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.

Within this Collection

Deer Mouse | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(peromyscus maniculatus) This rodent is the most important prey item for the avian and mammalian predators that frequent the cove forest. This specis is the most widespread of North American rodents...

Eastern Box Turtle | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Terrapene carolina) This turtle is very common and is highly terrestrial. The males have red eyes and the bottom of the shell (plastron) is scoped out; while the females have brown/yellow eyes and a...

Rat Snake | The Cove Forest

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

(Elaphe obsoleta) The rat snake is one of the most diurnal of snakes found in the cove forest. This snake is a very adept climber and is frequently found climbing trees and nesting in tree cavities...

Fishermen On Isle of Palms | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Fishermen cast surf nets on the Isle of Palms in 1899. Courtesy of the Winthrop University Archives.

Ladies Island Oyster Factory | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Oyster boats docked at the Ladies Island Oyster Factory have their ropes neatly coiled, waiting for the next trip to the oyster beds. Beaufort County photograph, Works Progress Administration, 1930s...

Harvesting Of Marine Life | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

An important part of South Carolina's economy has been the harvesting of marine life. These shrimp boats belong to an African-American owned cooperative on Hilton Head in the 1970s. Courtesy of the...

The Shrimp Boat "Mary Pickford" | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

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.

The Paper Industry | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 8

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The paper industry in South Carolina is a major user of forest products of the state. This is the International Paper Mill in Georgetown, photographed in 1935. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana...

The Lumbering Industry | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 7

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

"From its first shipment of Carolina products to England in 1670, when seven cedar boards were included, lumbering in many forms has brought dependable wealth to South Carolina. In all its phases...

The Railroad and Lumber Industries | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The lumber industry was heavily dependent upon the railroad industry in South Carolina. The Atlantic Coast Lumber Company bought the Georgetown and Western Railroad in 1900, equipped it with new rails...

Turpentine Factory, Or "Spiritine" | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The "spiritine" or turpentine factory in Cheraw was active at the turn of the 20th century. Courtesy of the Cheraw Visitors Bureau.

Turpentine | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

The turpentine industry has been an important part of the forest products industry in South Carolina from its earliest days. The first step in making turpentine is to gather pitch from pine trees; fan...

Timber | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

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...

Anne Worsham Richardson | S.C. Hall of Fame

Video

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Known as the “Charleston Bird Lady,” Anne Worsham Richardson (1919-2012), renowned wildlife artist, was sometimes dubbed the Audubon of her time. No other South Carolinian has done more to portray the...

South Carolina Publishers And Composers | Walter Edgar's Journal

Episode 3

Audio

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Dr. Thompson details South Carolinian composers and publishers during the Civil War. One such composer was from Columbia: Lizzie C. Orchard, and Dr. Thompson plays an excerpt from “Major General Wade...

Plodding Along: A Dan Wagoner Experiment

Lesson

Grades: 8

Students will study Dan Wagoner and will use the Dance Elements of shape, weight, balance, and rhythm to create a dance study.

Interior of a Tobacco Grading Room | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 6

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Interior of a tobacco grading room in a Darlington tobacco factory around 1890. Photo by August Kohn. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

Sorting and Stringing Tobacco | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 5

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

African-American and white boys work together stringing tobacco under the shade of the shed, near Marion. Sorting and stringing tobacco onto long poles was a preliminary step to curing it. Dorothea...

U.S. Goodyear Farm, Bishopville, S.C. | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

U.S. Goodyear farm in Bishopville, showing a combination tobacco curing and sweet potato curing storage barn. Photograph by E.C. Hunter in October 1939. Courtesy of the Clemson University Libraries.

Tobacco Being Hung on Racks | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

In this somewhat unusual photo around 1900, harvested tobacco is being hung on racks immediately in the field before being taken by mule-drawn wagon to the tobacco barn, where the stringing process...

Tobacco Farmer Painting by Richard Lofton | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Artist Richard Lofton painted this tobacco farmer during the 1930s. Courtesy of the Collection of the Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, South Carolina. Richard Morrison Lofton, American, 1908-1966....

Tobacco and Industry Mural by Lee Gatch | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

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.

Charleston Cotton Exchange | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 11

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

As important as the growing of cotton was its marketing, and in this the Cotton Exchange played a powerful role in the local economy. All of the members of the Charleston Cotton Exchange were...

Cotton Market in Hartsville | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 10

Photo

Grades: 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

This cotton market in Hartsville, in Darlington County, dealt primarily in long-staple cotton, used in the 1930s in fine yarns, and in the fabric or cords on which tires were built. Works Progress...

Explore South Carolina

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