State Rep. Chip Limehouse had proposed new legislation that would require state agencies to compile a list of the historic sites they own, but news of the bill helped unearth an existing survey already done in 1992. The list includes almost 2,500 state-owned historic buildings and archaeological sites that Limehouse, R-Charleston, hopes can get further scrutiny for preservation. Historian Katherine Hurt Richardson of Sumter — the first employee ever hired by the then newly formed Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation — pinpointed 2,176 buildings built before 1947 and 307 archaeological sites that are at least as old. Limehouse called the list a great find. “We've got a matrix to work off of,” he said. “This is a big step in the right direction.” Limehouse proposed the bill after this newspaper reported the deteriorating condition of the Bennett's Rice Mill, a significant ruin of early 19th century industrial architecture now owned by the State Ports Authority. [...]