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About the Area
You will also find that Lexington Villas is conveniently located near shopping, area golf clubs, a variety of dining locations, great entertainment options, the airport and is just minutes from Lake Murray, the jewel of Columbia and Lexington, South Carolina. You will never have far to go to enjoy the area's quality of life plus easy access to great medical care that you need and want most!
Lexington, SC
The historic town of Lexington, South Carolina is a direct descendent of the old Royal township of Saxe Gotha. This township was one of eleven established in 1735 by the Colonial government of King George II to encourage settlement of backcountry South Carolina and serve as a protective buffer between powerful Indian tribes to the west and the older settled plantations of the low country. The name Saxe Gotha was in honor of the marriage of the British Prince of Wales to Princess Augusta of the German State of Saxe Gotha.
The territory of colonial Saxe Gotha covered most of present day Lexington County and was traversed by two important early Indian trails, the Cherokee Path which followed roughly modern U.S. Highway #378 and the Occaneechi Path, today U.S. Highway #1. These ancient trading paths and the highways that later developed from them have had an enormous impact on the historical development of the area. Most of the early settlers came from various cantons, principalities and city-states of Germany and Switzerland. Others came down from Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Despite the disruptive Cherokee Indian War of 1760 and the "Regulator" unrest that followed, the township flourished as a largely self-sufficient area of small scale farming operations. Major crops in the 18th Century included corn, wheat, tobacco, hemp, flax, beeswax and livestock.
During the American Revolution several skirmishes occurred in the area. The Battle of Tarrar Springs was fought just one mile east of Lexington on November 16, 1781.
In 1785 Lexington County was established, changing the name from Saxe Gotha to Lexington in honor of the Massachusetts Revolutionary War battle. The county's first courthouse was built at Granby, located just south of present day Cayce.
With the clearing of upriver lands for the spreading cotton culture, Granby became plagued with floods. The county seat was moved in 1820 when the present town of Lexington was laid out on a high, healthy sand ridge near Twelve Mile Creek. The town was known as Lexington Courthouse throughout the 19th Century since in the first few years of its existence there was only the courthouse with few residences.
By 1861, when it was incorporated as a town, Lexington boasted a diverse population of lawyers, physicians, tradespeople, artisans and farmers. There were then 2 churches, several schools, a carriage factory, a saw and gristmill, a tannery, livestock yard, tin and blacksmiths, and a weekly newspaper. The major crops of the surrounding countryside were mainly cotton, corn sweet potatoes and lumber. Lexington was not a marketing center for these staples, but did serve as a retail market for manufactured goods purchased wholesale by merchants in nearby Columbia.
In 1865 the town was virtually destroyed by occupying Union Army forces guarding General Sherman's western flank. The courthouse, county jail and St. Stephen's Lutheran Church were put to the torch as were most businesses and homes.
The small farms with their varied crops and the lumber industry stabilized somewhat the economy of the area after Reconstruction years. The completion of the Columbia to Augusta Railroad just after the Civil War and the construction of the Lexington Textile Mill in 1890 contributed greatly to the growth of the town itself. Disastrous fires in 1894 and 1916 on Main Street resulted in the construction of brick buildings, many of which are standing today.
The Town of Lexington has continued to be the political center of Lexington County, one of the fastest growing areas of the nation. With new major highways passing nearby, the town continues to experience phenomenal growth. The city will receive the Columbia Inferno ECHL franchise which will move from Columbia, South Carolina.
Columbia, SC
Columbia, the state capital of South Carolina, is home to over 750,000 people in the greater metropolitan area (spread over portions of five counties). Columbia is the largest city in South Carolina. The city is home to University of South Carolina and many small to mid-sized colleges, universities and satellite campuses. Columbia is also home to Fort Jackson and Shaw Air Force Base. The mayor of Columbia is Bob Coble.
Columbia�s strategic location along three major interstates makes it an easy drive from many of the area�s finest resort and beach spots. Columbia is roughly 2-2.5 hours from Myrtle Beach, Hilton Head, Charleston, Wilmington and Savannah. Columbia is also under 2 hours from many other popular business and cultural destinations including Charlotte, Augusta, Florence and the Greenville/Spartanburg area. Columbia is about 3 hours from Atlanta, the South�s largest city.
