After the Burning of Columbia, one-third of South Carolina’s capital city lay in ruin, the product of a series of fires that accompanied its brief occupation by Union soldiers during the evening of Feb. 17-18, 1865. Some citizens came to identify their hometown by the remnants of buildings that dotted its skyline. Columbia’s physical transformation during the course of one night would influence the city’s growth for generations, and it is shown through historical images and descriptions in this exhibit.