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Created by the SC Legislature in 1974, the South Carolina Law
Enforcement Officers Hall of Fame was formally dedicated
in 1980. Under the leadership of Marsha Ardila,
Administrator, the Hall of Fame is located at 5400 Broad
River Road in Columbia. An extensive renovation project
was completed and the doors reopened to the public on
January 16, 2001. That project included a complete
reinterpretation and reinstallation of all museum
exhibits.
The Hall of Fame has three different areas of operation: the
Memorial Room, the Museum, and the Auditorium. The Hall
of Fame Memorial Room currently honors 282 SC law
enforcement officers who made the supreme sacrifice for
the people of South Carolina by giving their lives in
the line of duty. Each Memorial Room inductee is
represented by a plaque bearing the officers’ name,
agency, and the year of death. The earliest is Sheriff
Robert Maxwell of old Washington District who was shot
and killed on his way to court on November 10, 1797.
Inductees represent 43 counties and 108 different
agencies.
The Museum features eleven permanent exhibits, each of which tells
a part of the story of South Carolina law enforcement,
both past and present. The exhibits include over 200
images, 418 artifacts and over 300 agency patches. The
oldest artifact, a flinklock pistol, dates from the
early 1700’s. It is part of the Melvin Purvis Firearms
Exhibit and Collection. Law enforcement artifacts from
thirteen different countries are also found in the
Museum.
The Hall of Fame auditorium is available free of charge
to any law enforcement agency needing a meeting space.
It has seventy-five theatre style seats with a total
capacity of eight-five. The Hall of Fame is open Monday
through Friday 830 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and tours for
groups are available by contacting Marsha Ardila or
Kitty Kelly at 803-896-8199
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