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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The advent of steam farm equipment did not make horsepower immediately out of date. Here, in October 1918 at the J.L. Coker farm in Hartsville, a steam tractor and horse-drawn wagons work together to...
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A steel steamer named the "Georgetown" is docked at the Atlantic Coast Lumber Company loading area. One of two such vessels owned by the company, the "Georgetown" was 256 feet long, and could make the...
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Eddie Norton, a sweeper in the Saxon Mill, Spartanburg, was photographed by the child labor reformer Lewis Hine on May 17, 1912, for the U.S. Child Labor Commission. Courtesy of the National Archives...
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Falling water remained an important source of power for the growing textile industry in South Carolina in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Here the Saluda River Dam in Greenville harnesses the...
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Folly Beach, close to Charleston, has always attracted large numbers of bathers, vacationers, and sun-seekers. The pier at Folly Beach is seen here in 1955. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.
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A granite quarry in operation in Fairfield County, near Winnsboro, in the 1930s. From the files of the Works Progress Administration. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.
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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...
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J.H. Rivers ran a country store on his farm, photographed here around 1890. He later opened a general store in the town of Hampton. Courtesy of Mildred B. Rivers.
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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...
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The Palmetto Pigeon Plant in Sumter, photographed November 28, 1932. Courtesy of the Sumter County Museum Archives.
