What's the population of Columbia?

Columbia is the capital and second largest city of the U.S. state of South Carolina, with a population estimate of 134,309 as of 2016. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. It is the center of the Columbia metropolitan statistical area, which had a population of 767,598 as of the 2010 United States Census, growing to 817,488 by July 1, 2016, according to 2015 U.S. Census estimates. The name "Columbia" is a poetic term used for the United States, originating from the name of Christopher Columbus.

Columbia, South Carolina

The city is located approximately northwest of the geographic center of South Carolina, and is the primary city of the Midlands region of the state. It lies at the confluence of the Saluda River and the Broad River, which merge at Columbia to form the Congaree River. Columbia is home to the University of South Carolina, the state's flagship university and the largest in the state, and is also the site of Fort Jackson, the largest United States Army installation for Basic Combat Training. Columbia is also located 20 miles west of the site of McEntire Joint National Guard Base, which is operated by the U.S. Air Force and is used as a training base for the 169th Fighter Wing of The South Carolina Air National Guard. Columbia is also the location of the South Carolina State House, which is the center of government for the state. In 1860, the city was the location of the South Carolina Secession Convention, which marked the departure of the first state from the Union in the events leading up to the Civil War.

At the time of European encounter, the inhabitants of the area that became Columbia were a people called the Congaree. In May 1540, a Spanish expedition led by Hernando de Soto traversed what is now Columbia while moving northward. The expedition produced the earliest written historical records of the area, which was part of the regional Cofitachequi chiefdom.

From the creation of Columbia by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1786, the site of Columbia was important to the overall development of the state. The Congarees, a frontier fort on the west bank of the Congaree River, was the head of navigation in the Santee River system. A ferry was established by the colonial government in 1754 to connect the fort with the growing settlements on the higher ground on the east bank.

Like many other significant early settlements in colonial America, Columbia is on the fall line from the Piedmont region. The fall line is the spot where a river becomes unnavigable when sailing upstream and where falling water downstream can power a mill.

State Senator John Lewis Gervais of the town of Ninety Six introduced a bill that was approved by the legislature on March 22, 1786, to create a new state capital. There was considerable argument over the name for the new city. According to published accounts, Senator Gervais said he hoped that "in this town we should find refuge under the wings of COLUMBIA", for that was the name which he wished it to be called. One legislator insisted on the name "Washington", but "Columbia" won by a vote of 11–7 in the state senate.
The site was chosen as the new state capital in 1786, due to its central location in the state. The State Legislature first met there in 1790. After remaining under the direct government of the legislature for the first two decades of its existence, Columbia was incorporated as a village in 1805 and then as a city in 1854.

Columbia received a large stimulus to development when it was connected in a direct water route to Charleston by the Santee Canal. This canal connected the Santee and Cooper rivers in a section. It was first chartered in 1786 and completed in 1800, making it one of the earliest canals in the United States. With increased railroad traffic, it ceased operation around 1850.

The commissioners designed a town of 400 blocks in a square along the river. The blocks were divided into lots of and sold to speculators and prospective residents. Buyers had to build a house at least long and wide within three years or face an annual 5% penalty. The perimeter streets and two through streets were wide. The remaining squares were divided by thoroughfares wide.

The commissioners comprised the local government until 1797 when a Commission of Streets and Markets was created by the General Assembly. Three main issues occupied most of their time: public drunkenness, gambling, and poor sanitation.

As one of the first planned cities in the United States, Columbia began to grow rapidly. Its population was nearing 1,000 shortly after the start of the 19th century.

In 1801, South Carolina College (now the University of South Carolina) was founded in Columbia. The original building survives. The city was chosen as the site of the institution in part to unite the citizens of the Upcountry and the Lowcountry and to discourage the youth from migrating to England for their higher education. At the time, South Carolina sent more young men to England than did any other state. The leaders of South Carolina wished to monitor the progress and development of the school; for many years after the founding of the university, commencement exercises were held in December while the state legislature was in session.

Columbia received its first charter as a town in 1805. An intendant and six wardens would govern the town. John Taylor, the first elected intendant, later served in both houses of the General Assembly, both houses of Congress, and eventually as governor. By 1816, there were 250 homes in the town and a population of more than one thousand. Columbia became chartered as a city in 1854, with an elected mayor and six aldermen. Two years later, Columbia had a police force consisting of a full-time chief and nine patrolmen. The city continued to grow at a rapid pace, and throughout the 1850s and 1860s Columbia was the largest inland city in the Carolinas. Railroad transportation served as a significant cause of population expansion in Columbia during this time. Rail lines that reached the city in the 1840s primarily transported cotton bales, not passengers. Cotton was the lifeblood of the Columbia community; in 1850 virtually all of the city's commercial and economic activity was related to cotton.

"In 1830, approximately 1,500 slaves lived and worked in Columbia; this population grew to 3,300 by 1860. Some members of this large enslaved population worked in their masters' households. Masters also frequently hired out slaves to Columbia residents and institutions, including South Carolina College. Hired-out slaves sometimes returned to their owner's home daily; others boarded with their temporary masters." During this period, "legislators developed state and local statutes to restrict the movement of urban slaves in hopes of preventing rebellion. Although various decrees established curfews and prohibited slaves from meeting and from learning to read and write, such rulings were difficult to enforce." Indeed, "several prewar accounts note that many Columbia slaves were literate; some slaves even conducted classes to teach others to read and write." As well, "many slaves attended services at local Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches, yet some struggled to obtain membership in these institutions."

Columbia's First Baptist Church hosted the South Carolina Secession Convention on December 17, 1860. The delegates drafted a resolution in favor of secession, 159–0. Columbia's location made it an ideal location for other conventions and meetings within the Confederacy.

On February 17, 1865, in the last months of the Civil War, much of Columbia was destroyed by fire while being occupied by Union troops under the command of General William Tecumseh Sherman. Jeff Goodwyn, mayor of Columbia, sent William B. Stanley and Thomas W. Radcliffe to surrender the city to Sherman's troops. According to legend, Columbia's First Baptist Church barely missed being torched by Sherman's troops. The soldiers marched up to the church and asked the sexton if he could direct them to the First Baptist Church. The sexton directed the men to the nearby Washington Street Methodist Church; thus, the historic landmark was saved from destruction by Union soldiers, and the sexton preserved his employment at the cost of another.
Controversy surrounding the burning of the city started soon after the war ended. General Sherman blamed the high winds and retreating Confederate soldiers for firing bales of cotton, which had been stacked in the streets. General Sherman denied ordering the burning, though he did order militarily significant structures, such as the Confederate Printing Plant, destroyed. Firsthand accounts by local residents, Union soldiers, and a newspaper reporter offer a tale of revenge by Union troops for Columbia's and South Carolina's pivotal role in leading Southern states to secede from the Union. Today, tourists can follow the path General Sherman's army took to enter the city and see structures or remnants of structures that survived the fire.

During Reconstruction, Columbia became the focus of considerable attention. Reporters, journalists, travelers, and tourists flocked to South Carolina's capital city to witness a Southern state legislature whose members included former slaves. The city also made somewhat of a rebound following the devastating fire of 1865; a mild construction boom took place within the first few years of Reconstruction, and repair of railroad tracks in outlying areas created jobs for area citizens.

