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
