The ways in which South Carolinians have earned their livings, enriched themselves and the state, and provided essential goods and services to each other, the region, and the nation have varied over time and place, and are becoming increasingly diverse. The images collected together in this category do not make up the whole story. Users of this collection are urged to look also at the following section on transportation, and to use the search function for additional images that illustrate the agriculture, commerce and industry of South Carolina.
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Two mules pull a plow while women cultivate these Georgetown County fields using rakes and hoes. Photograph album of William Doyle Morgan, around 1890. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.
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An outdoor blacksmith prepares his forge, perhaps to shoe horses or mules, widely used in South Carolina agriculture until very recently as the principle source of power for plowing, harvesting, and...
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"A Visit to the Phosphate Fields and Hills," showing the structure of the phosphate washing machinery that cleaned the rock before it was crushed to make the fertilizer. "Leslie's Illustrated Magazine...
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Office work changed from being primarily a male occupation to one dominated by women between the early 20th century and this 1960s photograph of a Winthrop College student in typing class. Courtesy of...
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This country general store and post office in the saw mill town of Ashepoo was photographed in June 1939 by Marion Post for the Farm Security Administration. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.
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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...
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An industrial and commercial complex made up of lumber yards and shipping, operated by the Georgetown and Western Railroad and the Gardner and Lacey Lumber Company, characterized the Sampit River...
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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...
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Plowing rice. Engraving from "Harper's New Monthly Magazine," November 1878. Courtesy of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.
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The production line at Darlington Brick Company in Society Hill, around 1912. Courtesy of the Darlington County Historical Commission.
