Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson

Anna Maria Calhoun Clemson (February 13, 1817 September 22, 1875) was the daughter of John C. Calhoun and Floride Calhoun (née Colhoun), and the wife of Thomas Green Clemson, the founder of Clemson University.

Legacy In the years preceding Anna Calhoun Clemson's death, she and her husband discussed starting an agricultural college in upstate South Carolina. They decided that the college would be situated in Fort Hill and that John C. Calhoun's house would remain on the land. The house still stands at the center of Clemson University's campus. Anna's largest effort to help start the college before her death was the creation of a committee to gather support around the state. One of the main points of the committee was to spread the word that the college was to be built in the legacy of her father, John C. Calhoun, who did much for the state of South Carolina. In honor of his wife, Thomas Green Clemson founded Clemson Agricultural College 1889 and opened in July 1893, with a student body of 446 men.