Following Reconstruction, the Columbia Music Festival Association (CMFA) was established in 1897, by Mayor William McB. Sloan and the aldermen of the city of Columbia. It was headquartered in the Opera House on Main Street, which was also City Hall. Its role was to book and manage concerts and events in the opera house for the city.

The first few years of the 20th century saw Columbia emerge as a regional textile manufacturing center. In 1907, Columbia had six mills in operation: Richland, Granby, Olympia, Capital City, Columbia, and Palmetto. Combined, they employed over 3,400 workers with an annual payroll of $819,000, giving the Midlands an economic boost of over $4.8 million. Columbia had no paved streets until 1908, when 17 blocks of Main Street were surfaced. There were, however, 115 publicly maintained street crossings at intersections to keep pedestrians from having to wade through a sea of mud between wooden sidewalks. As an experiment, Washington Street was once paved with wooden blocks. This proved to be the source of much local amusement when they buckled and floated away during heavy rains. The blocks were replaced with asphalt paving in 1925.

The years 1911 and 1912 were something of a construction boom for Columbia, with $2.5 million worth of construction occurring in the city. These projects included the Union Bank Building at Main and Gervais, the Palmetto National Bank, a shopping arcade, and large hotels at Main and Laurel (the Jefferson) and at Main and Wheat (the Gresham). In 1917, the city was selected as the site of Camp Jackson, a U.S. military installation which was officially classified as a "Field Artillery Replacement Depot". The first recruits arrived at the camp on September 1, 1917.

In 1930, Columbia was the hub of a trading area with approximately 500,000 potential customers. It had 803 retail establishments, 280 of them being food stores. There were also 58 clothing and apparel outlets, 57 restaurants and lunch rooms, 55 filling stations, 38 pharmacies, 20 furniture stores, 19 auto dealers, 11 shoe stores, nine cigar stands, five department stores and one book store. Wholesale distributors located within the city numbered 119, with one-third of them dealing in food.

In 1934, the federal courthouse at the corner of Main and Laurel streets was purchased by the city for use as City Hall. Built of granite from nearby Winnsboro, Columbia City Hall is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by Alfred Built Millet, President Ulysses S. Grant's federal architect, the building was completed in 1876. Millet, best known for his design of the Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., had originally designed the building with a clock tower. Large cost overruns probably caused it to be left out. Copies of Mullet's original drawings can be seen on the walls of City Hall alongside historic photos of Columbia's beginnings. Federal offices were moved to the J. Bratton Davis United States Bankruptcy Courthouse.

Reactivated Camp Jackson became Fort Jackson in 1940, giving the military installation the permanence desired by city leaders at the time. The fort was annexed into the city in the fall of 1968, with approval from the Pentagon. In the early 1940s, shortly after the attacks on Pearl Harbor which began America's involvement in World War II, Lt. Colonel Jimmy Doolittle and his group of now-famous pilots began training for the Doolittle Raid over Tokyo at what is now Columbia Metropolitan Airport. They trained in B-25 Mitchell bombers, the same model as the plane that now rests at Columbia's Owens Field in the Curtiss-Wright hangar.

The 1940s saw the beginning of efforts to reverse Jim Crow laws and racial discrimination in Columbia. In 1945, a federal judge ruled that the city's black teachers were entitled to equal pay to that of their white counterparts. However, in years following, the state attempted to strip many blacks of their teaching credentials. Other issues in which the blacks of the city sought equality concerned voting rights and segregation (particularly regarding public schools). On August 21, 1962, eight downtown chain stores served blacks at their lunch counters for the first time. The University of South Carolina admitted its first black students in 1963; around the same time, many vestiges of segregation began to disappear from the city, blacks attained membership on various municipal boards and commissions, and a non-discriminatory hiring policy was adopted by the city. These and other such signs of racial progress helped earn the city the 1964 All-America City Award for the second time (the first being in 1951), and a 1965 article in "Newsweek" magazine lauded Columbia as a city that had "liberated itself from the plague of doctrinal apartheid."

Historic preservation has played a significant part in shaping Columbia into the city that it is today. The historic Robert Mills House was restored in 1967, which inspired the renovation and restoration of other historic structures such as the Hampton-Preston House and homes associated with President Woodrow Wilson, Maxcy Gregg, Mary Boykin Chesnut, and noted free black Celia Mann. In the early 1970s, the University of South Carolina initiated the refurbishment of its "Horseshoe". Several area museums also benefited from the increased historical interest of that time, among them the Fort Jackson Museum, the McKissick Museum on the campus of the University of South Carolina, and most notably the South Carolina State Museum, which opened in 1988.

Mayor Kirkman Finlay, Jr., was the driving force behind the refurbishment of Seaboard Park, now known as Finlay Park, in the historic Congaree Vista district, as well as the compilation of the $60 million Palmetto Center package, which gave Columbia an office tower, parking garage, and the Columbia Marriott, which opened in 1983. The year 1980 saw the Columbia metropolitan population reach 410,088, and in 1990 this figure had hit approximately 470,000. The 1970s and 1980s saw a rise in skyscrapers throughout Columbia. In 1973, The Tower at 1301 Gervais was constructed. In 1983, Hub at Columbia was constructed. In 1989, Bank of America Plaza was constructed. In 1987, Capitol Center (BB&T Building) was constructed, becoming the tallest building in South Carolina.

The 1990s and early 2000s saw revitalization in the downtown area. The Congaree Vista district along Gervais Street, once known as a warehouse district, became a thriving district of art galleries, shops, and restaurants. The Colonial Life Arena (formerly known as the Colonial Center) opened in 2002, and brought several big-named concerts and shows to Columbia. EdVenture, the largest children's museum in the Southeast, opened in 2003. The Village at Sandhill shopping center opened in 2004 in Northeast Richland County. The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center opened in 2004, and a new convention center hotel opened in September 2007. A public-private City Center Partnership has been formed to implement the downtown revitalization and boost downtown growth. In 2009, Columbia's most recent skyscraper, The Tower at Main and Gervais, was completed. Mayor Stephen K. Benjamin started his first term in July 2010, and is the first black mayor in the city's history. Founders Park, home of USC baseball, opened in 2009. The South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team won two National Championships in 2010 and in 2011. The 2010 South Carolina Gamecocks football team, under coach Steve Spurrier, earned their first appearance in the SEC Championship. A Mast General Store was opened in 2011. The Music Farm opened a location in Columbia on Senate Street in 2014. In 2000, the Confederate battle flag was moved from the South Carolina State House to the Confederate monument. On July 10, 2015, the flag was removed from the monument. The fallout from the historic flooding in October 2015 forced the South Carolina Gamecocks football team to move their October 10 home game. Spirit Communications Park, home of the Columbia Fireflies, opened in April 2016. In 2017, the Gamecocks women's basketball team (under coach Dawn Staley) won their first NCAA championship, and the men's basketball team went to the Final Four for the first time.

One of Columbia's more prominent geographical features is its fall line, the boundary between the upland Piedmont region and the Atlantic Coastal Plain, across which rivers drop as falls or rapids. Columbia grew up at the fall line of the Congaree River, which is formed by the convergence of the Broad River and the Saluda River. The Congaree was the farthest inland point of river navigation. The energy of falling water also powered Columbia's early mills. The city has capitalized on this location which includes three rivers by christening itself "The Columbia Riverbanks Region". Columbia is located roughly halfway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Blue Ridge Mountains and sits at an elevation of around.

