Sesqui-Centennial State Park was dedicated to the recreation of the people and made available to the State of South Carolina by the Columbia Sesqui-Centennial Commission of 1936 in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the City of Columbia. The commission included James H. Hammond as chairman, L.B. Owens as treasurer, Mrs. Julian Henning as secretary, Jeff B. Bates, J. Macfie Anderson, Ames Haltiwanger, William Lykes, Jr., and C.S. Lemon.