Explore South Carolina

Learn about South Carolina. You may be surprised at what you'll find!

In addition to the topics below, you can also delve into South Carolina's history by visiting the Social Studies section.

Public schools observe John C. Calhoun's birthday, March 18, as South Carolina Day.

Within this Collection

The Shrimp Boat "Mary Pickford" | History of SC Slide Collection

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The Shrimp Boat "Mary Pickford" | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

An African-American seaman waits patiently for the shrimp boat "Mary Pickford" to leave the Beaufort waterfront in the 1930s. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

The Paper Industry | History of SC Slide Collection

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The Paper Industry | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 8

The paper industry in South Carolina is a major user of forest products of the state. This is the International Paper Mill in Georgetown, photographed in 1935. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana...

The Lumbering Industry | History of SC Slide Collection

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The Lumbering Industry | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 7

"From its first shipment of Carolina products to England in 1670, when seven cedar boards were included, lumbering in many forms has brought dependable wealth to South Carolina. In all its phases...

The Railroad and Lumber Industries | History of SC Slide Collection

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The Railroad and Lumber Industries | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

The lumber industry was heavily dependent upon the railroad industry in South Carolina. The Atlantic Coast Lumber Company bought the Georgetown and Western Railroad in 1900, equipped it with new rails...

Turpentine Factory, Or "Spiritine" | History of SC Slide Collection

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Turpentine Factory, Or "Spiritine" | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

The "spiritine" or turpentine factory in Cheraw was active at the turn of the 20th century. Courtesy of the Cheraw Visitors Bureau.

Turpentine | History of SC Slide Collection

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Turpentine | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

The turpentine industry has been an important part of the forest products industry in South Carolina from its earliest days. The first step in making turpentine is to gather pitch from pine trees; fan...

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Timber | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

The Orangeburg County cattle pasture had a good stand of pine timber in the background. The timber not only provided shade and protection; it was also a major agricultural crop in South Carolina...

Carlisle Floyd | S.C. Hall of Fame Anne Worsham Richardson | S.C. Hall of Fame

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Anne Worsham Richardson | S.C. Hall of Fame

Known as the “Charleston Bird Lady,” Anne Worsham Richardson (1919-2012), renowned wildlife artist, was sometimes dubbed the Audubon of her time. No other South Carolinian has done more to portray the...

South Carolina Publishers And Composers | Walter Edgar's Journal

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South Carolina Publishers And Composers | Walter Edgar's Journal

Episode 3

Dr. Thompson details South Carolinian composers and publishers during the Civil War. One such composer was from Columbia: Lizzie C. Orchard, and Dr. Thompson plays an excerpt from “Major General Wade...

Plodding Along: A Dan Wagoner Experiment

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Plodding Along: A Dan Wagoner Experiment

Students will study Dan Wagoner and will use the Dance Elements of shape, weight, balance, and rhythm to create a dance study.

Interior of a Tobacco Grading Room | History of SC Slide Collection

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Interior of a Tobacco Grading Room | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 6

Interior of a tobacco grading room in a Darlington tobacco factory around 1890. Photo by August Kohn. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

Sorting and Stringing Tobacco | History of SC Slide Collection

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Sorting and Stringing Tobacco | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 5

African-American and white boys work together stringing tobacco under the shade of the shed, near Marion. Sorting and stringing tobacco onto long poles was a preliminary step to curing it. Dorothea...

U.S. Goodyear Farm, Bishopville, S.C. | History of SC Slide Collection

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U.S. Goodyear Farm, Bishopville, S.C. | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

U.S. Goodyear farm in Bishopville, showing a combination tobacco curing and sweet potato curing storage barn. Photograph by E.C. Hunter in October 1939. Courtesy of the Clemson University Libraries.

Tobacco Being Hung on Racks | History of SC Slide Collection

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Tobacco Being Hung on Racks | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

In this somewhat unusual photo around 1900, harvested tobacco is being hung on racks immediately in the field before being taken by mule-drawn wagon to the tobacco barn, where the stringing process...

Tobacco Farmer Painting by Richard Lofton | History of SC Slide Collection

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Tobacco Farmer Painting by Richard Lofton | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

Artist Richard Lofton painted this tobacco farmer during the 1930s. Courtesy of the Collection of the Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, South Carolina. Richard Morrison Lofton, American, 1908-1966....

Tobacco and Industry Mural by Lee Gatch | History of SC Slide Collection

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Tobacco and Industry Mural by Lee Gatch | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

This sketch was a preliminary study for the Mullins Post Office mural painted by Lee Gatch in 1940, titled "Tobacco and Industry." Courtesy of the South Carolina State Museum.

Charleston Cotton Exchange | History of SC Slide Collection

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Charleston Cotton Exchange | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 11

As important as the growing of cotton was its marketing, and in this the Cotton Exchange played a powerful role in the local economy. All of the members of the Charleston Cotton Exchange were...

Cotton Market in Hartsville | History of SC Slide Collection

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Cotton Market in Hartsville | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 10

This cotton market in Hartsville, in Darlington County, dealt primarily in long-staple cotton, used in the 1930s in fine yarns, and in the fabric or cords on which tires were built. Works Progress...

Harvester Tipping a Load of Cotton Into a Wagon | History of SC Slide Collection

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Harvester Tipping a Load of Cotton Into a Wagon | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 6

Harvester tipping a load of cotton into a wagon in Calhoun County, September 1968. Although the U.S. Department of Agriculture began experimenting with mechanical cotton pickers in the 1920s, they...

A Keowee Church Farm Cotton Picking | History of SC Slide Collection

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A Keowee Church Farm Cotton Picking | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 5

"A Keowee Church Farm Cotton Picking." This photograph of whites picking cotton, taken around 1900 in York County, is from the collection of Miss Margaret Gist. She was active in the missionary...

A Cotton Field During Harvesting in Aiken | History of SC Slide Collection

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A Cotton Field During Harvesting in Aiken | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

A cotton field during harvesting in Aiken. Courtesy of the Aiken County Historical Museum.

The Boll Weevil | History of SC Slide Collection

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The Boll Weevil | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

Woodcut by Anna Heyward Taylor of a boll weevil. As early as 1728, a cotton weevil was reported in North Carolina, but the pest now known by the name of "boll weevil" did not become a major threat to...

Ripened Bolls of Short-Staple Cotton | History of SC Slide Collection

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Ripened Bolls of Short-Staple Cotton | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

Ripened bolls of short-staple cotton in the fields of Calhoun County in September of 1968. Cotton still produced in South Carolina dominated agriculture in the state in the first half of the 19th...