Construction of the Calhoun Memorial began in 1858 (the cornerstone contained a lock of Calhoun's hair and a copy of his last Senate speech) but was halted by the Civil War.  It was funded by over $25000 in donations from across the land, gathered by the Charleston Ladies' Calhoun Monument Association. 

Difficulties with the original design (by A. E. Harnish, a Philadelphia sculptor) resulted in a new plan, funded by an additional $16000 from a Calhoun-related "gentleman's association". This called for a bronze representation of Calhoun, surrounded by female figures representing Truth, Justice, Constitution and History. 

By 1887, only one of the female figures had been completed (the monument was dubbed "Calhoun and his wife") but an elaborate unveiling celebration was organized at which U.S. Secretary of the Interior Lucius Q. C. Lamar, champion of the Confederate amnesty and future member of the Supreme Court, spoke without notes for ninety minutes. In 1896 the "Calhoun ladies" spent an additional $20000 on a new stone statue, by J. Massey Rhind, to replace the original bronze and a new 80 ft.-high column was erected.  It had cost the equivalent of $500,000 in today's money to commemorate this giant of American politics and Irish heritage.