Soils in Columbia are well drained in most cases, with grayish brown loamy sand topsoil. The subsoil may be yellowish red sandy clay loam (Orangeburg series), yellowish brown sandy clay loam (Norfolk series), or strong brown sandy clay (Marlboro series). All belong to the Ultisol soil order.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is water (2.01%). Approximately ⅔ of Columbia's land area,, is contained within the Fort Jackson Military Installation, much of which consists of uninhabited training grounds. The actual inhabited area for the city is slightly more than.

Columbia has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen "Cfa"), with mild winters, early springs, warm autumns, and very hot and humid summers. The area averages 53 nights below freezing, but extended cold or days where the temperature fails to rise above freezing are both rare. With an annual average of 5.4 days with + and 77 days with + temperatures, the city's current promotional slogan describes Columbia as "Famously Hot". Precipitation, at annually, peaks in the summer months, and is the least during spring and fall. Snowfall averages, but many years receive no snowfall. Like much of the southeastern U.S., the city is prone to inversions, which trap ozone and other pollutants over the area.

Official extremes in temperature have ranged from on June 29 and 30, 2012 down to, set on February 14, 1899, although a close second of was recorded on January 21, 1985, and the University of South Carolina campus reached on June 29, 2012, establishing a new state record high.

The metropolitan statistical area of Columbia is the second-largest in South Carolina; it has a population of 817,488 according to the 2016 Census estimates.

Columbia's metropolitan counties include:Columbia's suburbs and environs include:

As of the census of 2010, there were 129,272 people, 52,471 total households, and 22,638 families residing in the city. The population density was 928.6 people per square mile (358.5/km²). There were 46,142 housing units at an average density of 368.5 per square mile (142.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 51.27% White, 42.20% Black, 2.20% Asian, 0.25% Native American, 0.30% Pacific Islander, 1.50% from other races, and 2.00% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.30% of the population.

There were 45,666 households out of which 22.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.7% were married couples living together, 17.1% have a female householder with no husband present, and 50.4% were nonfamilies. 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city, the population was spread out with 20.1% under the age of 18, 22.9% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 16.6% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 29 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $31,141, and the median income for a family was $39,589. Males had a median income of $30,925 versus $24,679 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,853. About 17.0% of families and 22.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.7% of those under the age of 18 and 16.9% ages 65 or older.

The Southern Baptist Convention has 241 congregations and 115,000 members. The United Methodist Church has 122 congregations and 51,000 members. The Evangelical Lutheran Church has 71 congregations and 25,400 members. The PC (USA) has 34 congregations and 15,000 members; the Presbyterian Church in America has 22 congregations and 8,000 members. The Catholic Church has 14 parishes. There are 3 Jewish synagogues. There are 3 different Islamic musjids providing places of worship for more than 600 Muslim families living in Columbia.

Columbia enjoys a diversified economy, with the major employers in the area being South Carolina state government, the Palmetto Health hospital system, Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina, Palmetto GBA, and the University of South Carolina. The corporate headquarters of Fortune 1000 energy company, SCANA, are located in the Columbia suburb of Cayce. Other major employers in the Columbia area include Computer Sciences Corporation, Fort Jackson, the U.S. Army's largest and most active initial entry training installation, Richland School District One, Humana/TriCare, and the United Parcel Service, which operates its Southeastern Regional Hub at the Columbia Metropolitan Airport. Major manufacturers such as Square D, CMC Steel, Spirax Sarco, Michelin, International Paper, Pirelli Cables, Honeywell, Westinghouse Electric, Harsco Track Tech, Trane, Intertape Polymer Group, Union Switch & Signal, FN Herstal, Solectron, and Bose Technology have facilities in the Columbia area. There are over 70 foreign affiliated companies and fourteen Fortune 500 companies in the region. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the Columbia metropolitan statistical area as of 2010 was $31.97 billion, the highest among MSAs in the state.

Several companies have their global, continental, or national headquarters in Columbia, including Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company, the second-largest supplemental insurance company in the nation; the Ritedose Corporation, a pharmaceutical industry services company; AgFirst Farm Credit Bank, the largest bank headquartered in the state with over $30 billion in assets (the non-commercial bank is part of the Farm Credit System, the largest agricultural lending organization in the United States which was established by Congress in 1916); South State Bank, the largest commercial bank headquartered in South Carolina; Nexsen Pruet, LLC, a multi-specialty business law firm in the Carolinas; Spectrum Medical, an international medical software company; Wilbur Smith Associates, a full-service transportation and infrastructure consulting firm; and Nelson Mullins, a major national law firm. CSC's Financial Services Group, a major provider of software and outsourcing services to the insurance industry, is headquartered in the Columbia suburb of Blythewood.

The city of Columbia has recently accomplished a number of urban redevelopment projects and has several more planned. The historic Congaree Vista, a district running from the central business district toward the Congaree River, features a number of historic buildings that have been rehabilitated since its revitalization begun in the late 1980s. Of note is the adaptive reuse of the Confederate Printing Plant on Gervais and Huger, used to print Confederate bills during the American Civil War. The city cooperated with Publix grocery stores to preserve the look. This won Columbia an award from the International Downtown Association. The Vista district is also where the region's convention center and anchor Hilton hotel with a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse restaurant are located. Other notable developments under construction and recently completed include high-end condos and townhomes, hotels, and mixed-use structures.
The older buildings lining the Vista's main thoroughfare, Gervais Street, now house art galleries, restaurants, unique shops, and professional office space. Near the end of Gervais is the South Carolina State Museum and the EdVenture Children's Museum. Private student housing and some residential projects are going up nearby; the CanalSide development at the site of the old Central Correctional Institution, is the most high-profile. At full build-out, the development will have 750 residential units and provides access to Columbia's waterfront. Lady Street between Huger and Assembly streets in the Vista and the Five Points neighborhood have undergone beautification projects, which mainly consisted of replacing curbs and gutters, and adding brick-paved sidewalks and angled parking.

Special revitalization efforts are being aimed at Main Street, which began seeing an exodus of department and specialty stores in the 1990s. The goal is to re-establish Main Street as a vibrant commercial and residential corridor, and the stretch of Main Street home to most businesses—-from Gervais to Blanding streets—-has been streetscaped in recent years. Notable developments completed in recent years along Main Street include an 18-story, $60 million tower at the high-profile corner of Main and Gervais streets, the renovation of the 1441 Main Street office building as the new Midlands headquarters for Wells Fargo Bank (formerly Wachovia Bank), a new sanctuary for the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, the location of Mast General store in the historic Efird's building, and the relocation of the Nickelodeon theater. A façade improvement program for the downtown business district, implemented in 2011, has resulted in the restoration and improvement of the façades of several historic Main Street shopfronts. One of the most ambitious development projects in the city's history is currently underway which involves old state mental health campus downtown on Bull Street. Known formally as Columbia Common, this project will consist of rehabbing several historic buildings on the campus for residential, hospitality, and retail use. A new minor league baseball stadium was recently built on the campus as well.Movies filmed in the Columbia area include The Program, Renaissance Man, Chasers, Death Sentence, A Guy Named Joe, and Accidental Love/Nailed.

The Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, which opened in September 2004 as South Carolina's only downtown convention center, is a, modern, state-of-the-art facility designed to host a variety of meetings and conventions. Located in the historic Congaree Vista district, this facility is close to restaurants, antique and specialty shops, art galleries, and various popular nightlife venues. The main exhibit hall contains almost of space; the Columbia Ballroom over ; and the five meeting rooms ranging in size from 1500 to add another of space. The facility is located next to the Colonial Life Arena.

Koger Center for the Arts provides Columbia with theatre, music, and dance performances that range from local acts to global acts. The facility seats 2,256 persons. The center is named for philanthropists Ira and Nancy Koger, who made a substantial donation from personal and corporate funds for construction of the $15 million center. The first performance at the Koger Center was given by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and took place on Saturday, January 14, 1989. The facility is known for hosting diverse events, from the State of the State Address to the South Carolina Body Building Championship and the South Carolina Science Fair.

Carolina Coliseum, which opened in 1968, is a 12,401-seat facility which initially served as the home of the USC Gamecocks' basketball teams. The arena could be easily adapted to serve other entertainment purposes, including concerts, car shows, circuses, ice shows, and other popular events. The versatility and quality of the coliseum at one time allowed the university to use the facility for performing arts events such as the Boston Pops, Chicago Symphony, Feld Ballet, and other performances by important artists. An acoustical shell and a state-of-the-art lighting system assisted the coliseum in presenting such activities. The coliseum was the home of the Columbia Inferno, an ECHL team. However, since the construction of the Colonial Life Arena in 2002, the coliseum is no longer used for basketball, but is still used as classroom space for the Schools of Journalism and Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management.

Township Auditorium seats 3,099 capacity and is located in downtown Columbia. The Georgian Revival building was designed by the Columbia architectural firm of Lafaye and Lafaye and constructed in 1930. The Township has hosted thousands of events from concerts to conventions to wrestling matches. The auditorium was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on September 28, 2005, and has recently undergone a $12 million extensive interior and exterior renovation.

The most popular sports in Columbia are the sports programs at the University of South Carolina. Columbia also offers minor league, semi-pro, and amateur sports. In April 2017 the women's Gamecocks basketball team won the NCAA national championship, defeating Mississippi State 67-55.

Columbia has also hosted the women's U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 1996 and 2000 and the 2007 Junior Wildwater World Championships, which featured many European canoe and kayak racers. The Colonial Life Arena has also hosted NBA exhibition games.

Williams-Brice Stadium is the home of the USC Gamecocks' football team and is the 24th largest college football stadium in the nation. It seats 80,250 people and is located just south of downtown Columbia. The stadium was built in 1934 with the help of federal Works Progress Administration funds, and initially seated 17,600. The original name was Carolina Stadium, but on September 9, 1972, it was renamed to honor the Williams and Brice families. Mrs. Martha Williams-Brice had left much of her estate to the university for stadium renovations and expansions. Her late husband, Thomas H. Brice, played football for the university from 1922 to 1924.

Colonial Life Arena, opened in 2002, is Columbia's premier arena and entertainment facility. Seating 18,000 for college basketball, it is the largest arena in the state of South Carolina, and the tenth largest on-campus basketball facility in the nation, serving as the home of the men's and women's USC Gamecocks basketball teams. Located on the University of South Carolina campus, this facility features 41 suites, four entertainment suites, and the Frank McGuire Club, a full-service hospitality room with a capacity of 300. The facility has padded seating, a sound system, and a four-sided video scoreboard.

The $13 million Charlie W. Johnson Stadium is the home of Benedict College football and soccer. The structure was completed and dedicated in 2006 and seats 11,000 with a maximum capacity of 16,000.

The Founders Park opened in 2009. Seating 8,400 permanently for college baseball and an additional 1,000 for standing room only, it is the largest baseball stadium in the state of South Carolina, and serves as the home of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks' baseball team. Located near Granby Park near downtown Columbia, this facility features entertainment suites, a picnic terrace, and a dining deck. The facility also features a sound system and scoreboard.

On January 6, 2015, developers broke ground on the $37 million Segra Park. The stadium is the home for the Columbia Fireflies, a Minor League Baseball team playing in the South Atlantic League. It opened in April 2016 and can seat up to 7,501 people. Columbia had been without minor league baseball since the Capital City Bombers relocated to Greenville, South Carolina, in 2004.

The region's most popular park, Finlay Park has hosted just about everything from festivals and political rallies to road races and Easter Sunrise services. This park has had two lives; first dedicated in 1859 as Sidney Park, named in honor of Algernon Sidney Johnson, a Columbia City Councilman, the park experienced an illustrious but short tenure. The park fell into disrepair after the Civil War and served as a site for commercial ventures until the late 20th century. In 1990, the park was reopened. It serves as the site for such events as Kids Day, The Summer Concert Series, plus many more activities. In 1992, the park was renamed Finlay Park, in honor of Kirkman Finlay, a past mayor of Columbia who had a vision to reenergize the historic Congaree Vista district, between Main Street and the river, and recreate the site that was formerly known as Sidney Park.

Memorial Park is a tract of land in the Congaree Vista between Main Street and the river. The property is bordered by Hampton, Gadsden, Washington, and Wayne Streets and is one block south of Finlay Park. This park was created to serve as a memorial to those who served their country and presently has monuments honoring the USS Columbia warship and those that served with her during World War II, the China-Burma-India Theater Veterans of WWII, casualties of the Pearl Harbor attack of December 7, 1941, who were from South Carolina, Holocaust survivors who live in South Carolina as well as concentration camp liberators from South Carolina, and the State Vietnam War Veterans. The park was dedicated in November 1986 along with the unveiling of the South Carolina Vietnam Monument. In June 2000, the Korean War Memorial was dedicated at Memorial Park. In November 2014, Columbia native and resident of Boston, Henry Crede, gave a bronze statue and plaza in the park dedicated to his WWII comrades who served in the Navy from South Carolina.

Granby Park opened in November 1998 as a gateway to the rivers of Columbia, adding another access to the many river activities available to residents. Granby is part of the Three Rivers Greenway, a system of green spaces along the banks of the rivers in Columbia, adding another piece to the long-range plan and eventually connecting to the existing Riverfront Park. Granby is a linear park with canoe access points, fishing spots, bridges, and ½ mile of nature trail along the banks of the Congaree River.

In the Five Points district of downtown Columbia is the park dedicated to the legacy and memory of the most celebrated civil rights leader in America, Martin Luther King Jr. Park. Formerly known as Valley Park, it was historically known to be largely restricted to Whites. Renaming the park after Martin Luther King Jr. in the late 1980s was seen as a progressive and unifying event on behalf of the city, civic groups, and local citizens. The park features a beautiful water sculpture and a community center. An integral element of the park is the Stone of Hope monument, unveiled in January 1996. Upon the monument is inscribed a portion of King's 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech: "History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued that self-defeating path of hate. Love is the key to the solutions of the problems of the world."

One of Columbia's greatest assets is Riverbanks Zoo & Garden. Riverbanks Zoo is a sanctuary for more than 2,000 animals housed in natural habitat exhibits along the Saluda River. Just across the river, the botanical garden is devoted to gardens, woodlands, plant collections, and historic ruins. Riverbanks has been named one of America's best zoos and the No. 1 travel attraction in the Southeast. It attracted over one million visitors in 2009.

