From horse and buggy to space shuttles, South Carolinians have relied upon a wide variety of motive power and vehicles to get to where they are going. The story of transportation is actually an extended part of the account of South Carolina's economy: without the ability to move people and goods, neither agricultural, commercial nor industrial activity can succeed in bringing prosperity. Other examples of how people travel can be found, especially in the section of this collection on economy, but also scattered throughout all the images. This section is organized by forms of transportation, and within each example by chronology. Using these images you can: begin with animal power (horses and buggies); explore the changes in water transportation from Native American log canoes to the latest in ocean going and pleasure boats; see the changes in rail travel (train and trolley) over time; follow the progress of the impact that the internal combustion engine has made in South Carolina; and witness the beginning of the air age in our state.
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Horse-drawn transportation provided opportunities for a number of businesses, just as a wide range of businesses offer service, sale, repair and rental of cars and trucks. This advertisement for...
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A small fleet of agile boats owned and operated by members of the African-American community in and around Charleston came to be known as the "Mosquito Fleet." They provided a number of essential...
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The Atlantic Coast Lumber Company built this railroad to Pawley's Island from Haley Landing on the Waccamaw River in 1902 to make the island resort easier to reach. The causeway to the island was...
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Traveling salesmen were using automobiles to travel across South Carolina as early as 1915. This photograph of the Dillon Wholesale Grocery shows horse-drawn transportation alongside such an...
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The first air express out of Columbia, at Owens Field, 1936. Mayor L.B. Owens poses with M.A. Shepard and Robert Reed, pilot and co-pilot. The plane was owned by Delta Airlines. Courtesy of the South...
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Early automobiles did not have self-starters. In this posed picture, the children of Columbia photographer Walter L. Blanchard are turning the crank of their family automobile in front of their home...
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The Southern Railway yard in Greenville County, around 1911. Courtesy of the South Caroliniana Library.
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The West Point Rice Mills at Charleston's harbor boasted docks large enough to load and unload large vessels such as this three-masted schooner, "Warren Moore," pictured in 1907. The last rice cargo...
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Wheeler's Transfer and Livery Company in Columbia was photographed with some of the variety of vehicles available for hire displayed in front of their office and stables in 1910. Courtesy of the South...
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The children from Pollawana Island in this 1910 photograph came to the Penn School by boat. From the Penn School Collection. Permission granted by Penn Center, Inc., St. Helena Island, SC.
