Lander University Campus Tour

Lander College was established in 1872 in Williamston, South Carolina, as the Williamston Female College.  It moved to Greenwood in 1904 as Lander College, named for its founder, the Reverend Samuel Lander.  The College initially sat on a barren 16-acre former cotton field.

Mrs. Lander was well known for her love of nature and is responsible for beginning the transformation of the campus from a barren former cotton field to the diverse collection of plants it is today.  She encouraged each student to bring a native tree from her home county to plant on the campus and many of those trees remain standing today.

In recent years, the Lander University Arboretum Committee has been working diligently to identify and label these old trees.  It is also developing collections of crape myrtles, camellias, azaleas and hydrangeas. We invite you to visit and see for yourself the living legacy the Lander’s have left to Lander University and the Greenwood Community.