Upstate Counties

Learn about significant places in upstate South Carolina.

Learn about significant places in the following upstate counties: Abbeville, Anderson, Cherokee, Chester, Edgefield, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, McCormick, Newberry, Oconee, Pickens, Saluda, Spartanburg, Union, and York. 

Anderson County - Faith Cabin Library
Anderson County - Faith Cabin Library

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Because of near total neglect by state and county governments, black schools seldom had adequate libraries in the early twentieth century. This small log building was constructed by community...
Chester County - Brainerd Institute & Kumler Hall
Chester County - Brainerd Institute & Kumler Hall

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This institute grew out of an 1866 school for freedmen; it became Brainerd Institute in 1868 and operated until 1941. From its founding until the turn of the century Brainerd was the only school...
Laurens County - Laurens County Training School
Laurens County - Laurens County Training School

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Laurens County Training School opened in 1924 in a building constructed with assistance from the Rosenwald Fund, taught grades 8-11 until 1948. This school, at first emphasizing farming and homemaking...
Newberry County - Howard Junior High School
Newberry County - Howard Junior High School

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Howard Junior High School (also known as Shiloh School) was built on the site of an earlier school constructed by the Shiloh African Methodist Episcopal Church. This one-story, wood frame building...
Oconee County - Oconee County Training School
Oconee County - Oconee County Training School

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Oconee County Training School, which educated the African American children of this county from 1925 to 1955, was the successor to the Seneca Colored Graded School. This school, also known as OCTS...
Union County - Union Community Hospital
Union County - Union Community Hospital

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Union Community Hospital was founded in 1932 under the leadership of Dr. Lawrence W. Long (1906?-1985). Dr. Long was a pioneer in providing medical services to the African American population. A...
York County - Afro-American Insurance Co.
York County - Afro-American Insurance Co.

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The Afro-American Insurance Company Building was constructed c. 1909 by William W. Smith, an African American architect and builder from Charlotte, North Carolina. It housed the local office of the...
York County - Catawba Indian School | Road Trip
York County - Catawba Indian School | Road Trip

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Although recognized by South Carolina, the Catawba did not receive federal recognition until 1941. In 1959 they petitioned Congress to terminate their tribal status, and tribal landholdings were...