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

Baptists | South Carolina Public Radio

Baptists | South Carolina Public Radio

Audio

Grades: 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Higher Education

"B" is for Baptists.

Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbia | History of SC Slide Collection

Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbia | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 26

Photo

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

Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbia, designed by Edward Brickell White (see The Dock Street Theater And St. Philip's Church), built in 1840-1847, in the English Gothic style of architecture. The...

The Dock Street Theater and St. Philip's Church | History of SC Slide Collection

The Dock Street Theater and St. Philip's Church | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 25

Photo

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

The Dock Street Theater and St. Philip's Church, as they appeared in the 1940s. The parish of St. Philip's, founded in the 1680s on what is now the site of St. Michael's, was the first Anglican parish...

Interior of Old Goose Creek Church | History of SC Slide Collection

Interior of Old Goose Creek Church | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 24

Photo

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

Interior of Old Goose Creek Church, showing the British royal arms over the altar. One of the earliest church buildings in South Carolina, its design is said to have been inspired by the stucco...

Lexington County congregation of Pilgrim Lutheran Church | History of SC Slide Collection

Lexington County congregation of Pilgrim Lutheran Church | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 23

Photo

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

The Lexington County congregation of Pilgrim Lutheran Church, posed outside of their building around 1930. Courtesy of the Lexington County Museum.

St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church | History of SC Slide Collection

St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 22

Photo

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

St. Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in Spartanburg. This African-American church Sunday School group was photographed by the WPA in the 1930s. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

Vestrymen of the Catholic Congregation Of Georgetown | History of SC Slide Collection

Vestrymen of the Catholic Congregation Of Georgetown | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 21

Photo

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

The vestrymen of the Catholic congregation of Georgetown pose after the dedication of their new mission church, St. Mary of Mercy, on January 5, 1902. The Right Reverend James F. Northrop, Bishop of...

The Cathedral Church of St. John and St. Finbar | History of SC Slide Collection

The Cathedral Church of St. John and St. Finbar | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 20

Photo

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

The Catholic Church did not enjoy the original toleration that characterized other non-Anglican forms of worship in South Carolina. The first mass was not celebrated in Charleston until 1789. But by...

Fishing Creek Presbyterian Church | History of SC Slide Collection

Fishing Creek Presbyterian Church | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 19

Photo

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

Fishing Creek Presbyterian Church, in Chester County, was organized in 1752. This photograph was taken around 1917-1918. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

The Monument of DeKalb | History of SC Slide Collection

The Monument of DeKalb | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 18

Photo

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

"The Monument of DeKalb who fell fighting bravely in defense of the rights of man on the plains of Camden, SC, August 16th, 1780. Erected in the town of Camden. Front of the Presbyterian Church: the...

The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church | History of SC Slide Collection

The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 17

Photo

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

This engraving, done in the 1850s, identifies Reverend E.E. Pressly as Pastor of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Due West, Abbeville County. The Associate Reformed denomination of...

The staff of the "Baptist Courier" | History of SC Slide Collection

The staff of the "Baptist Courier" | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 16

Photo

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

The staff of the "Baptist Courier" in front of their office in the 1930s. Courtesy of Furman University.

El Bethel Methodist Church in Spartanburg | History of SC Slide Collection

El Bethel Methodist Church in Spartanburg | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 15

Photo

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

Postcard view of the El Bethel Methodist Church in Spartanburg - "The One Day Church" - built in one day on May 1, 1912. These photos show the progress of construction in the morning and afternoon...

High Hills Baptist Church in Stateburg | History of SC Slide Collection

High Hills Baptist Church in Stateburg | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 14

Photo

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

High Hills Baptist Church in Stateburg, in Sumter County, is the second oldest Baptist congregation in the state. Organized in 1770, its first pastor was Richard Furman, one of the founders of the...

State Presiding Elders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church | History of SC Slide Collection

State Presiding Elders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 13

Photo

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

Bishop Reverdy Ransom (seated), Mrs. Ransom, and the State Presiding Elders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 1932. Morris Brown, a free African-American, formed Charleston's Emmanuel...

Circular Congregational Church | History of SC Slide Collection

Circular Congregational Church | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 12

Photo

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

This photograph of the Circular Congregational Church was taken in the 1930s. The congregation was founded as the first Dissenter church in the colony of South Carolina in the 1680s or 1690s, and...

Island Church on John Joyner Smith's Plantation | History of SC Slide Collection

Island Church on John Joyner Smith's Plantation | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 11

Photo

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

An island church on John Joyner Smith's plantation on Port Royal, photographed around 1865 and destroyed before the turn of the century, probably served as a place of worship for slaves. Buildings...

Baptismal Celebration | History of SC Slide Collection

Baptismal Celebration | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 10

Photo

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

Both white and African-American Baptists practice adult baptism by immersion as an important sacrament. This baptismal celebration of an African-American Baptist church in Darlington County took place...

The Pilgrim Holiness Church in Winnsboro Mills | History of SC Slide Collection

The Pilgrim Holiness Church in Winnsboro Mills | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 9

Photo

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

Mill owners encouraged the building of churches (and thus habits of sobriety and industry among their workers) by donating lands within the mill village on which churches could be constructed. The...

A Gospel Tent In Cheraw | History of SC Slide Collection

A Gospel Tent In Cheraw | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 8

Photo

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

A gospel tent is set up on the town green in Cheraw around the turn of the century. Courtesy of the Cheraw Visitors Bureau.

Family Worship in a Plantation in South Carolina | History of SC Slide Collection

Family Worship in a Plantation in South Carolina | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 7

Photo

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

"Family Worship in a Plantation in South Carolina," is the title given to this sketch, printed in the "Illustrated London News," December 5, 1863. The article described the scene as having taken place...

House Designed by Robert Mills | History of SC Slide Collection

House Designed by Robert Mills | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 6

Photo

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

This house was originally designed by Robert Mills as a residence for Ainsley Hall. At Hall's death, his widow was forced to sell it, and from 1827 until 1929 it served as the Columbia Theological...

Jewish Synagogue In Sumter | History of SC Slide Collection

Jewish Synagogue In Sumter | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 5

Photo

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

The steeple on the building in the right of this photograph, on Hampton Street in Sumter, is that of the Jewish synagogue, next door to the Rabbi's house. There were Spanish and Portuguese Jews in...

Indian Fields Campground | History of SC Slide Collection

Indian Fields Campground | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

Photo

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

Indian Fields Campground in Dorchester County was more than 100 years old when it was photographed here by Carl Metz in the late 1940s. The central "arbor" (see Camp Welfare) was surrounded by...