South Carolina from A to Z

“T” is for Tuscarora War (1711-1713). In the first decade of the eighteenth century the Tuscaroras, an Iroquoian tribe, inhabited eastern North Carolina in fifteen towns with 1,200 warriors and a population of about 4,800 people.

“S” is for Saxe-Gotha Township. Originally laid out in 1733 as Congaree Township, Saxe-Gotha Township was located southwest of the confluence of the Broad and Saluda Rivers.

“R” is for Ripley, Clements (1892-1954) and Katharine Ball Ripley (1898-1955). Between 1923 and 1953 Clements Ripley and Katharine Ball Ripley published ten books—including novels and memoirs—and dozens of short stories and nonfiction pieces.

“P” is for Phoenix Riot. The Phoenix Riot is best understood as an exaggerated example of the everyday violence that faced late nineteenth-century African Americans in South Carolina.

“M” is for McCray, Carrie Allen (1913-2008). Poet, author. McCray did not start to think of herself as a professional writer until she was seventy-three—about the same time she took up residence in Columbia.

“L” is for Lindo, Moses (d. 1774). Indigo promoter, entrepreneur. Lindo was a major force in turning South Carolina’s fledgling indigo trade into the region’s second-leading agricultural industry in the middle years of the eighteenth century.

“H” is for Hemphill, Robert Witherspoon, Sr. (1915-1983). Congressman, jurist. A native of Chester, Hemphill graduated from the University of South Carolina and its law school.

“G” is for Gonzales, William Elliott (1866-1937). Editor. Born in Charleston, Gonzales is best known as the editor of the State newspaper and was the youngest of the three Gonzales brothers to run the publication.

“F” is for Free persons of color. Also known as free Blacks, free persons of color occupied an anomalous position in the race-based slave society of antebellum South Carolina.

“E” is for Erskine College. In 1836 the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church organized an academy in Due West.

“D” is for Dixie Hummingbirds. Started in 1928 by twelve-year-old James Davis and neighborhood friends Bonnie Gipson, Jr., Fred Owens, and Barney Parks, the gospel quartet—and later quintet (with the addition of Ira Tucker)—influenced scores of gospel, soul, and rock and roll artists.

“C” is for Cattle ranching. Cow pens, cattle drives, and open range herding were important features of the agricultural landscape of colonial South Carolina.

“B” is for Benton, Brook (1931-1988). Musician. In 1950 Benton recorded “It’s Just a Matter of time,” the first of twenty-three Top Forty hits in the next five years.

“A” is for Atzjar (or achar). A bright ochre mixed pickle, this recipe is one of the world’s oldest, and its path to South Carolina was along the international spice and slave trade routes.

“W” is for Whitten, Benjamin Otis (1886-1970). Physician. When Whitten retired in 1965, Whitten Village (as the facility was called) had a resident population of more than 2,500.

“T” is for Turner, Henry McNeal (1834-1915). Clergyman, politician.

“S” is for Sawyer, Frederick Adolphus (1822-1891). U. S. senator. After leaving the Senate, Frederick Adolphus Sawyer remained in government for many years, serving in the U.S. Treasury Department, the Coast Survey, and the War Department.

"H” is for Hembel, Caroline Etheridge (1918-2001). Pioneer aviator. In 1939 Hembel became the first female pilot in the Southeast to receive her pilot’s license.

“G” is for Gonzales, Narciso Gener (1858-1903). Editor. In 1903 Narciso Gener Gonzales was gunned down in broad daylight on the corner of Main and Gervais Streets in Columbia by the state’s lieutenant governor.

“F” is for Frederick, Nathaniel Jerome (1877-1938). Lawyer, editor.

“E” is for Ensor, Joshua Fulton (1834-1907). In 1870 Ensor was appointed superintendent of the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum.

“D” is for Dispensary. In 1892 South Carolina adopted the dispensary system which gave the state a monopoly on the sale of liquor.

“C” is for Catholics. In 1716 the South Carolina Assembly banned Catholic and Irish immigration for fear they would collaborate with Spanish Catholics in Florida.

"H" is for Horry County (1,134 square miles, 2010 population, 270, 516). Horry is the largest and easternmost of South Carolina’s forty-six counties, forming a wedge between North Carolina and the Atlantic Ocean.

"G" is for Gregg, William (1800-1867). Manufacturer. Industrial promoter.