South Carolina from A to Z

“C” is for Corrington, Julian Dana (1887-1979). Biologist, educator. Corrington was born in Arkansas and educated at Cornell University. In 1921 he joined the biology faculty at the University of South Carolina (USC). A man with broad zoological interests, Corrington began working on the then little known herpetology (study of amphibians and reptiles) of the Columbia region, an area of considerabl...

“C” is for Cornbread. Cornbread has been the most common daily bread in South Carolina since its founding. Sarah Rutledge included thirty-four variations in The Carolina Housewife in 1847. By then, the traditional hoe cake, or Johnny cake, or pone—a simple hearth bread of corn cornmeal and water had evolved into many elaborate forms. Corn from Virginia--a white dent corn--was preferred. Corn, like...

“C” is for Corcoran, James Andrew (1820-1899) Theologian, educator, editor. Born in Charleston Corcoran attended the Boys’ Classical Academy a Catholic school. In 1833 he was sent to Rome for seminary studies where he excelled in history theology and ancient and modern languages. Returning to Charleston in 1843 he did parish work and from 1850 to 1861 served as editor of the United Sates Catholic...

“D” is for Duke’s mayonnaise. Eugenia Duke mixed her first batch of mayonnaise in her Greenville home sometime in the early twentieth century. Unlike the commercial versions that were coming on the market, there was no sugar in Duke’s mayonnaise recipe. And thanks to her use of cider vinegar, her product had a pleasing tartness. During World War I Duke sold sandwiches to servicemen stationed at ne...

“C” is for Clemson (Pickens County; 2020 population 17,780). This college town began as town of Calhoun around a railroad depot. Incorporated in 1892, it was located about a mile from the new campus of Clemson Agricultural College. Due to confusion caused by the simultaneous existence of post offices named Calhoun and Calhoun Falls in other parts of the state. In 1943, a residents’ petition result...

“C” is for Clark, Septima Poinsette (1898-1987). Educator, civil rights activist. Born in Charleston, Clark attended Avery institute and completed its teacher training program in 1916. Her first job was to teach at Promise Land School, an overcrowded and underfunded rural school for African Americans on Johns Island. In 1919 she was one of several Black Carolinians who successfully petitioned the...

“C” is for Clarendon County (607 square miles; 2020 population 33,415). The first Clarendon County was created in 1785 but was combined with Claremont and Salem Counties to form Sumter District in 1800. In 1855 the legislature established Clarendon District from the southern half of Sumter, which became Clarendon County in 1868. The county was named in honor of Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, one...

“C” is for Claflin University. Responding to the urgent need to educate former enslaved persons, northern Methodists established Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina in 1869. The Claflin family of Massachusetts provided financial support to start the institution. The university opened its doors in October 1869 and students were admitted without regard to race, color, creed, religion, o...

“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. The commission's report, issued in September 1991, called for a dramatic shift to a cabinet form of government similar to that used in fo...

“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. The grassroots, nonprofit organization has offices in Columbia, Beaufort, and Charleston. Its mission is to “protect the threatened resources of the coastal plain--its natural land...

“S” is for South Carolina Christian Action Council. The South Carolina Christian Action Council is a statewide ecumenical agency embracing many of the state's major Christian denominations. It provides educational programs for its constituents and a Christian witness in public affairs. Its origins can be traced to 1933 and the formation of the South Carolina Federated Forces for Temperance and Law...

“S” is for South Carolina Chamber of Commerce. The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce is an association organized mainly to promote and lobby the interests of business. The chamber was formed under the leadership of C. Norwood Hastie of Charleston in 1940. The chamber soon addressed issues of importance to the business community, such as reorganizing state government and urging the state to increa...

“P” is for Port Royal Experiment. The Port Royal Experiment, also called the Sea Island Experiment, was an early humanitarian effort to prepare the former enslaved persons of the South Carolina Sea Islands for inclusion as free citizens in American public life. The Port Royal Experiment was made possible by the U.S. Navy's conquest of the Sea Islands of Beaufort District in November 1861. Beaufort...

