South Carolina from A to Z

“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.

“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.

“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.

“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.

“G” is for Guignard Brick Works. James Sanders Guignard began making brick along the Congaree River near Columbia in 1803, under the name Guignard Brick Works.

“S” is for South Carolina Budget and Control Board. South Carolina has historically been a “legislative” state with a tradition of a “commission” approach to government. Joining legislators with the executive branch decision-makers challenged the doctrine of separation of powers expressed in Article 1, Section 8 of the modern state constitution.

“S” is for South Carolina Baptist State Convention. The South Carolina Baptist State Convention became the first Baptist convention in the South when it was founded in 1821 at First Baptist Church in Columbia.

“S” is for South Carolina. Warship. During the Revolutionary War, patriot leaders of South Carolina worried about threats from the sea. Local officials dealt with this problem by creating a state navy--the most famous component of which was the frigate South Carolina.

“G” is for Greenville County (790 square miles; 2020 population 532,486).

“G” is for Greenville County Museum of Art

“D” is for Dueling. Duels took place in South Carolina from colonial times until 1880, when the General Assembly officially outlawed the practice.

“M” is for Miller, Thomas Ezekiel (1849-1938). Political leader, college president.

“M” is for Miller, Stephen Decatur (1787-1838). Congressman, governor, U.S. Senator.

“L” is for Lords Proprietors of Carolina. King Charles II granted the land that became North and South Carolina to eight English noblemen in 1663.

“H” is for Hootie and the Blowfish. Hootie and the Blowfish grew into a national phenomenon with the release of their major label debut, Cracked Rear View, in 1994 on Atlantic records.

“H” is for Howard, Frank James (1909-1996). Football coach. Howard brought attention to the Clemson football program as much as with his colorful, entertaining personality as with his victories.

“G” is for Greer (Greenville County; 2020 population 35,316).