South Carolina from A to Z

“C” is for Cooper, Anthony Ashley (1621-1683).  Lord proprietor. Born in Dorset, England, Cooper attended Exeter College, Oxford. In 1661, for his role in the restoration of the monarchy, he was elevated to the peerage and named Chancellor of the Exchequer. In 1663 the king granted the joint proprietorship of Carolina to Lord Ashley and seven other English noblemen. With the aid of John Locke, Lord Ashley wrote the Fundamental Constitutions for the colony and oversaw arrangements for the expedition that brought the first permanent English settlers to South Carolina. In 1672 the king made him Lord High Chancellor and elevated his rank in the nobility by titling him the first Earl of Shaftesbury. As Anthony Ashley Cooper's political fortunes plummeted, he considered moving to Carolina but instead in 1682 went into exile in Amsterdam, where he died.

“C” is for Cooke, William Wilson (1871-1949.) Architect. Born in Greenville, Cooke attended Claflin College and later studied architecture at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and art history at Columbia University. Between 1902 and 1907 he was a practicing architect working primarily in the Orangeburg area. In 1907 he passed the federal civil service examination and was assigned to the office of the supervising architect at the U.S. Treasury Department. In 1909 he was transferred to field operations where he supervised the construction of federal courthouses and post offices. He remained in the position until 1918 when he was promoted and transferred to the War Department. After World War I he practiced architecture in Gary, Indiana. The Depression ruined his business and in 1931 William Wilson Cooke returned to the supervising architect’s office as a construction engineer.

“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. One year earlier the inhabitants of “Winyaw” a burgeoning settlement on “Sampeet Creek,” had petitioned the assembly for parish organization because they were “so far distant from the next parish church to them that they had received no benefit from the same.” By the 1730s rice cultivation had begun to dominate the local economy, the port of Georgetown had been founded, and the parish’s center of population had shifted to the coast. With the abolition of the parish system in 1865, Prince George Winyah Parish became part of Georgetown, Horry, and Marion Counties. 

“S” is for Southern Wesleyan University. Southern Wesleyan University is a private Christian liberal arts institution. Founded in 1906 as Wesleyan Methodist Bible Institute, the university is affiliated with the Wesleyan Church, an evangelical denomination with Methodist roots in the American holiness tradition. The school was chartered as Wesleyan Methodist College in 1909 and in 1959 became Central Wesleyan College. The institution changed its name to Southern Wesleyan University in 1995. The university offers bachelor's degrees in disciplines ranging from the sciences to humanities and graduate programs in business, education, and religion. In 2000 Southern Wesleyan became the first school in the nation to offer a major in internet computing. A number of Southern Wesleyan University’s students are in non-traditional programs that offer evening and weekend classes to working adults at teaching sites across South Carolina.

“S” is for Southern Quarterly Review. The Southern Quarterly Review originated in New Orleans in 1842 but later moved to Charleston. It had the advantage of being not a literary magazine but rather a magazine open to any branch of knowledge. The Review was unabashedly a conservative southern magazine, advocating classicism in literature, agrarianism and slavery in economy, and Protestantism in religion. The antagonists were French philosophy, Voltaire, and the leaders of the French Revolution, all of whom were viewed as dangerous to government and to the South's predominant Protestantism. No magazine sketched better the idea of the southern gentleman with his “polished manners” and “moral excellences.” More than any other periodical, the magazine sought to define the incompatibilities that would necessitate the South’s becoming a separate nation. The Southern Quarterly Review’s last issue appeared in February 1857.

“S” is for South of the Border. Located just south of the North Carolina border near the South Carolina town of Hamer, South of the Border has long captured the attention of travelers on U.S. Highway 301 and Interstate 95. In 1950 beer distributor Alan Shafer expanded a one-room beer depot to include a twenty-four-hour diner. The opening of the South of the Border Motel in 1954 capitalized on growing tourist business. He also created “Pedro,” a sombrero-clad cartoon spokesman whose puns advertised South of the Border on billboards stretching from Virginia to Florida. At Schafer's death in 2001, the South of the Border entertainment complex covered 350 acres and included five restaurants, fourteen stores, three hundred motel rooms, a campground, an indoor miniature golf course, two fireworks outlets, and hundreds of larger than life statues. 