“B” is for Bull, William, II (1710-1791). Lieutenant governor. Born in South Carolina, Bull served in the Commons House of Assembly for thirteen years. While Speaker of the House, he collaborated with his father--a member of the Royal Council--to expand colonial authority. In 1749 he joined the Royal Council. In 1759 Bull became president of the Council and lieutenant governor—a post he held until...

“B” is for Bull, William (1683-1755). Planter, lieutenant governor. A native South Carolinian, Bull had a long political career that began in the proprietary era and continued for thirty-five years after South Carolina became a royal colony. He represented Berkeley and Craven Counties in the Eighth, Tenth, and Fifteenth Assemblies and was appointed by the Lords Proprietors to the Grand Council. Du...

“B” is for Bryan, Hugh (1699-1753). Planter, evangelist. As a youth, Bryan was captured by Indians during the Yamasee War of 1715. According to later testimony, while a captive he “met with the Bible among the Indians ,” which sustained him during his ordeal and laid the groundwork for his future spirituality. A leading rice planter in St. Helena’s Parish, Bryan actively evangelized among his slav...

“B” is for Brown Fellowship Society. The Brown Fellowship Society was established in 1790 by free persons of color in Charleston. It is one of the earliest institutions funded by free African Americans in South Carolina. During its early history, free Blacks received minimal benefits from public services and had to provide for their own needs. The organization maintained its own cemetery and if a...

“S “is for Spillane, Frank Morrison (1918-2006). Author. Nicknamed “Mickey” by his father, Spillane was born in Brooklyn. After service in World War II, he returned to New York and the comic-book business. Needing money for a house, he turned out his first novel, I, the Jury (1947) in three weeks. The protagonist, Mike Hammer, a hard-drinking private investigator fond of buxom women and vigilante...

“S” is for Spencer, James Alexander (1850-1911). Legislator, educator. Spencer was born in Charleston, the son of free persons of color. He acquired a good education and like his parents was a practicing Catholic. As a member of the SC House of Representatives, he introduced and worked for legislation to improve funding for public education. In Charleston when he was denied membership in the White...

“S” is for Spence, Floyd Davidson (1928-2001). Legislator, congressman. Spence was born in Columbia. In 1956 he was elected as a Democrat to the South Carolina House of Representatives. In 1962 he switched to the Republican Party, one of the first legislators in the state to do so. In 1966 he was elected to the South Carolina Senate, where he served as minority party leader. In November 1970 Spenc...

“B” is for Bull, Stephen (died 1800). Soldier, legislator. Born in South Carolina, Bull was descended from one of the first families of colonial South Carolina. He represented Prince William’s Parish in the Commons House of Assembly (1757-1760), the First and Second Provincial Congresses (1775-1776) and the First and Second General Assemblies (1776-1778). With the onset of the American Revolution,...

“B” is for Brown, William Melvin, Jr. (1934-1994). Manufacturer. A native of Charleston, Brown was a graduate of South Carolina State College and later earned a master's degree from Atlanta University. In 1972 he created American Development Corporation (ADCOR,) the first minority-owned manufacturing plant in the Southeast. By the early 1990s ADCOR was realizing revenues of more than $30 million a...

“B” is for Brown, Thomas (1750-1825). Soldier. Brown was among the most notorious loyalist commanders in the South during the Revolutionary War. He immigrated to Georgia in 1774. In 1775 the local Sons of Liberty seized and tortured Brown when he refused to renounce his allegiance to his king. He escaped and fled to the South Carolina backcountry where he joined an active group of loyalists. In 17...

“B” is for Brown, Thomas (1750-1825). Soldier. Brown was among the most notorious loyalist commanders in the South during the Revolutionary War. He immigrated to Georgia in 1774. In 1775 the local Sons of Liberty seized and tortured Brown when he refused to renounce his allegiance to his king. He escaped and fled to the South Carolina backcountry where he joined an active group of loyalists. In 17...

“S” is for Spartanburg Pellagra Hospital. The pellagra hospital in Spartanburg was the nation's first facility dedicated to discovering the cause of that baffling and serious disorder. Established in 1914 with a special congressional appropriation to the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) and set up primarily for research, the hospital was the result of mutually reinforcing factors. One was pellagra...