Richland County approves $100,000 toward Oak Hill Terrace restoration

The Richland County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 14 approved a $100,000 contribution to the Oak Hill Terrace restoration project, filling the historical society’s stated remaining funding gap for the first phase of work.

The project, led by the Richland County Historical Society, will convert a partially demolished two‑story industrial building at Oak Hill into an open tiled terrace and public plaza with electrical hookups for lighting and audio‑visual equipment, speakers told the commissioners. The board was asked to cover the approximately $100,000 shortfall in a roughly $500,000 project budget.

Blair McClenathan of the Richland County Historical Society described the site and the project’s goals. He said the society has removed the second story of the building to create an open terrace, will use existing support beams for posts or sunshades, and plans a tiled plaza suitable for outdoor theater, picnics and other community events. “The end goal is to make a space that anybody can come and use,” McClenathan said.

Commissioner…