Situated along the meandering Congaree River in central South Carolina, Congaree National Park is home to champion trees, primeval forest landscapes, and diverse plant and animal life. This park protects the largest contiguous tract of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the United States. The park is an international biosphere reserve. Known for its giant hardwoods and towering pines, the park's floodplain forest includes one of the highest canopies in the world and some of the tallest trees in the eastern United States. Congaree National Park provides a sanctuary for plants and animals, a research site for scientists, and a place to walk and relax in a tranquil wilderness setting.

Sesquicentennial State Park is a park, featuring a beautiful lake surrounded by trails and picnic areas. The park's proximity to downtown Columbia and three major interstate highways attracts both local residents and travelers. Sesquicentennial is often the site of family reunions and group campouts. Interpretive nature programs are a major attraction to the park. The park also contains a two-story log house, dating back to the mid 18th century, which was relocated to the park in 1969. This house is believed to be the oldest building still standing in Richland County. The park was originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Evidence of their craftsmanship is still present today.

In November 1996, the River Alliance proposed that a linear park system be created to link people to their rivers. This was named the Three Rivers Greenway, and the $18 million estimated cost was agreed to by member governments (the cities of Cayce, Columbia, and West Columbia) with the proviso that the Alliance recommend an acceptable funding strategy.

While the funding process was underway, an existing city of Columbia site located on the Congaree River offered an opportunity to be a pilot project for the Three Rivers Greenway. The Alliance was asked to design and permit for construction by a general contractor this component. This approximately one-half-mile segment of the system was opened in November 1998. It is complete with wide concrete pathways, vandal-proof lighting, trash receptacles, water fountains, picnic benches, overlooks, bank fishing access, canoe/kayak access, a public restroom and parking. These set the standards for the common elements in the rest of the system. Eventually, pathways will run from Granby to the Riverbanks Zoo. Boaters, sportspeople, and fisherpeople will have access to the area, and additional recreational uses are being planned along the miles of riverfront.

Running beside the historic Columbia Canal, Riverfront Park hosts a two and a half-mile trail. Spanning the canal is an old railway bridge that now is a pedestrian walkway. The park is popular for walking, running, bicycling, and fishing. Picnic tables and benches dot the walking trail. Markers are located along the trail so that visitors can measure distance. The park is part of the Palmetto Trail, a hiking and biking trail that stretches the entire length of the state, from Greenville to Charleston.

Other parks in the Columbia area include:

The city of Columbia has a council-manager form of government. The mayor and city council are elected every four years, with no term limits. Elections are held in the spring of even numbered years. Unlike other mayors in council-manager systems, the Columbia mayor has the power to veto ordinances passed by the council; vetoes can be overridden by a two-thirds majority of the council, which appoints a city manager to serve as chief administrative officer. The current mayor is Stephen K. Benjamin, who succeeded longtime mayor and fellow Democrat Bob Coble in 2010. Teresa Wilson is the current city manager.

The city council consists of six members, four from districts and two elected at-large. The city council is responsible for making policies and enacting laws, rules, and regulations in order to provide for future community and economic growth, in addition to providing the necessary support for the orderly and efficient operation of city services.

At-Large

Districts

"See related article Past mayors of Columbia, South Carolina"

The city's police force is the Columbia Police Department. The chief of police answers to the city manager. Presently, the chief of police is W.H. "Skip" Holbrook; Holbrook was sworn in on April 11, 2014.

The South Carolina Department of Corrections, headquartered in Columbia, operates several correctional facilities in Columbia. They include the Broad River Correctional Institution, the Goodman Correctional Institution, the Camille Griffin Graham Correctional Institution, the Stevenson Correctional Institution, and the Campbell Pre-Release Center. Graham houses the state's female death row. The state of South Carolina's execution chamber is located at Broad River. From 1990 to 1997, Broad River housed the state's male death row.Columbia is home to the main campus of the University of South Carolina, which was chartered in 1801 as South Carolina College and in 1906 as the University of South Carolina. The university has 350 degree programs and enrolls 31,964 students throughout fifteen degree-granting colleges and schools. It is an urban university, located in downtown Columbia.
Columbia is also home to:

Columbia is also the site of several extension campuses, including those for Erskine Theological Seminary, South University, and the University of Phoenix.

Columbia's daily newspapers include "The State" and "Cola Daily", and its alternative newspapers include "Free Times", "The Columbia Star", "Carolina Panorama Newspaper", and "SC Black News".

"Columbia Metropolitan Magazine" is a bi-monthly publication about news and events in the metropolitan area. "Greater Columbia Business Monthly" highlights economic development, business, education, and the arts. "Q-Notes", a bi-weekly newspaper serving the LGBT community and published in Charlotte, is distributed to locations in Columbia and via home delivery.

Columbia is home to the headquarters and production facilities of South Carolina Educational Television and South Carolina Public Radio, the state's public television and public radio networks.

Columbia has the 78th largest television market in the United States. Network affiliates include WIS (NBC), WLTX (CBS), WACH (FOX) and WOLO (ABC).

The Comet, officially the Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority, is the agency responsible for operating mass transit in the greater Columbia area including Cayce, West Columbia, Forest Acres, Arcadia Lakes, Springdale, Lexington and the St. Andrews area. COMET operates express shuttles, as well as bus service serving Columbia and its immediate suburbs. The authority was established in October 2002 after SCANA released ownership of public transportation back to the city of Columbia. Since 2003, COMET has provided transportation for more than 2 million passengers, has expanded route services, and introduced 43 new ADA accessible buses offering a safer, more comfortable means of transportation. CMRTA has also added 10 natural gas powered buses to the fleet. COMET went under a name change and rebranding project in 2013. Before then, the system was called the Columbia Metropolitan Rapid Transit Association or "CMRTA".

The Central Midlands Council of Governments is in the process of investigating the potential for rail transit in the region. Routes into downtown Columbia originating from Camden, Newberry, and Batesburg-Leesville are in consideration, as is a potential line between Columbia and Charlotte connecting the two mainlines of the future Southeastern High Speed Rail Corridor.

Columbia's central location between the population centers of South Carolina has made it a transportation focal point with three interstate highways and one interstate spur.

Interstates:

US routes:

State highways:

The city and its surroundings are served by Columbia Metropolitan Airport. The airport itself is serviced by American Eagle, Delta, and United Express airlines. In addition, the city is also served by the much smaller Jim Hamilton–L.B. Owens Airport located in the Rosewood neighborhood. It serves as the county airport for Richland County and offers general aviation.

The city is served daily by Amtrak station, with the Silver Star trains connecting Columbia with New York City, Washington, DC, Savannah, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and Miami. The station is located at 850 Pulaski St.

Greyhound Lines formerly operated a station on Gervais Street, in the eastern part of downtown, providing Columbia with intercity bus transportation. The station relocated to 710 Buckner Road in February 2015.

MegaBus began operations in Columbia in 2015. There routes include stops in Atlanta, Fayetteville, North Carolina, Richmond, Virginia, Washington, DC, and New York City, New York. The station is located on Sumter Street.

