Workers Flooding the Rice Fields Watercolor by Alice Ravenel Huger Smith | History of SC Slide Collection

A watercolor by Alice Huger Ravenel Smith of workers flooding the rice fields.

Courtesy of the Gibbes Museum of Art/Carolina Art Association.

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History of SC Slide Collection / E. Economic Activity in South Carolina | History of SC Slide Collection / C. Rice

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...

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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...

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...

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...

Alice Huger Ravenel Smith Watercolor: African American Workers Loading Rice on a Ship | History of SC Slide Collection

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Alice Huger Ravenel Smith Watercolor: African American Workers Loading Rice on a Ship | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 11

An Alice Huger Ravenel Smith watercolor of African-American workers loading rice on a ship to send to market. Note the use of "head-toting" as a way of moving the heavy rice sacks. Courtesy of the...

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...