History
Limestone University was established in 1845 by Dr. Thomas Curtis and his son, Dr. William Curtis, distinguished scholars born and educated in England. Limestone was the first woman's college in South Carolina and one of the first in the United States. In the late 1960s, Limestone became fully coeducational.
Limestone was a pioneer in providing educational opportunities for working adults wishing to complete a baccalaureate degree. The Block Program, established in 1976, brought Limestone classes to numerous locations throughout South Carolina. In 1996, Limestone was again at the forefront of providing educational opportunities to working adults through the introduction of the Virtual Campus, an Internet Program. In Spring 2005, the two programs were combined into the Online and Evening Program to better serve Limestone's adult students.
Today, Limestone University enrolls approximately 2,597 students on the Day Campus and in the Online and Graduate programs. There are 5 sites located in South Carolina.
Since 1991, Limestone has completed major renovations of ten of its historic campus structures: the Montgomery Building, Ebert Residence Hall, Carroll Fine Arts Building, Hamrick Hall of Science, Greer Residence Hall, Dixie Lodge, Cooper Hall, Eunice Ford Residence Hall, Granberry Art Building, and Winnie Davis Hall of History.
In 2005, Limestone completed a new Physical Education Building containing a fitness center, athletic training education facilities, a wrestling practice area, classrooms, and offices.
In 2010, the University transformed a former elementary school into a state-of-the-art center for Limestone Theatre and Athletics and acquired the former YMCA building, which now houses the Physical Education Department and the campus intramural and recreation center. In early 2011, Limestone completed a new 96-bed residence hall, containing twelve 8-person suites, each with a common living area and kitchen. In 2015, the student housing building was renamed as The Vivian Elledge and George Carl Ball Residence Hall.
In 2013, the University purchased two apartment complexes adjacent to the campus to provide additional housing for upper-class students. In the spring of 2013, Limestone completed the Bob Campbell Field House. The new 23,000 square foot Field House includes 455 lockers, with separate areas for football, men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s lacrosse, baseball, softball, and field hockey. The building also includes a laundry facility, equipment storage, a concessions area and restrooms for spectators, and a ticket sales box office.
Limestone University’s new Walter W. Brown Residence Hall opened for students in the fall of 2016. The new residence hall offers 200 beds in a pod-style configuration that includes a mix of single- and double-occupancy options. The $8.75 million, 45,000 square-foot three-story structure is located on the corner of Griffith and O’Neal Streets.
While the University's ties to the past are visible in the many historic structures on the campus, these renovated facilities now house the modern technology necessary to maintain Limestone's reputation as an outstanding regional liberal arts college.