Pioneer women's college in the antebellum South, founded 1828 by physician-educator Elias Marks.
The Institute offered a preparatory year followed by four years of collegiate study. The curriculum emphasized mathematics (arithmetic, algebra, geometry), sciences (botany, mineralogy, chemistry, astronomy), history (ancient and modern), philosophy (natural, intellectual, and moral), and literature. Optional courses included drawing, painting, music, and languages (French, Italian, Latin, Spanish). Marks published educational materials and his philosophical work "Hints on Female Education" (1828, revised 1837 and 1851), arguing that men and women possessed equal intellectual gifts. The school published the Barhamville Register around 1847, described as perhaps the earliest literary publication by a women's educational institution.
The campus occupied over 500 acres two miles outside Columbia in the sandhills, chosen for its healthier air and distance from town distractions. The main building featured a three-story center with brick and wood wings housing dormitories and classrooms. Students typically shared bedrooms with two to four girls per room, separated by curtains. Mandatory church attendance rotated among Protestant denominations. Social life was strictly regulated: male visitors were limited to relatives, and exercise consisted mainly of walking and practicing quadrilles. Students wore hoop skirts, corsets, and cotton dresses daily, with silk dresses for formal events.
The school attracted students primarily from South Carolina's wealthy planter class. Board and tuition cost $200 per collegiate year in the 1850s, with optional fees available. Notable students included daughters of prominent political and social figures such as John C. Calhoun and South Carolina Governor Robert Allston.
Marks founded the Institute in 1828 after the South Carolina legislature rejected his 1826 proposal for state-funded female higher education. The school was formally named the South Carolina Female Collegiate Institute in 1835. It flourished for over 30 years, earning recognition as one of the finest girls' schools in the South. Following Marks' retirement in 1861, the school was leased to others. The Civil War devastated the institution: the Union Army's 1865 occupation of Columbia destroyed much of the city, and the collapse of the plantation economy eliminated the wealth of families who could afford tuition. The school closed after the war, and the main building was destroyed by accidental fire on February 18, 1869. All Barhamville buildings are now gone; a historical marker commemorates the site.