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The Campus of Clemson University was originally the site of U.S. Vice President John C. Calhoun's plantation, named Fort Hill. The plantation passed to his daughter, Anna, and son-in-law, Thomas Green Clemson. On Clemson's death in 1888, he willed the land to the state of South Carolina for the creation of a public university.
The university was founded in 1889, and three buildings from the initial construction still exist today: Hardin Hall (built in 1890), Tillman Hall (1894), and Godfrey Hall (1898). Other periods of large expansion occurred in 1936–1938, when 8 new buildings constructed, and the late 1950s through 1970, when no fewer than 25 buildings were constructed, most in a similar architectural style.
The campus contains two historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places: the Clemson University Historic District I on the northern edge of campus, and the Clemson University Historic District II in the center of campus.