Columbia boasts many museums and cultural attractions including: The Riverbanks Zoo, The Columbia Museum of Art, The SC State Museum, EdVenture (the South�s largest children�s museum) and several other museums and historical attractions. Columbia is also home to the SC Philharmonic Orchestra, Columbia City Ballet, Columbia Classical Ballet, Columbia Marionette Theatre, Kroger Center for the Arts, Newberry Opera House, The SC Shakespeare Company, Town Theatre, Trustus Theatre, Workshop Theatre and many other small theatre and performing arts companies (Complete List).
Other recreational activities include enjoying the many rivers and lakes (Congaree River, Bush River, Saluda River, Broad River and Lakes Murray and Wateree). Many parks dot Columbia�s landscape including Finlay Park, Riverbanks Park, Memorial Park, Sesquicentennial State Park and Congaree National Park. Columbia is also the center of the Palmetto Trail a hiking and biking trail that leads from Greenville to Charleston. Many other smaller parks and attractions dot the landscape (Complete List).
In addition to the football, baseball and basketball entertainment provided by the USC Gamecocks, Columbia is also home to several other sports teams. The ECHL Columbia Inferno plays hockey as a minor league affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Columbia Blowfish play baseball as part of the Coastal Plain League and the Columbia Stingers are part of the National Indoor Football League (NIFL). The Columbia Olde Grey is part of USA Rugby and was the host of the 2006 Men�s and Women�s playoffs.
Other attractions in and around the Columbia, SC area include The South Carolina State Fair, The Columbia Greek Festival, The Columbia Festival of the Arts, Artista Vista, Riverfest Celebration and many other festivals and attractions (Complete List).
Accolades Given to the City of Columbia or its Institutions:
- One of 30 communities named "America's Most Livable Communities." by the Washington-based non-profit Partners for Livable Communities (2007).
- Where to Retire magazine listed Columbia as one of its 25 best choices for retirement (February 2007).
- RetireHomeSmart.com lists Columbia as America's second best retirement city (2007).
- Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has designated USC a research institution of "very high research activity".
- USC is ranked No. 1 in the nation for its undergraduate international business program in the most recent U.S. News & World Report College and Graduate School Guides.
- USC is ranked No. 2 for its graduate international business program in the most recent U.S. News & World Report college and graduate school guides.
- Columbia is home to a �Blue Ribbon School� only 300/133,000 schools nationally receive this award.
- 3rd Best Real Estate Market in the South by Southern Business and Development Magazine.
- Providence Heart Institute (Providence Hospital) has been selected as the premier cardiac center in South Carolina.
- "Best Places for Business and Careers" list, Columbia ranked 35th overall among the 200 large metropolitan areas ranked (Forbes, 2007).
- Bizjournals ranked Columbia 25th of 105 medium-sized labor markets for young adult job seekers.
- Bizjournals ranked Columbia 15th of 77 metropolitan areas in its "Jewels of the Sunbelt" ranking, which ranks cities according to "blend of comfortable lifestyle and warm weather".
- Inc.com's 2007 Boomtown rankings, which is based on job-growth data as supplied by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, listed Columbia 24th among 99 midsized metropolitan areas nationwide.
- Entrepreneur.com, Inc. listed Columbia eighth of 63 midsize metropolitan areas nationwide in its Entrepreneur and NPRC's 2006 Hot Cities for Entrepreneurs rankings.
- CareerBuilder.com named Columbia as one of the nation's best cities for jobs based on job openings per resident.
- Expansion Management, a high profile company dedicated to helping companies evaluate future locations, listed Columbia as:
- one of America's 50 hottest cities for corporate expansion and relocation for its 2007 list
- a top 20 midsized metro area for business recruitment and attraction
- one of America's top business opportunity metros out of 70 metropolitan areas nationwide
- a "Five-Star Knowledge Worker Metro," which reflects the area's highly educated population
- a "Five-Star Business Opportunity Metro" which is a �Best of the Best� ranking of metro areas that have achieved solid ratings across the board in the company's numerous studies during the past 12 months
- POLICOM, a company that specializes in studying the dynamics of local economies, placed the Columbia metropolitan region in the top 25th percentile among the 361 U.S. Census Bureau designated metropolitan statistical areas nationwide (and first among metropolitan areas in the state) in its 2006 economic strength rankings.
- Riverbanks Zoo has been named one of America's top 10 zoos.
- Riverbanks Zoo is the #1 travel attraction in the Southeast (FL � for some reason -- is a separate region).
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