Towns & Cities

An up-close view of some of South Carolina's small towns and cities.

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From its serene shores to its iconic landmarks, Hilton Head Island is a charming destination for anyone traveling through the Palmetto State. Join us as we soar above the Harbour Town Lighthouse and...

City of Columbia | From the Sky

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The city of Columbia is not just at the geographical center of the state, it's also at the center of governmental and commercial activity. Affectionately known as Soda City, Columbia is well known for...

Charleston | South Carolina Public Radio

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"C" is for Charleston [Charleston County, Population 126,000]

Aerial View Of Winnsboro, 1950 | History Of SC Slide Collection

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An aerial view of Winnsboro around 1950, before the Confederate monument in front of the clock tower was moved because it caused traffic accidents. The clock, assembled in 1833, is thought to be the...

Walterboro Courthouse, 1910 | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Walterboro Courthouse, designed by Robert Mills, was built of materials originally used in the Provisional Capital of South Carolina at Jacksonboro. Photographed here in 1910, a militia unit on...

Downtown Sumter, 1930 | History Of SC Slide Collection

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This aerial view of downtown Sumter, taken around 1930, shows clearly the City Hall and the skyscraper Dixie Life building, built in 1911. Courtesy of the Sumter County Museum Archives.

Main Street Of Sumter, Around 1910 | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Main Street of Sumter, around 1910. The straggling village, first called Sumterville after the Revolutionary War General Thomas Sumter (see Thomas Sumter), was selected in 1798 to be the courthouse...

Main Street Of Summerville, 1906 | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Main Street of Summerville, July 1906. Created by early planters as a refuge from the heat and disease of coastal plantations, Summerville was one of a number of early resorts built in the belt of...

The Town Of St. Matthews | History Of SC Slide Collection

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The town of St. Matthews predates by more than a century and a half the 1908 formation of Calhoun County, of which it is now the county seat. Originally a trading post on the Cherokee Path, the town...

Spartanburg County Courthouse | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Spartanburg County was created out of the old Ninety Six District in 1785, but there were settlements in the area as early as 1761, primarily of Scotch-Irish from Pennsylvania and Virginia. Known only...

Main Street In Society Hill, Around 1910 | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Main Street, Society Hill, before paving, around 1910. Society Hill was the core of the Welsh Neck settlement along the Great Pee Dee River granted to Welsh Baptists from Delaware in 1736. The name...

Rock Hill's Main Street At Night, 1950 | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Main Street of Rock Hill at night, 1950. Courtesy of the Winthrop University Archives.

Rock Hill's Main Street Business District, 1913 | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Rock Hill, like many Upcountry South Carolina towns, began as a railroad depot in 1852 on the Charlotte-Columbia Railroad. Incorporated in 1870, its real growth came from two influences: the influx of...

Ridgeland | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Ridgeland became the county seat of Jasper County when that county was created in 1912. Originally named Gopher Hill when settled in 1855, it was renamed based on its location on a sandy ridge. This...

Main Street And YMCA In Piedmont, 1909 | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Piedmont, whose Main Street and YMCA are pictured here in a 1909 postcard view, was an important mill town in the early 20th century textile industry in Anderson County. Courtesy of the Howard G...

The Orangeburg Courthouse In 1909 | History Of SC Slide Collection

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The Orangeburg County Courthouse, as it appeared with the Confederate monument on the square, in 1909. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

Orangeburg Courthouse | History Of SC Slide Collection

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"Orangeburg Courthouse" survived Sherman's march through South Carolina, sketched here for "Leslie's Illustrated Magazine" on February 13, 1865. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

Plat of Orangeburg, Around 1800 | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Plat of Orangeburg, around 1800. The table of reference on the back of the plat identifies the letters as follows: "a. Court House b. Goal c. Ephraim Mitchell's House d. D. Bruce's house e. Public...

Georgia Avenue Business District | History Of SC Slide Collection

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North Augusta has a dual personality; although it has developed since the Second World War as a suburb of Augusta, across the Savannah River in Georgia, its citizens are very conscious of their South...

Newberry County Courthouse, Around 1900 | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Newberry County Courthouse, around 1900. The county was originally formed in 1785, and peopled (as was nearby Lexington County) by Swiss and German Lutherans who settled in the rich farmlands between...

The Grand Strand At Myrtle Beach | History Of SC Slide Collection

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The Grand Strand at Myrtle Beach has not always been crowded with high rise apartment buildings, like those seen in this aerial view of the Grand Strand taken in 1955. Courtesy of the South...

The Ocean Forest Hotel | History Of SC Slide Collection

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The improvement of state highways in the 1920s brought increased tourist business to the South Carolina coastal resorts. The Ocean Forest Hotel at Myrtle Beach was built by a Greenville businessman in...

Clarendon County Courthouse, In Manning | History Of SC Slide Collection

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Clarendon County Courthouse, Manning, after a tornado in 1903 had swept through the town, uprooting trees and blowing the roofs off most of the stores on Main Street. Clarendon County was organized in...

The Main Street Of Lexington | History Of SC Slide Collection

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The Main Street of Lexington, sometime before a devastating fire in 1916 burned many of the business district buildings seen here. The county seat of Lexington County, the area was first settled by...

Towns & Cities

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