South Carolina from A to Z

“W” is for Wofford College. A four year liberal arts college in Spartanburg, Wofford College was founded with a $100,000 bequest from Methodist minister and Spartanburg native Benjamin Wofford. The college opened in 1854. In the aftermath of the Civil War, the institution went through a period of retrenchment and rebuilding—especially in attracting dedicated faculty. Wofford’s improved academic re...

“W” is for Winthrop University. Located in Rock Hill, Winthrop University traces its roots to1886 when Winthrop Training School, a teacher-training school for Columbia teachers opened. In 1891 the General Assembly created the Winthrop Normal and Industrial College of South Carolina. In 1895 the institution moved to Rock Hill. By 1920 the name was changed to Winthrop College, the South Carolina Col...

“S” is for Sirrine, Joseph Emory (1872-1947). Architect, engineer. Born in Georgia, Sirrine graduated from Furman university. In 1895 he was hired by a New England textile engineering firm to be resident engineer for two Greenville projects. In 1899 the company appointed Sirrine as its southern representative, responsible for all of the company’s textile construction in the region. In 1903 he left...

“S” is for Sinclair, Bennie Lee (1939-2000). Novelist, poet. A native of Greenville, Sinclair was a graduate of Furman University. In 1986 she was appointed the fifth poet laureate of South Carolina. Sinclair taught writing at Furman and gave workshops at the University of Notre Dame, Western Carolina University, and Brevard College. Her commitment to teaching poetry included a twenty-eight-year c...

“R” is for Royal Council. The Royal Council was a twelve-man governing board created in 1720 to serve as an advisor to the governor, as a court of appeals, and as an upper house of the legislature. Throughout royal rule, the council was dominated by men who were nominated by the governor and approved by the London-based Board of Trade for their wealth, political connections, and willingness to sup...

“R” is for Rosenwald Schools. In the early twentieth century, schooling for southern Blacks was neither well planned nor well supported. Julius Rosenwald, a Chicago merchant and philanthropist, made the most significant contribution to the education of southern rural Blacks of the time through construction of school buildings. From 1913 to 1932, 5,357 schools, shops, and teachers’ homes were built...

“P” is for Poinsett Bridge. Named for Joel Roberts Poinsett, president of the Board of Public Works (1819-1821), the Poinsett Bridge (with a span of 130 feet over Little Gap Creek) was built during the construction of the state highway from Columbia to Saluda Mountain in 1820. Still intact and in good repair in the twenty-first century, the bridge may be the oldest in the state. Located on Highway...

“P” is for Poinsett, Joel Roberts (1779-1851). Congressman, diplomat. U. S. secretary of war. Born in Charleston, Poinsett was educated primarily in England and Scotland. In 1810 he was named U. S. trade envoy to South America and spent several years promoting unsuccessful rebellions in Spain’s South American colonies. In 1825 he was appointed the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico. His meddling in l...

“P” is for Poetry Society of South Carolina. Those involved with the Poetry Society’s creation in 1920 espoused the idea of a local organization, with its aim to encourage all southern poets. Critics and poets turned to the group as the leader of the literary arts revival in the South. Writers affiliated with it won two Pulitzer Prizes (Julia Peterkin for fiction and Robert Lathan for editorial wr...

“P” is for Poellnitz, Baron Frederick Carl Hans Bruno (1734-1801). Nobleman, horticulturist, inventor. Born in Prussia, Poellnitz emigrated to the United States in 1782. He eventually settled in New York City where he purchased a small estate, called Minto, where he pursued his interest in horticulture and conducted agricultural experiments. He also developed new types of farm implements including...

“M” is for Montgomery, John Henry (1833-1902). Manufacturer, merchant. Born in Spartanburg County, Montgomery went into a general merchandising  business in 1857. After the Civil War he continued to engage in farming and mercantile activities. In 1874 he moved to Spartanburg where he joined the mercantile firm of Walker, Fleming and Company, the largest cotton buyer in the county.  In 1882 when th...

“M” is for Montagu, Lord Charles Greville (1741-1784). Governor. Montagu arrived in Charleston in July 1766. In 1769 Montagu signed the act establishing much-needed circuit courts. He sailed for England in 1769. Returning in 1771, Montagu immediately became embroiled in controversy. The Commons House of Assembly had long controlled the taxation of the colony. It refused to back down when colonial...

