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.

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Institute Hall | History of SC Slide Collection

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Institute Hall | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

The National Democratic nominating convention in session at Institute Hall in Charleston on April 28, 1860. The convention was unable to bridge the differences between northern and southern wings of...

Charleston Battery, 1865 | History of SC Slide Collection

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Charleston Battery, 1865 | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

This view of the Battery in Charleston, circa 1865, gives a good view of how that city appeared during the Civil War, and how it had prepared for its defense. The area is still known as the Battery...

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Charleston Jockey Club Advertisement | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 11

Antebellum Charleston was famed for its racing, and for the devotion that its citizens showed to breeding and racing horses, making the contests extravagant betting and drinking events. Here the...

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Encampment at Hadril's Point | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 8

John C. Calhoun (see John C. Calhoun and John C. Calhoun), newly elected to the House of Representatives in 1811, was an eager supporter of avenging American honor by going to war against England...

Old Powder Magazine | History of SC Slide Collection

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Old Powder Magazine | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 7

The "old powder magazine," built in 1703 as part of the northwest bastion of the city's original fortifications, was a storage area for arms as Charleston prepared for the Revolutionary War. Courtesy...

Sergeant William Jasper, Hero of Fort Moultrie | History of SC Slide Collection

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Sergeant William Jasper, Hero of Fort Moultrie | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 6

When a British shot tore the South Carolina flag from its staff during the attack on Sullivan's Island, Sergeant Jasper, an Irishman, risked becoming a target himself to replace the flag, lest the...

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Fort Moultrie II | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 5

The British ships fired on Fort Moultrie on June 28, 1776, in an attack outlined in this map. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

Fort Moultrie I | History of SC Slide Collection

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Fort Moultrie I | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

The heroic defense of the fort on Sullivan's Island from a determined attack in June 1776, by a British Fleet under Sir Peter Parker (see Sir Peter Parker) gave South Carolina its state symbol. The...

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Charleston Exchange Building | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 21

The focal point of this 1780 view of Charleston from the harbor is the handsome Exchange Building, begun in 1767 as an exchange and customs house for one of the most prosperous shipping towns in the...

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Plat Or Map From Writs Of Partition Files | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 8

A plat from the "Writs of Partition" files, in the case of "Brewton v. Izard," dated April 17, 1760. (A plat is a map drawn by a surveyor following the legal definition of a piece of property, and...

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Mulberry House and Street

Episode 7

"Mulberry House and Street," painted by Thomas Coram around 1800, shows a typical mid-18th century South Carolina plantation. The "great House," while elegant, was not necessarily the enormous...

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Charles Pinckney's Town House | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 6

The town house of Charles Pinckney (1757-1824, see Charles Pinckney) on Meeting Street in Charleston, painted from memory by Mrs. Colden Tracy after it had been destroyed in the 1861 Charleston fire...

Charleston, South Carolina in 1742 | History of SC Slide Collection

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Charleston, South Carolina in 1742 | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 5

The city of Charleston in 1742 was a bustling port town of 6,800, the fourth largest city in British North America. Half of its population were African-American slaves. They were the labor on which...

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Purrysburg Cemetery | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

During the 1730s, to protect against Native American attack and slave uprising, the government made plans to establish eight townships in a semicircle about one hundred miles around Charles Town (see...

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Edward Teach, a.k.a. Captain Blackbeard | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

Blackbeard (Edward Thatch, Teach, or Tench) was one of the best known of the pirates whose activities expanded in the period 1716-1718 when the end of the war against Spain threw great numbers of...

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Major Stede Bonnet | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

The Pirate Stede Bonnet is one of the more colorful characters in South Carolina history. In the early 18th century there was sometimes very little difference between legal piracy--the licensing of...

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Archaeological Excavation, Parris Island, SC | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 8

How do we know about the people who lived in South Carolina so long ago, whether natives or Europeans? We have a few paintings and drawings, such as those made by John White and Jacques LeMoyne de...

French Outpost, Port Royal Island | History of SC Slide Collection

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French Outpost, Port Royal Island | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 7

The English were not the first Europeans to send explorers among the Carolina coastal tribes. First the Spanish, then the French, had preceded them. This 16th century engraving is of the French...

Fort San Filipe | History of SC Slide Collection

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Fort San Filipe | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 5

The Spanish made two attempts to settle a permanent community in South Carolina. The first in 1526, led by a wealthy lawyer from Santo Domingo, Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon, failed in less than a year. The...

The Governor's Mansion | History of SC Slide Collection

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The Governor's Mansion | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 26

The Governor's Mansion, seen in this 1907 postcard view, was originally constructed in 1855 as the officers' barracks of the Arsenal Academy, which later merged with the Citadel and moved to...

South Carolina State House, 1976 | History of SC Slide Collection

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South Carolina State House, 1976 | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 25

Aerial photo of the South Carolina State House in 1976. In 1900, the legislature decided to add the porticoes and tower of 1854 architect John R. Niersee's original plan. A commission appointed Frank...

South Carolina State House, 1862 | History of SC Slide Collection

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South Carolina State House, 1862 | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 24

The State House in 1862. The bulk of the work on the building was done from 1857 through March of 1861. At that time, bonds to finance more work could not be sold, but slaves continued to quarry the...

South Carolina State House, 1850 | History of SC Slide Collection

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South Carolina State House, 1850 | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 23

The State House, from an 1855 stereoscopic print. The original State House of 1794 had deteriorated so badly by 1850 that Governor Seabrook was afraid the state's records were no longer safe there...

South Carolina State House, 1790's | History of SC Slide Collection

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South Carolina State House, 1790's | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 22

The State House, 1790s. The act which established Columbia as the capital of South Carolina in 1786 included instructions that the funds gained from selling lots in the town were to be used to...

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