The ways in which South Carolinians have earned their livings, enriched themselves and the state, and provided essential goods and services to each other, the region, and the nation have varied over time and place, and are becoming increasingly diverse. The images collected together in this category do not make up the whole story. Users of this collection are urged to look also at the following section on transportation, and to use the search function for additional images that illustrate the agriculture, commerce and industry of South Carolina.
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The Wapoo Factory, on the Ashley River, employed 430 men and processed 60,000 tons of fertilizer a year in the 1880s. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.
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Charcoal burners, near the Francis Marion National Forest. The photograph of the charcoal operation of Mr. J.W. Litchfield near the Rotten Egg Savannah Road, "shows practically the complete operation...
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The cotton textile industry became one of South Carolina's leading sources of income by the end of the 19th century, but it had its origins in two sets of related technological advances in the late...
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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.
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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...
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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.
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Cotton in bloom in Florence County, August 30, 1967. Photo by L.W. Riley. Courtesy of the Clemson University Libraries.
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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...
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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...
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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.
