South Carolina from A to Z

“B” is for Brown, Thomas (1750-1825). Soldier. Brown was among the most notorious loyalist commanders in the South during the Revolutionary War.

“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.

“S” is for Spartanburg Methodist College. The college traces its origins to the Textile Industrial Institute (TII), founded in 1911 by David English Camak then pastor of Duncan Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church, South in the Spartan Mill Village.

“S” is for Spartanburg County (811 square miles; 2020 population 328,000).

“S” is for Spartanburg (Spartanburg County; 2020 population 38,732).

“C” is for Coram, Thomas (circa 1757-1811). Engraver, painter.

“C” is for Cooperationists. Cooperationists believed that slavery could ultimately be preserved only through disunion, but they differed with radical secessionists over the feasibility of South Carolina seceding alone.

“C” is for Cooper River. The Cooper River and its tributaries drain much of the central portion of the lowcountry.

“C” is for Cooper, Thomas (1759-1839). Educator, scientist.

“C” is for Cooper, Robert Archer (1874-1953). Governor.

“P” is for Purvis, Melvin Horace, Jr. (1902-1960). Federal agent. Born in Timmonsville, Purvis gained national fame during the 1930s as the nation’s “ace G-man.”

“P” is for Purrysburg (Jasper County). The town of Purrysburg, located on the Savannah River in present day Jasper County, was named after its founder, Jean-Pierre Purry.

“P” is for Punches. Punches have been prominent at South Carolina social gatherings for centuries.

“S” is for Spanish moss. Spanish moss is gray tree-borne epiphyte native to the coastal plain of the southeastern United States.

“S“ is for Spanish. On a monument at the tip of Parris Island, a tile plaque proclaims, “Aqui estuvo España” (“Here was Spain”). The plaque refers to the colony of Santa Elena, located at this site (1566 to 1587).

“P” is for PTL Club. Based first in Charlotte, North Carolina, and then Fort Mill, South Carolina, the PTL Club (launched in 1974) was one of the most successful ventures in televangelism for much of the 1970s and 1980s.

“P” is for Provincials. When warfare broke out between the colonies and Great Britain in 1775, in addition to British soldiers and German mercenaries, British officials organized loyal Americans into conventional fighting units commonly referred to as provincials.

“P” is for Promised Land (Greenwood and Abbeville counties; 2020 population 555).

“C” is for Cooper, Anthony Ashley (1621-1683). Lord proprietor.

“C” is for Cooke, William Wilson (1871-1949). Architect.

“P” is for Progressive Democratic Party. Aware that many White Democrats in South Carolina opposed President Franklin D. Roosevelt's reelection to a fourth term, African American activists sought to demonstrate their loyalty to the National Party by mobilizing Black support for the president. By May 1944, that effort had morphed into the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP).

“P” is for Pringle, Robert (1702-1776). Merchant, planter, legislator, jurist.

“P” is for Pringle, Elizabeth Waites Allston (1845-1921). Born to wealth and privilege, the Civil War left Pringle and her family in financial distress. Pringle convinced the New York Sun editor to buy weekly articles she wrote about being a female rice plantation owner.

“P” is for Prince William’s Parish. In 1745, the Commons House of Assembly passed an act creating Prince William's Parish. The parish was named for William, Duke of Cumberland, the son of King George II.

“P” is for Prince George Winyah Parish. Comprising portions of modern Georgetown, Horry, Marion, and Dillon Counties, Prince George Winyah Parish was established in 1721 to accommodate a wave of European settlers who had taken up residence north of the Santee River following the Yamasee War.