“M” is for Moncks Corner (Berkeley County; 2020 population 12,497). The village of Moncks Corner in St. John's Berkeley Parish derived its name from Thomas Monck, who in 1735 established a plantation at a fork where the Charleston Road intersected with the Cherokee Path. A small commercial community grew up around the plantation. After the Revolutionary War, the opening of the State Road between C...

“L” is for Lowndes, William Jones (1782-1822). Congressman. Lowdes was born in Saint Bartholomew's Parish. In 1804 he was elected to the General Assembly where he served until 1808. In 1810 Lowndes was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives, where he became a leading member of the “War Hawks,” a faction of young congressmen who strongly favored a military resolution of the nation’s dispute...

“S” is for St. Mark’s Parish. South Carolina’s first backcountry parish and by far its largest in land area, St. Mark’s was established in 1757 and included the country between the Great Pee Dee and Santee Rivers from the modern Clarendon-Williamsburg County line northward to North Carolina and westward as far “as it shall be inhabited by his Majesty’s subjects.”. In the 1750s a tremendous influx...

“R” is for Ravenel, Harriott Horry Rutledge (1832-1912). Novelist, biographer, historian. A native of Charleston, Ravenel attended Madame Talvande’s female academy. Though she wrote on other subjects, her major works focused on southern history and manners. Her most successful piece of fiction, Ashurst; or “The Days That Are Not fondly depicted antebellum lifestyles and landscapes. In 1896, as par...

“P” is for Parish, Margaret Cecile (1927-1988).  Author. A native of Manning, “Peggy” Parish graduated from USC.  She moved to New York to teach—and there she began writing children’s books. Her first book, My Golden Book of Manners appeared in 1962. International acclaim for Parish followed the creation and publication of Amelia Bedelia in 1964. The title character is a housekeeper who interprets...

“O” is for Opera houses. In the period between 1880 and 1920, opera houses flourished in communities across South Carolina. Especially in larger towns, the opera houses were imposing architecturally distinctive buildings with elaborate interiors. Sumter’s three-story Richardson Romanesque stone building had a one hundred foot clock tower. In smaller communities, they were more modest and often loc...

“N” is for New Era Club. Founded in Spartanburg in 1912, the New Era Club began disguised as a study group. Thirty Spartanburg women founded the club, they said, “to stimulate interest in civic affairs and to advance the industrial, legal, and educational rights of women and children.” They met twice monthly to discuss education, public health, and domestic issues. They also sponsored a section in...

“S” is for St. Luke’s Parish. In 1767, the Commons House created St. Luke’s Parish by taking territory from St. Helena’s Parish. The new parish, located in modern Beaufort and Jasper Counties, included the mainland region between the New and Broad Rivers, known as the Euhaws, and Hilton Head Island. The British government disallowed the act creating the parish in 1772, but after the Revolutionary...

“R” is for Ravenel, Edmund (1797-1871). Physician, naturalist. A native Charlestonian, Ravenel received his M.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He established a practice in Charleston and helped to establish the Medical College of South Carolina. He served the institution as professor chemistry, pharmacy, and dean. However, Ravenel became better known for his work in natural history....

“P” is for Pardo, John. Spanish soldier, explorer. Pardo was born in Cuenca, Spain in the first half of the sixteenth century. He travelled to Spanish Florida in 1566 as the captain of one of six military companies sent to reinforce the colony. Pardo’s company was stationed at Santa Elena. In the summer of 1566, the colonial Governor ordered him to explore westward to find a route to the silver mi...

“O” is for O’Neall, John Belton (1793-1863). Jurist, author, social reformer, entrepreneur. A native of Newberry, O’Neall graduated from the South Carolina College and read law. He was admitted to the bar in 1814. He represented Newberry District in the South Carolina House of Representatives, serving as Speaker. He was elected a state judge in 1828 and two years later to the court of appeals. Fro...

“N” is for New Ellenton (Aiken County; 2020 population 2,189). New Ellenton was an offspring of the cold war in South Carolina and considered by many locals to have been “the first victim of the H-bomb.”  Incorporated in 1952, the town was the reincarnation of the town of Ellenton that dated to the 1870s. Ellenton’s quiet existence came to an abrupt end following the announcement by the Atomic Ene...

“S” is for Seneca (Oconee County; 2020 population 8,850). Founded in 1873, as Seneca City, the town’s name was taken from an earlier Indian village and the nearby Seneca River. It was the arrival of the Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railroad (intersecting with the Blue Ridge Railroad) that was responsible for the town’s establishment. In 1874 Seneca was chartered by the General Assembly. And it w...