The Sisters of Charity Providence Hospitals is sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Augustine (CSA) Health System. The non-profit organization is licensed for 304 beds and comprises four entities: Providence Hospital, Providence Heart Institute, Providence Hospital Northeast, and Providence Orthopaedic & NeuroSpine Institute. Providence Hospital, located in downtown Columbia, was founded by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Augustine in 1938. The facility offers cardiac care through Providence Heart Institute, which is considered a quality cardiac center in South Carolina. Providence Hospital Northeast is a 46-bed community hospital established in 1999 that offers a range of medical services in surgery, emergency care, women's and children's services, and rehabilitation. Providence Northeast is home to Providence Orthopaedic & NeuroSpine Institute, which provides medical and surgical treatment of diseases and injuries of the bones, joints, and spine.
Palmetto Health is a South Carolina nonprofit public benefit corporation consisting of Palmetto Health Richland and Palmetto Health Baptist hospitals (2locations; 1 downtown and 1 in the Harbison area) in Columbia. Palmetto Health provides health care for nearly 70 percent of the residents of Richland County and almost 55 percent of the health care for both Richland and Lexington counties. Palmetto Health Richland is the primary teaching hospital for the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. Palmetto Health Baptist recently underwent a $40 million multi-phase modernization which included of new construction and of renovations. The extensive health system also operates Palmetto Health Children's Hospital and Palmetto Health Heart Hospital, the state's first freestanding hospital dedicated solely to heart care, which opened in January 2006. The Palmetto Health South Carolina Cancer Center offers patient services at the Palmetto Health Baptist and Palmetto Health Richland campuses; both are recognized by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer as a Network Cancer Program.

Lexington Medical Center is a network of hospitals—urgent care centers that are all located throughout Lexington County, South Carolina. There are currently six urgent care centers located in Lexington, Irmo, Batesburg-Leesville, Swansea, and Gilbert. The main hospital is in West Columbia. LMC opened in 1971 but quickly grew into a large center that has been growing every year since its opening. Currently, the main center offers an array of services from emergency treatments to the upcoming heart center.

The Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn VA Medical Center is a 216-bed facility, encompassing acute medical, surgical, psychiatric, and long-term care. The hospital provides primary, secondary, and some tertiary care.

Columbia has been the recipient of several awards and achievements. In October 2009, Columbia was listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of the best places to retire, citing location and median housing price as key contributors. As of July 2013 Columbia was named one of "10 Great Cities to Live In" by Kiplinger Magazine. Most recently, the city has been named a top mid-sized market in the nation for relocating families, as well as one of 30 communities named "America's Most Livable Communities," an award given by the non-profit Partners for Livable Communities.

The city of Columbia has 5 sister cities:


When did Old Isisford District Hospital become a heritage-listed site?

Old Isisford District Hospital is a heritage-listed former public hospital at 6 St Agnes Street, Isisford, Longreach Region, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Queensland Department of Public Works and built from 1914 to 1918. It is also known as Isisford District Hospital (former). It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 9 September 2014.

Old Isisford District Hospital

The former Isisford District Hospital is a timber-framed and -clad complex with corrugated iron roofing, located in western central Queensland. Established in 1892, with additions between 1902 and 1961, it functioned as a hospital to 1970 and as a clinic until 2011. It is a fine example of a district hospital and demonstrates the evolution of Queensland district hospitals from the 1890s in accordance with changes to community needs, health practices and hospital legislation.

Explored during the 1840s and 1850s, the Isisford district, centred on the Barcoo River, was settled by pastoralists from the mid-1860s. In 1874 William and James Whitman established themselves at the site of Isisford and called the place "Whittown". Pastoral development south along the Barcoo River brought workers, drovers and teamsters, boosting Whittown as a service centre. In 1878 the town was surveyed and renamed "Isis Ford". During the 1880s further development in the region occurred. Wool production increased, bringing more shearers into the district. Construction of the Central Western railway line from Rockhampton brought transportation closer with each stage completed - reaching Jericho in 1885, and Barcaldine in November 1886.

The requirement for a hospital and a doctor, to serve the medical needs of the town and district, was recognised by 1887. In 1891 a provisional hospital committee was formed. It quickly raised with another promised. A public meeting in October 1891 appointed a permanent hospital committee, which by April 1892 had complied with the regulations of the Hospitals' Act 1862 and was eligible for a government subsidy. An application for a site on which to erect the hospital buildings was made to the Department of Public Lands and a hospital reserve was subsequently created. In September 1892 the committee had in funds available and the hospital was under construction. At the end of October 1892, the committee was advertising for a matron and a wardsman, and by February the following year the hospital was treating patients.

Isisford District Hospital's plan, location and siting on a large reserve occupying a rise to the south of the town centre, followed the accepted principles for late nineteenth century hospitals. As a series of interconnected buildings, it conformed to the popular pavilion plan for hospitals, comprising a series of detached pavilions, designed to provide light and fresh air. Like other small Queensland hospitals, the wards and rooms of the Isisford District Hospital were enclosed by wide verandahs, while kitchen, bathroom and toilet facilities were contained in semi-detached blocks. The design of hospital buildings, and their location and siting, was influenced by the widely accepted miasmatic theory of disease, which postulated that disease was transmitted by breathing air that was contaminated. Therefore, good ventilation and sanitation would reduce the spread of disease. An essential element of a good hospital site was an elevated position on a generous area of land, preferably on the outskirts of a town. The elevated site was advantageous in catching breezes and enhancing the flow of fresh air through the wards. A large hospital reserve, well removed from the urban centre, was believed to minimise the effect of noxious and foul vapours. Hospital reserves at this time were almost invariably on the outskirts of a town and comprised an extensive area of land, well in excess of what was required, with the main block and out-buildings occupying less than a tenth of the total reserve.

Managed by its committee, with the support of the wider community, the Isisford District Hospital provided valuable medical service for the next 52 years. Funds were raised through subscriptions from members of the community, shearers' contributions, donations of goods and money, and fund-raising events, such as concerts.

Isisford and its surrounding district grew over the three decades following the hospital's establishment. In 1901 Isisford's population was 270, rising to 356 in 1907 and peaking at 388 residents in 1921. Growth in selector numbers in the Isisford district between 1902 and 1926, stimulated by the western progress of the Central Western railway line, combined with a run of good seasons, provided two decades of sustained prosperity.

This growth was reflected by several additions to the hospital. A morgue building was added by September 1903. In 1908 tenders were called for addition of a female ward. In May 1913 an additional building was being erected. The purpose of this building is not mentioned in any reports, but matron and nurses' quarters were being furnished in October 1913 and a 1927 newspaper article notes the earlier addition of nurses' quarters to the original hospital.

Wide-ranging, long-term changes to hospital management in Queensland resulted from the Labor Party (ALP) coming to power in Queensland in 1915 and governing almost without interruption until 1957. In April 1916 several Queensland newspapers carried the story that the Queensland Government intended to take over the management of the Isisford District Hospital. A new committee had been appointed which included two government representatives. However, this made little difference to the management of the hospital - the committee still funded the hospital through fund-raising and donations, supplemented by government subsidies for buildings and maintenance.

During World War I the Isisford District Hospital Committee struggled to retain a doctor. Believing it would be easier to keep a doctor in Isisford if accommodation could be provided, the committee in 1918 set about funding a doctor's residence, subsidised by the Queensland Government. It was erected by the beginning of 1921.

