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

Middleton Place | History of SC Slide Collection

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Middleton Place | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

Middleton Place was one of the great plantations along the Ashley River. A three story brick house was probably built around 1705 by John Williams. His daughter married Henry Middleton and after their...

African American Laborers Cultivating with Hoes | South Carolina's African American Heritage

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African American Laborers Cultivating with Hoes | South Carolina's African American Heritage

Episode 2

A 1930 photograph of a group of African American laborers cultivating with hoes. Hoe culture was the predominant method of working the soil in traditional African agricultural societies, and the hoe...

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Higher Education

In the Morning | Digital Traditions

Song performed by all choirs together, Shape Note Singing Convention

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3D VR - South Carolina State House

Main Lobby The main lobby includes the outside facade, the false dome, the dome room, which leads to the outer dome, and hand-carved mahogany doors, which provide entrance to the Joint Legislative...

The Main Steps In The Production Of Indigo | History Of SC Slide Collection

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The Main Steps In The Production Of Indigo | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

This engraving, also from the 1785 Henry Mouzon map cartouche shows all the main steps in the production of indigo. The plants were harvested in bundles before the stems became woody, then immediately...

Field Workers Harvest Indigo Plant | History of SC Slide Collection

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Field Workers Harvest Indigo Plant | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

Workers in the fields harvest the indigo plant during the hot summer months. Engraving from a French book, around 1760. Indigo was a good complement to rice as a crop. Indigo grew well in the high...

Successful Cultivation of Indigo by Eliza Lucas | History of SC Slide Collection

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Successful Cultivation of Indigo by Eliza Lucas | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

Beginning in 1740, experiments by Eliza Lucas (who later married Charles Pinckney - see Charles Pinckney's Town House) led to the successful cultivation of indigo, the source of a rich blue dye so...

African American Workers Thresh Rice with a Flail | History of SC Slide Collection

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African American Workers Thresh Rice with a Flail | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 12

African-American workers thresh rice with a flail around 1910, a technique that is probably African in its origins. Lowcountry planters in colonial South Carolina sought out slaves from the Rice Coast...

Workers "Pounding Rice the Hard Way" | History of SC Slide Collection

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Workers "Pounding Rice the Hard Way" | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 10

Workers on the Hobcaw Barony plantation around 1900 are "pounding rice the hard way," according to the caption. This pounding system is African in origin. The blows loosen the husks from the rice...

Winnowing House on the Mansfield Plantation | History of SC Slide Collection

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Winnowing House on the Mansfield Plantation | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 9

Winnowing house on the Mansfield Plantation in Georgetown County. Rice was brought into the upper story of the winnowing house, and was slowly sifted through a hole in the floor. As the heavier...

Winnowing Rice with a Fanner Basket | History of SC Slide Collection

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Winnowing Rice with a Fanner Basket | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 8

Winnowing rice with a fanner basket near Beaufort, in 1907. The sweet grass baskets now sold as decorative items in Charleston area open air markets were originally essential pieces of home and field...

Harvesting Rice Using Modern Methods and a Tractor | History of SC Slide Collection

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Harvesting Rice Using Modern Methods and a Tractor | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 7

Harvesting rice, using modern methods and a tractor. Photo by Stan Lewis, around 1950. Courtesy of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

A Rice Raft with Plantation Hands | History of SC Slide Collection

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A Rice Raft with Plantation Hands | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 6

"A rice raft with plantation hands, near Georgetown." From a Keystone View Company stereograph card, around 1890. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

Flooding a Rice Field at High Tide | History of SC Slide Collection

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Flooding a Rice Field at High Tide | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

Flooding a rice field at high tide. From Keystone View Company stereograph card, around 1890. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

Hoeing Rice "The Old Way" | History of SC Slide Collection

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Hoeing Rice "The Old Way" | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

A stereograph card shows hoeing rice "the old way." Hoe culture was the predominant method of working the soil in traditional agricultural societies, and was only slowly replaced by the use of mule...

Plowing Rice | History of SC Slide Collection

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Plowing Rice | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

Plowing rice. Engraving from "Harper's New Monthly Magazine," November 1878. Courtesy of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

Alice Huger Ravenel Smith Watercolor Painting of Carolina Gold Rice | History of SC Slide Collection

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Alice Huger Ravenel Smith Watercolor Painting of Carolina Gold Rice | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

Alice Huger Ravenel Smith painted a number of watercolor scenes of the rice cultivation process in the Lowcountry at the turn of the 20th century. The process had not changed substantially since it...

Co-op Hog Shipment Day at Kingstree | History of SC Slide Collection

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Co-op Hog Shipment Day at Kingstree | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 7

Co-op hog shipment day at Kingstree, Williamsburg County, in February 1937. Cooperatives were encouraged in the New Deal, through loans from the Farm Security Administration, as a means of helping...

Darlington Dairy Plant | History of SC Slide Collection

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Darlington Dairy Plant | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 6

James Alford, Ernest Staton, and Bright Stevenson work in the interior of the Staton Dairy barn in Darlington County around 1923. Courtesy of the Darlington County Historical Commission.

Mr. and Mrs. W.P. Roof, Sr., Pose with Hired Help, Dick Portee | History of SC Slide Collection

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Mr. and Mrs. W.P. Roof, Sr., Pose with Hired Help, Dick Portee | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 5

Mr. and Mrs. W.P. Roof, Sr., pose with their hired hand Dick Portee, around 1900. The livestock they exhibit in the farm yard behind their Lexington house were proudly included in the photograph as...

Turkeys | History of SC Slide Collection

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Turkeys | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

Turkey processing at the Louis Rich Poultry plant in Newberry. Photo by Doug Gilmore, February 12, 1988. Courtesy of "The State" newspaper.

Palmetto Pigeon Plant | History of SC Slide Collection

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Palmetto Pigeon Plant | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

The Palmetto Pigeon Plant in Sumter, photographed November 28, 1932. Courtesy of the Sumter County Museum Archives.

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Squabs | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

Squabs were an important commercial poultry product for Midlands farmers. Here a group of African-American women pick feathers from squabs headed for market in Sumter. Photograph by Bill King, for the...

Chickens | History of SC Slide Collection

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Chickens | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

Flocks of chickens provided an important source of meat protein, and possibly income, for this family in Lancaster. October 14, 1941 photo by L.W. Riley. Courtesy of the Clemson University Libraries.

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