HORSESHOE WALL
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC
Shortly after chartering the South Carolina College (now University of South Carolina) in the early 1800s, the need arose to curtail students’ poor behavior, including stealing local produce and livestock from nearby businesses. In 1836, it was decided a brick wall nearly seven feet tall surrounding the original campus, known as the Horseshoe, would be built.
The wall has transformed over the past two centuries, undergoing repairs, opening then closing, and being remade, lowered, then raised. Many of the past repairs had begun to deteriorate and compromise the structural stability of this historic wall. In 2016, in an effort to preserve the Horseshoe Wall for generations to come, the wall was completely restored by reconstructing the corbelled brick cap, replacing deteriorated bricks, and repointing the wall with mortar carefully matching the original composition.
Image courtesy of University of South Carolina