Not long afterwards the attributes of the hospital were listed by the Western Champion newspaper:'If there is one institution in Isisford of which the town and district people may feel proud it is the hospital. The fine block of buildings is erected on an elevated central position, and a beautiful breeze appears to always prevail around the spacious verandahs. It is over 30 years since the Isisford Hospital was founded - certainly in a small way at first, but the buildings have been gradually added to and improved until now the hospital is worthy of a place in much larger towns... The hospital in Isisford appears altogether too large and well-appointed for the size of the town, but still in years to come it may be too inadequate. There are male and female wards, in addition to private wards... operating theatre... dispensary... The nurses and matron's private rooms are very snug. The northern verandah is well-curtained, and here the nurses have a very comfortable open-air sleeping apartment... Separating the staff's apartments from the wards is a wide lounge, running the whole length of the building... The kitchen is commodious and well equipped, and all the doors and windows are gauzed. There is ample verandah space - a most commendable provision on the part of the designers of the building. There is also a lock ward - a separate building, not long erected at a cost of £400... and arrangements are well forward for the erection of a maternity ward and also an infectious diseases ward. The hospital water supply is well provided for... by means of several large tanks, while a "hospital" cow supplies all the milk that is necessary. The building is lighted throughout with acetylene gas... A very fine new residence (which adjoins the hospital) has just been erected and furnished at a cost of about £1700 for the doctor.'The next major development of the Isisford District Hospital followed the passing of Queensland's Maternity Act 1922, the state's response to the Australia-wide and international movement to reduce infant mortality and improve maternal health. The Act established a network of free maternity hospitals throughout Queensland, managed under the Motherhood, Child Welfare and Hospital Fund, financed through the profits of the state-run lottery, the Golden Casket, established in 1920. The Act sought to decrease the death rate for mothers and babies; to increase the birth-rate; to expand outback settlement, and to train mothers how to care for children, thereby developing a healthy population. Over a 15 year period an extensive network of maternity wards and hospitals throughout the state changed maternity services in Queensland from privately run nursing homes or home births to public hospitals:"By 1940 almost all women in Queensland had access to a government-built maternity facility. No other state government developed such a comprehensive network of maternity facilities".Priority in the provision of maternity wards was given to the more remote and isolated communities. Isisford was in the first group of towns to receive a maternity ward. Isisford District Hospital, received a standard plan five bed maternity ward (without a septic ward annex) designed by the Department of Public Works, erected in 1923-24 and opened in January 1925. The maternity ward "comprised a labour ward, sterilising room, duty room and two two-bed wards which opened onto a verandah. The building was connected to the main block by a covered walkway". It cost, with furniture, approximately. The cost of its maintenance was to be met by the Isisford District Hospital Committee.

In 1927 the growth of the Isisford District Hospital was described by The Longreach Leader:"The original hospital building is now used for two female wards and a kitchen. Additions since opening have been nurses' quarters, two female wards, operating theatre, isolation ward, maternity ward and doctor's residence. The institution is equipped with electric lighting and Xray plant. Staff comprise a medical officer, matron, two nurses and the domestic staff namely yardsman, cook, housemaid and laundress. There are four general wards - public and private ward for males and two similar wards for females."Further health legislation, which altered hospital and medical services in the state, was enacted during the 1920s and 1930s by the Queensland Government. The Hospitals Act 1923 established the model for future management of hospitals through district boards.

However, in the 1930s the Isisford District Hospital was still supported by the fund-raising efforts of its committee, showing the importance of the institution to the district. Throughout the 1930s the Isisford Hospital Committee undertook alterations and additions to improve the hospital including alterations to the maternity ward in 1933 increase ventilation in the building the addition in 1935, of reticulated water, after the council's weir was completed in October 1934.

Post-World War II was a period of great change to hospital funding and operations in Australia. Queensland's Health Act Amendment Act 1944 ended any voluntary hospitals still operating and gave the Queensland Government complete control of the hospital system. Local authorities were relieved of any financial responsibility towards the maintenance of hospitals, and their representation on boards was reduced to one member with the remainder appointed by the government. Isisford Hospital came under the control of the Blackall Hospitals Board.

Staffing became an issue again post-World War II, which prompted the community to fund-raise to resolve this problem. There was no doctor at Isisford Hospital between December 1945 and May 1946 and when the remaining medical staff resigned because of over-work, the hospital temporarily closed. This prompted the committee to send a letter of complaint to Queensland Premier Ned Hanlon in May 1946 about the lack of staff at Isisford Hospital due to bureaucratic inefficiency. At the same time a series of public meetings were held and Isisford established the Isisford Hospital Benefit Fund from June 1946 - a voluntary subscription list for the purpose of endowing the nursing staffs' wages at per person per calendar month, as compensation for the extra cost of living in the isolated district. As a result of the wage bonus, the Matron returned and two double-certificated nurses and an assistant nurse were obtained. Thereafter, the extra per month made it possible to retain a full nursing staff. However, it still remained difficult to get doctors appointed through the centralised system and to retain them.

Post-World War II, Isisford's population rose and its facilities developed due to good seasons and a boom in wool prices. However, the 1956 shearers' strike led to the loss of shearers from the town thereafter.

Starting in 1948 and continuing into the 1950s, extensions were made to Isisford Hospital including: a kitchen, operating theatre and an extension to one of the 1892 buildings. Blackall Hospitals Board was advised by the Department of Health and Home Affairs that its plan for remodelling the Isisford Hospital had been approved; there was also approval for installation of an X-ray plant at Isisford.

In early 1956 the Isisford morgue was damaged by a windstorm and the Blackall Hospital Board recommended that a new morgue building should be erected. In the same year the 1892 ward building, was removed. By 1958, a new operating theatre with terrazzo floor, designed by Brisbane architects Fulton & Collin was completed. Remodelling and additions, including kitchen and laundry, occurred at Isisford Hospital in the 1950s and 1960s.

For Isisford, the 1960s and 1970s were a period of decline. The last full-time resident doctor left in 1959. By 1961 the population had fallen to 293, and continued to fall, especially with the 1965 drought, reaching 169 in 1971. This resulted in a loss of services; for example, in 1979 the Isisford Post Office was downgraded to an unofficial post office.

On 14 September 1970, the Queensland Cabinet decided that Isisford Hospital in future would operate as an Outpatients' Centre with a number of holding beds and a dental clinic. The facilities on the hospital site at this time were: a general section with a private ward (one bed), male public ward (four beds), female public ward (4 beds); a maternity section with a public ward (two beds), two private rooms and a labour ward; outpatient department; operating theatre block; Xray department; dental clinic; kitchen and dining room block; laundry block; boiler house; morgue; storerooms; nursing staff quarters in the quarters provided for the medical superintendent; and male staff quarters in the kitchen/dining room block. The public ward and nursery in the maternity ward was used by the Matron as a bedroom and sitting room, and the private rooms had been converted to a Dental Clinic because maternity cases were transferred to the Blackall Hospital. Later, the medical superintendent's residence was removed.

In 1996, a survey of the heritage buildings under the administration of the Queensland Department of Health identified the Isisford Hospital Maternity Ward as of state heritage significance. It concluded that the building was substantially intact. The 1909 pavilion ward was also identified as a significant twentieth century pavilion ward.

In the twenty-first century, a further reduction of services to the region occurred with the closure of the Jericho-Yaraka railway line and its replacement with sealed road from Blackall to Windorah. Queensland Rail ceased operations on the Yaraka line in November of the same year. In 2006 Isisford's population was 262 - its level in the 1960s and 1970s.

