This little-known Columbia landmark just got national recognition

In October 1901, just after the turn of the 20th century at the advent of the industrial revolution in the South, a tiny schoolhouse opened at 1170 Olympia Ave. in Columbia.

The schoolhouse was for the children of workers at the new Olympia Mill. And it was indeed a house, one of the standard mill houses that make up the majority of homes in the Granby and Olympia mill villages today: a two-story, six-room, side-gable building with a “saltbox,” or sloped roof shed across the back.

By 1907, the schoolhouse was already overcrowded with 230 students. So in 1909 the company built a new, two-story, brick school building. Additions were made over the next six years, and by 1913, Olympia School, today known as the Olympia Learning Center, was the largest public school in the county.

Today, that first schoolhouse still stands. It is being converted into a museum by Jake Jaco and his wife, Sherry, whose family has been integral to the mill village community for more than a century. And it has now been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which will both protect it in the future and help attract funding.

"This is a huge coup for us," Sherry Jaco said. "We are so proud to have this distinction, as it tells the world that our museum is a significant place to honor our Linthead heritage."

The conversion of the two-story house into a museum is entering its final stage. The interior rehabilitation is targeted for completion next month.

"That will put us right where we need to be in order to open our doors on Sept. 28," Sherry Jaco said.

The purchase of the home and its renovation has been a labor of love for the Jacos and the Olympia-Granby Historical Foundation. It has been funded through private donations and grants from Richland County.

So far, the foundation has spent $340,000, and has $40,000 in work left to do.

Of that, $150,000 was raised from private donations, and $175,000 came from Richland County Conservation grants and Community Development grants.

Bob Guild, neighborhood association president for the Granby mill village, noted that both mill villages, both mills and 701 Whaley (the former mill village community center) all have already been listed on the National Register.

"This is recognition of the contribution of mill workers to the state's and nation's culture and industry," he said. "The cotton mill movement in the turn of the 20th century was the first step in recovery from the Civil War.

"The kids today don't have a clue that thousands and thousands of people in some of the hardest, lowest-earning jobs in the nation worked to literally produce the shirts on our back and the war goods for the world wars," he said. "This museum will lead people to touch and see and read about the importance of the mill communities to our culture."

The Jacos have hired a museum consultant to finalize the content and decide what artifacts will be on display. The exhibits will include five outdoor stations that will help tell the story of life in the Olympia Mill Village.

In July and August, work will begin on grounds of the museum, including landscaping and a gravel parking lot.

Local Boy Scouts will help with the landscaping, and "Vulcan quarry has already asked how much rock we need and where do we want it," Sherry Jaco said.

Plans are for the museum to be open 14 hours per week on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Volunteers are needed to help staff the museum.

To donate or volunteer, write to ogmvmuseum@gmail.com or call Sherry Jaco at (803) 783-1478.

Editor's note: Jake and Sherry Jaco are married. Their relationship was incorrect in earlier versions of this story.

This story was originally published June 18, 2018 at 10:23 AM with the headline "This little-known Columbia landmark just got national recognition."