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

Camp Welfare | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

Photo

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

Camp Welfare, near Winnsboro, photographed by Ernest Ferguson around 1950, was "the last surviving camp ground of Arbor and Tents" for African-Americans in South Carolina. Founded shortly after 1865...

Funeral Conducted by Columbia Firm | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

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

Funerals were an important social occasion in South Carolina, particularly for the African-American community, where solemn rituals were carried on within the African-American church traditions of...

Interior of an African-American Baptist Church | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

Photo

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

Not all baptisms were held out of doors. Laura Glenn Douglas (see Laura Glenn Douglas) painted this interior of an African-American Baptist church around 1938. Courtesy of the South Carolina State...

Window on the House of Eugenia Deas | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 13

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Grades: 4 8

One of the beliefs that Sea Island African Americans have adapted to South Carolina living is that connection of certain colors to protecting individuals against the hard feelings of the spirit world...

Grave of an African American Near St. Andrews in Richland County | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 6

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This grave of an African American is near St. Andrews in Richland County. The African custom of decorating a grave with items that their former owner might need in the spirit world was widespread in...

Grave Located Outside of Florence | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 5

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West African religious traditions varied widely, ranging from Islam, to various tribal faiths, to some Christianity. The different tribal faiths had a number of common patterns. These included a...

Middleton Place | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

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

Middleton Place was one of the great plantations along the Ashley River. A three story brick house was probably built around 1705 by John Williams. His daughter married Henry Middleton and after their...

African American Laborers Cultivating with Hoes | South Carolina's African American Heritage

Episode 2

Photo

Grades: 5

A 1930 photograph of a group of African American laborers cultivating with hoes. Hoe culture was the predominant method of working the soil in traditional African agricultural societies, and the hoe...

In the Morning | Digital Traditions

Audio

Grades: Higher Education

Song performed by all choirs together, Shape Note Singing Convention

3D VR - South Carolina State House

Interactive

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

Main Lobby The main lobby includes the outside facade, the false dome, the dome room, which leads to the outer dome, and hand-carved mahogany doors, which provide entrance to the Joint Legislative...

The Main Steps In The Production Of Indigo | History Of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

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

This engraving, also from the 1785 Henry Mouzon map cartouche shows all the main steps in the production of indigo. The plants were harvested in bundles before the stems became woody, then immediately...

Field Workers Harvest Indigo Plant | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

Photo

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

Workers in the fields harvest the indigo plant during the hot summer months. Engraving from a French book, around 1760. Indigo was a good complement to rice as a crop. Indigo grew well in the high...

Successful Cultivation of Indigo by Eliza Lucas | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

Photo

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

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...

African American Workers Thresh Rice with a Flail | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 12

Photo

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

African-American workers thresh rice with a flail around 1910, a technique that is probably African in its origins. Lowcountry planters in colonial South Carolina sought out slaves from the Rice Coast...

Workers "Pounding Rice the Hard Way" | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 10

Photo

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

Workers on the Hobcaw Barony plantation around 1900 are "pounding rice the hard way," according to the caption. This pounding system is African in origin. The blows loosen the husks from the rice...

Winnowing House on the Mansfield Plantation | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 9

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

Winnowing house on the Mansfield Plantation in Georgetown County. Rice was brought into the upper story of the winnowing house, and was slowly sifted through a hole in the floor. As the heavier...

Winnowing Rice with a Fanner Basket | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 8

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

Winnowing rice with a fanner basket near Beaufort, in 1907. The sweet grass baskets now sold as decorative items in Charleston area open air markets were originally essential pieces of home and field...

Harvesting Rice Using Modern Methods and a Tractor | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 7

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

Harvesting rice, using modern methods and a tractor. Photo by Stan Lewis, around 1950. Courtesy of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

A Rice Raft with Plantation Hands | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 6

Photo

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

"A rice raft with plantation hands, near Georgetown." From a Keystone View Company stereograph card, around 1890. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

Flooding a Rice Field at High Tide | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 4

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

Flooding a rice field at high tide. From Keystone View Company stereograph card, around 1890. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.

Hoeing Rice "The Old Way" | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 3

Photo

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

A stereograph card shows hoeing rice "the old way." Hoe culture was the predominant method of working the soil in traditional agricultural societies, and was only slowly replaced by the use of mule...

Plowing Rice | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 2

Photo

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

Plowing rice. Engraving from "Harper's New Monthly Magazine," November 1878. Courtesy of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

Alice Huger Ravenel Smith Watercolor Painting of Carolina Gold Rice | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 1

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

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...

Co-op Hog Shipment Day at Kingstree | History of SC Slide Collection

Episode 7

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

Co-op hog shipment day at Kingstree, Williamsburg County, in February 1937. Cooperatives were encouraged in the New Deal, through loans from the Farm Security Administration, as a means of helping...

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