The Isisford Clinic in the former Isisford District Hospital closed in 2011, when it was replaced by a new Isisford Primary Health Clinic located nearby on the corner of St Agnes and St Helena Streets, still within the former hospital reserve. In 2014, its future use has yet to be determined.

As at 2014, the former Isisford District Hospital retains fabric from its earliest phase through its development over the ensuring 70 years. Part of the original hospital is at the core of its pavilion plan. The 1909 pavilion ward is intact and now uncommon. Of the 78 twentieth century pavilion hospitals and wards identified in the 1996 Queensland Health Heritage Survey, this ward is one of fewer than 21 extant. The 1924 maternity ward is one of no more than 13 former standard plan maternity wards remaining from the 71 that were built according to the standard 5/9 bed plan between 1923 and 1936. Of the existing standard plan maternity wards, most have been substantially modified and no longer demonstrate the principal characteristics of the standard plan, whereas the Isisford Maternity Ward remains one of the most intact standard maternity wards.

The former Isisford Hospital is located in an elevated central position at the corner of St Agnes and St Helena Streets in the small town of Isisford, western central Queensland. It comprises a spacious complex of lowset, single storey, timber-framed and clad buildings sheltered under corrugated iron roofs and interconnected by verandahs and covered ways. The buildings include: the 1892 building; 1909 pavilion female ward; 1924 maternity ward; 1950s operating theatre, 1950s morgue and 1961 kitchen wing. Mature plantings in the vicinity of the hospital include a Kurrajong (Brachychiton populneus), Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus Macrophylla) and a Eucalyptus sp.

The 1892 building is positioned laterally under a gabled roof between the 1909 pavilion ward to the west and the 1950s operating theatre to the southeast. Its timber frame, clad internally with chamferboards, is exposed to the southern enclosed verandah with the remainder of the building clad in weatherboards or flat sheeting. Its western end has been extended under the adjacent 1909 ward verandah and rooms reconfigured to accommodate an outpatients clinic. The eastern end is covered by the interior walls and ceilings are lined with flat sheeting, floors with vinyl and joinery has been replaced. The southern verandah, providing access between the buildings, is enclosed with lattice and the northern verandah has been enclosed to form a waiting room and pharmacy. Access to the building is from the north via a concrete ramp.

The 1909 pavilion female ward is a long rectangular building under a hipped roof, encircled by wide verandahs generally enclosed with lattice. It is of exposed frame construction, clad internally with wide, v-jointed tongue-and-groove boards with a coved pressed metal ceiling and polished timber floor. One room wide, it retains its early joinery: a pair of French doors with fanlight at each end and four along each side. A centrally located nurses' station, separating the two ward rooms projects onto the western verandah opposite the entrance to the building. This space is lined with flat sheeting, has doors and viewing windows into the wards and a pair of doors providing access to the eastern verandah. A secondary set of stairs is located on the southern verandah adjacent to the bathroom. These facilities in the southwest corner have a 1950s fitout including laminate panelling and terrazzo floors. A similarly finished 1950s kitchen addition and two staff rooms are located on the northern verandah.

The 1924 maternity ward, a standard five-bed design, without a septic ward, has a hipped corrugated iron roof with vented gablets and is attached to the north end of the 1909 female ward by a short covered walkway. The main entrance is located on the eastern verandah with secondary stairs on the western verandah. V-jointed tongue-and-groove boards line external walls, sheltered by verandahs, and internal walls and ceilings. Joinery generally remains intact except for the replacement of casement window sashes with sliding aluminium windows. Floors are lined with vinyl. Alterations are minor and include: the fitout of the former duty room with kitchen cabinets; openings formed in the north and south walls of the former sterilising room; removal of the partition wall between the single bed wards; sheeting over wall vents between the single and two-bed ward rooms; enclosure of the northwest verandah; and lattice screens and vertical louvres to verandahs.

Later buildings on the site date from the 1950s and have low pitched corrugated iron roofs and wide eaves. The operating theatre attached to the southern end of the 1909 pavilion ward is clad in weatherboards and comprises an entrance hall, operating theatre and ancillary space with flat sheet linings and terrazzo floors. Parallel and to the east of the theatre wing is the 1960s kitchen, attached to the southeastern end of the 1892 building's verandah. Clad in weatherboards, this building houses a kitchen, dining room and living quarters accessed from an open verandah to the east and a lattice enclosed verandah to the west. The roof of this wing extends to the north beyond the 1892 wing and over the former emergency room of the outpatients clinic, forming a verandah along its north and eastern sides. The 1950s morgue is a small detached building clad in weatherboards on a concrete slab to the west of the 1909 ward.

The hospital sits within expansive grounds and large established trees surround the hospital complex. These including a Kurrajong (Brachychiton populneus) tree to the north of the 1892 building and a Moreton Bay Fig tree (Ficus macrophylla) and a Eucalyptus sp. to the west of the 1909 ward.

Old Isisford District Hospital was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 9 September 2014 having satisfied the following criteria.

The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.

The former Isisford District Hospital (1892-1970) is important in demonstrating the evolution of the provision of hospital and medical services to rural communities in Queensland during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The original 1892 building, 1909 female ward, 1924 maternity ward, 1950s morgue, operating theatre and 1961 kitchen extension resulted from the increasing needs of the developing community, changing health practices and evolving government policies regulating hospital services.

The former maternity ward (1924) is important in demonstrating the development of maternity services in Queensland as a result of the Maternity Act 1922. This building, located in an isolated western town, also demonstrates the extensiveness of the 1922 policy.

The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage.

The former Isisford District Hospital maternity ward is an uncommon and intact example of a standard plan Department of Public Works maternity ward; a design that was once common. Of the 71 maternity wards erected in Queensland, it is one of two most intact maternity wards surviving.

The 1909 pavilion ward is an uncommon and intact example of a twentieth century pavilion ward; a design that was once common.

The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.

The former Isisford District Hospital is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a district hospital in Queensland. Located on a large, elevated site at a distance from the town centre, the hospital includes wards, operating theatre, maternity ward, sterilising room, dispensary, morgue, staff accommodation, kitchen and laundry facilities.

The Maternity Ward is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a standard plan five bed maternity ward built as a result of the Maternity Act 1922. These are the labour ward, sterilising room, duty room (nursery), two single bed wards, one two-bed ward, and an ancillary wing connected by verandahs.

Old Isisford District Hospital

Post-World War II, Isisford's population rose and its facilities developed due to good seasons and a boom in wool prices. However, the 1956 shearers' strike led to the loss of shearers from the town thereafter.

Old Isisford District Hospital was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 9 September 2014 having satisfied the following criteria.

The place is important in demonstrating the evolution or pattern of Queensland's history.

The former maternity ward (1924) is important in demonstrating the development of maternity services in Queensland as a result of the Maternity Act 1922. This building, located in an isolated western town, also demonstrates the extensiveness of the 1922 policy.

The place demonstrates rare, uncommon or endangered aspects of Queensland's cultural heritage.

The former Isisford District Hospital maternity ward is an uncommon and intact example of a standard plan Department of Public Works maternity ward; a design that was once common. Of the 71 maternity wards erected in Queensland, it is one of two most intact maternity wards surviving.

The 1909 pavilion ward is an uncommon and intact example of a twentieth century pavilion ward; a design that was once common.

The place is important in demonstrating the principal characteristics of a particular class of cultural places.