South Carolina from A to Z

“R” is for Rock Hill Movement. Following the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery and the 1960 lunch-counter sit-ins in Greensboro, African Americans in Rock Hill took the lead in energizing the civil rights movement in South Carolina. In 1957 boycott of the local city bus company resulted in its bankruptcy and the creation of a Black-operated alternative transportation company. In 1960, students at Fri...

“P” is for Pinckney, Eliza Lucas (ca. 1722-1793). Planter, matriarch. Born in the West Indies (probably Antigua), Eliza was educated in London and later moved with her family to a rice plantation on Wappoo Creek near Charleston. When her father returned to Antigua in 1739, he left his teenaged daughter in charge of the plantation. He sent Eliza indigo seed from the West Indies hoping that the crop...

“P” is for Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth (1746-1825). Soldier, statesman, diplomat. Born in Charleston, Pinckney was educated at Christ Church College, Oxford, and the Middle Temple. Returning home, he was elected to the Commons House of Assembly. By 1775 Pinckney was a member of all the important revolutionary committees. With the outbreak of hostilities, he was appointed commander of the First Re...

“M” is for Mennonites. The Mennonites of South Carolina are a Protestant group descended from the Anabaptists of the Reformation. They believe in a conscious choice to join the church (adult baptism), a disciplined church in which members are responsible to each other, and a sharing church in which material needs are met by fellow members. They reject the union of church and state and the validity...

“L” is for Lowndes, Rawlins (1721-1800). Jurist, governor. Lowndes was born on Saint Kitts in the West Indies, but his family migrated to South Carolina in 1730. In 1745 he became provost marshal, the chief law enforcement officer of the colony. He was first elected to the Commons House of Assembly in 1749 and served in that body for almost every session until the end of royal government. In 1763...

“L” is for lowcountry baskets. Far as long as people of African descent have lived in South Carolina, they have made baskets. Like the grasslands and marshes of western and central Africa, coastal wetlands provide grasses and plant fiber appropriate for making coiled baskets. The early history of lowcountry coiled grass baskets parallels the rise of rice cultivation. After the Civil War men contin...

“H” is for Huger, Isaac (1743-1797). Soldier. Born in South Carolina, Huger was educated in Europe. He began his military career as an officer in the provincial South Carolina Regiment during the expedition against the Cherokees in 1761. In 1775 he was lieutenant colonel in in the First South Carolina Regiment. In 1776 he was promoted to Colonel and appointed commander of the Fifth South Carolina...

“H” is for Huger, Daniel Elliott (1779-1854) Jurist, U. S. Senator. Born near Charleston, Huger graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University.) He was admitted to the Charleston bar in 1811 and for sixteen years represented St. Andrew's Parish in the State House of Representatives. In 1819 Huger was elected judge of the Court of General Sessions and Common Pleas where he serve...

“H” is for Huck, Christian (d. 1780). Soldier.  Christian Huck, a loyalist captain of dragoons under Banastre Tarleton, gained notoriety in South Carolina during the Revolutionary War for his vicious acts and excessive use of profanity. A Philadelphia lawyer, Huck was known for his intense hatred of all patriots, especially Scots-Irish Presbyterians. He commanded British outposts around Camden and...

“H” is for Howard, Frank James (1909-1996). Football coach. A native of Barlow Bend, Alabama, Howard played college football at the University of Alabama. Upon graduation in 1930, he accepted a position as assistant football coach at Clemson. In 1940, he was named head coach and directed the Clemson football program for the next thirty seasons. He established several traditions that have become a...

“G” is for Greer (Greenville County; 2020 population 35,316). Situated midway between Greenville and Spartanburg, along the line of the Richmond and Danville Air Line Railway, Greer was incorporated in 1876. By 1908 there were four cotton mills in operation. Greer suffered through hard times during the Great Depression but some relief was afforded by the establishment of a Civilian Conservation Co...

“G” is for Greenwood County (456 square miles; 2020 population 71,074). Located in the lower Piedmont southwest of the Saluda River, Greenwood County was created in 1897. Its boundaries were carved out of Abbeville and Edgefield Counties. Thus, Greenwood joined four other new counties, all established in 1897 to strengthen the rural base of Ben Tillman's political machine. The new county possessed...

“G” is for Greenwood (Greenwood County; 2020 population 23,356). In 1850 the village of Woodville's name was changed to Greenwood and the town was incorporated in 1857. After the Civil War, Greenwood became a bustling railroad town.  The local economy, based on agriculture and transportation, was altered dramatically in 1890 with the opening of the Greenwood Cotton Mill. The town emerged as a cent...

“C “is for Clemson University. In 1888 Thomas G. Clemson left his Fort Hill property and an endowment to the state in order to create a separate agricultural college. Additional funding came from the federal government through the Hatch Act and Morrill Act, which provided funds in support of agricultural and land grant institutions. Clemson Agricultural College opened in 1893. From its inception u...

“M” is for Malaria. Malaria was arguably the most significant disease in the history of South Carolina. It is a parasitic infection caused by protozoa known as plasmodia and transmitted by anopheline mosquitoes. Two types of malaria dominated in South Carolina. Both are highly debilitating diseases that produce lethargy and vulnerability to other infections. The first, and milder form, probably ca...

“L” is for Lancaster County (549 square miles; 2020 population 100,926). Lying in the north-central portion of South Carolina between the Catawba and Lynches Rivers, Lancaster County was created in 1785 from the northeastern part of the Camden Judicial District. The county was named for Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from which many early settlers originated. These pioneers were mostly small farmers, gr...

“K” is for Kiawah Island (Charleston County; 2020 population 1,626). Kiawah is a small barrier island situated south of Charleston between the mouths of the Stono and North Edisto Rivers. It is named for the Kiawah Indians, who lived in the vicinity at the time of European contact. In the early eighteenth century planter John Stanyarne purchased the island and cleared it for indigo production. Ind...

“J” is for Jamestown. Jamestown was the first Huguenot settlement on the Santee River in what became Berkeley County, across the river form the Georgetown/Williamsburg county line. Huguenots settled the Santee region soon after 1672, when the Lords Proprietors resolved to create a colony, or square, of twelve thousand acres at Jamestown. The first church of St. James Santee was built before the vi...

“I” is for Iodine. The chemical element iodine is relatively rare. It occurs naturally as a trace element in certain soils, rocks, seawater, plants and animals. In humans, it is largely found in the thyroid gland, which secretes iodine-bearing hormones responsible for regulating metabolism. A deficiency of iodine causes an unsightly swelling of the neck and jaw known as goiter. In the late 1920s t...

“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 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...

“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...

“H” is for Horry County (1,134 square miles; 2020 population 365,449. Horry is the largest of South Carolina's forty-six counties, forming a wedge between North Carolina and the Atlantic Ocean. The county was named for Peter Horry, an officer in the Revolutionary War. The Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Pee Dee Swamp on the west and south made communication with other South Carolinians difficul...