South Carolina from A to Z

“C” is for Coming, Affra Harleston (circa 1651-1698). Pioneer of early South Carolina. The Harleston family's property had been so ravaged by the English Civil War that two of the family’s children, Charles and Affra, left for South Carolina in 1669.

“C” is for Columbia Theological Seminary. An institution of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the seminary was founded in 1828 in Georgia, and moved to Columbia, South Carolina in 1831.

“C” is for Columbia Museum of Art. The Columbia Museum of Art was established in 1950 as an art, history, and science museum and included the Gibbs planetarium.

“C” is for Columbia Mills. The first textile mill in the world to be powered exclusively by electricity, the Columbia Mills Company was chartered in 1893 with an initial capitalization of $700,000.

“C” is for Columbia Metropolitan Airport. The airport, which serves Midlands South Carolina, is located in Lexington County.

“C” is for Columbia International University. Founded as the Southern Bible Institute in 1921, the school's name was changed in 1923 to the Columbia Bible College.

“B” is for Brainerd Institute. A historically Black primary, secondary, and normal school located in Chester, Brainerd Institute was one of the first educational institutions for newly freed African Americans.

“B” is for Bragg, Laura (1881-1978). Museum administrator, educator.

“S” is for South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism. Created by the General Assembly in 1967, the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism (SCPRT) is charged with promoting tourism in the state, operating a system of state parks, and assisting local governments in the development of recreational facilities and programs.

“S” is for South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Officially formed in 1994, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) combined the nonregulatory programs of the South Carolina Water Resources Commission and Land Resources Commission, the State Geological Survey, the South Carolina Migratory Waterfowl Committee, and the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Departm...

“S” is for South Carolina Department of Education. The South Carolina Department of Education is the administrative arm of the State Board of Education.

“S” is for South Carolina Department of Commerce. The South Carolina Department of Commerce administers the state's economic development program.

“S” is for South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Located in Columbia, the SCDAH is a state agency responsible for collecting the valuable public records of South Carolina.

“S” is for South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE) was created by the General Assembly in 1967.

“P” is for Port Royal Island, Battle of (February 3, 1779). The battle of Port Royal Island was part of a larger campaign the British to use their command of the waterways to strike at both military and civilian targets.

“M” is for Mount Zion College. Established in 1777 the institution started in a small log building as an all grades public school in Winnsboro.

“M” is for Mount Pleasant (Charleston County; 2020 population 90,801). Mount Pleasant was a small village until the 1970s, when it began a dramatic expansion to become the fourth largest municipality in South Carolina.

“G” is for grits. Grits is (or are) the coarse-to-fine ground product of a milling process whereby the hull of the dried corn kernel is popped open and the fleshy part is milled into tiny particles.

“C” is for Columbia College. Chartered in 1854 by the South Carolina Methodist Conference, Columbia College, was the eleventh-oldest women's college in the United States.

“C” is for Columbia Canal. Completed in 1824, the Columbia canal originally extended three miles below the city of Columbia off Laurel St. It was one of several canals constructed by the state of South Carolina in the 1820s to improve transportation links between the upstate and Charleston.

“C” is for Columbia Army Air Base. Columbia Army Air Base served as a training center for B-25 bomber crews during World War II.

“B” is for Boykin spaniel. The Boykin spaniel was originally bred in South Carolina before the 1920s.

“B” is for Boyd, Blanche McCrary (b. 1945). Writer, educator.

“S” is for South Carolina Commission on Government Restructuring. In March 1991 Governor Carroll Campbell appointed the thirty-eight member Commission on Government Restructuring to devise a blueprint for enhancing the powers of the state’s weak chief executive.

“S” is for South Carolina Coastal Conservation League. Established in 1989, the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League has been a leading voice in the campaign to protect and preserve the coastal plain of the state.