League of Women Voters of Columbia/Richland County Papers

The records of the League of Women Voters of Columbia/Richland County, 1942 to 2021, are divided into three main series: Administrative, Program, and Clippings files.


Administrative Files, 1947-2020, include general papers; organizational bylaws; records of board and other meetings and conventions; financial records, including records of annual fund-raising drives and treasurer’s reports; membership records; program development; public relations; and a variety of publications.


Program Files, 1942-2018, contain correspondence, reference, and other material on diverse local, state, and national program items. Among these items are city-county consolidation and local development, chiefly relating to the Congaree Vista, the “River City” project, and Riverbanks Zoo.


In the 1950s and 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, loyalty-security was a serious issue, and the League was involved in the Freedom Agenda Program, discussions about the proposed Bricker Amendment of 1953, and other issues related to national security and individual liberty.


There is a wealth of material from the League and ERA South Carolina concerning the drive to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Sandra Watts, a League member, also served with ERA South Carolina.


Natural Resources includes air and water quality, energy, land use, and hazardous waste concerns.


State government files regard constitutional revision and reapportionment as well as miscellaneous legislative issues.


Voter Service material documents a variety of League interests and activities such as candidate forums, candidate questionnaires, election laws and procedures, voting rights, and voter registration. Also documented under Voter Service is a program of League observers who sat in on meetings of the Columbia City Council and Richland and Lexington County Councils as well as meetings of other groups.


From 1994-1997, the League held a Women’s Summit every year to bring in speakers about specific programs they were focusing on that year. These files include some of the organization of the events as well as information about what was the focus of each summit.


Other Program items include education, health care and Richland Memorial Hospital, and housing.

This collection receives periodic additions. Related records are contained in the papers of the League of Women Voters of South Carolina, and the League of Women Voters of Spartanburg County. League newsletters are available in the South Caroliniana Library's Published Materials Division.