“S” is for South Caroliniana Library. The South Caroliniana Library building was completed in 1840 as the central library building for South Carolina College (later the University of South Carolina). It was the first freestanding college library building in the United States, predating those of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. The structure—on the university’s historic horseshoe-- contains design elements from several architects, most notably the South Carolina native and federal architect Robert Mills. A typical Mills architectural feature is the curved stairway leading to the second floor reading room, which was closely modeled after the original Library of Congress. In 1940 the university's general library collection was moved into a new facility. The historic building became the South Caroliniana Library, a repository for published and unpublished materials relating to the history, literature, and culture of South Carolina.

“P” is for Prince Frederick's Parish. Established in 1734, Prince Frederick's Parish stretched like an elongated triangle from the Santee River northward “to the utmost bounds of the province,” encompassing all our part of modern Dillon, Marion, Florence, Horry, Georgetown, and Williamsburg Counties. Prior to 1730 European settlement north of the Santee was sparse. Still, in 1721 the assembly organized the area into Prince George Winyah Parish. In 1734 the assembly divided Prince George Winyah and its inland portion became Prince Frederick's Parish, which was granted two representatives. A major indigo producer, the parish flourished until foreign competition and the end of British bounties forced its decline in the last decades of the eighteenth century. Prince Frederick's Parish lost its status as an election district in 1790 and was divided into Liberty (Marion) and Williamsburg Counties.

“M” is for Musgrove, Mary (ca. 1700-1765). Mediator between the Creeks and the English. Musgrove was born Coosaponakeesa in Coweta, the Creek Nation (central Georgia), the daughter of a Lower Creek woman and a Charleston trader. Her father took her to Pon Pon, South Carolina, to be baptized and educated. She returned to the Creek Nation and married Johnny Musgrove, son of a Creek woman and a planter/trader. In 1733 she became interpreter and consultant on Indian affairs for Governor James Oglethorpe of Georgia.  In May 1752 Governor James Glen of South Carolian asked her halt a war between the Creeks and Cherokees that threatened the colony’s welfare and trade. By December 1752 she had secured that peace.  Colonists in both Georgia and South Carolina remained dependent on Mary Musgrove’s aid until she retired in 1759. 

“B” is for Brown, Lucy Hughes (1863-1911). Physician. Brown, a native of North Carolina, completed a medical degree at the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1894. After practicing medicine in North Carolina, she moved to Charleston and became the first Black female physician to practice in South Carolina. With several other African Americans, she contributed to the establishment of the Cannon Hospital and Training School for Nurses in 1897, which later was renamed McClennan-Banks Hospital. Brown headed the department of nursing training.  She also worked to advance the condition of African American women outside the Cannon Hospital. Lucy Hughes Brown served as a delegate to the National Colored Women's Congress at the 1895 Atlanta Exposition and assisted in the creating of resolutions addressing southern race relations and demanding safer conditions for women on public transportation. 

“B” is for Brown, James (1933-2006). Musician. Brown, likely South Carolina's most famous twentieth-century entertainer, was born near Barnwell. His career began in the 1950s in Augusta, Georgia, and grew into a music empire with a vast catalog of recordings, countless performances, and a global appeal that continued into the twenty-first century. While he was called the “Godfather of soul” his body of work formed the rhythmic foundations of funk, disco, and hip hop. When Brown began seriously to consider a career in music, he formed the Flames, the first of a series of backing bands that would contribute to the evolution of his trademark sound. His first hit came with the 1956 release of “Please, Please, Please.” A consummate entertainer James Brown gave his audiences the total experience of singing, dancing, and showbiz spectacle.

“B” is for Brown, Edgar Allan (1888-1975). Legislator. Brown was born in Aiken County. He represented Barnwell County in the South Carolina House of Representatives (1920-1926) and served as speaker (1925-1926).  In 1928 he was elected to the S. C. Senate where he remained until his retirement in 1972--serving as president pro tempore from 1942 to 1972. In September 1954 the South Carolina Democratic Party’s executive committee selected Brown as the party's candidate for a U.S. Senate seat. In response Strom Thurmond announced a write-candidacy and defeated Brown in his third attempt to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Edgar Allan Brown was a fiscal conservative and politically was one of the most powerful men in state government through his position as president pro tempore of the Senate and chair of the Senate Finance Committee. 

“B” is for Broughton, Thomas (d. 1737). Legislator, lieutenant governor. By the mid- 1690s Broughton had settled in South Carolina, emigrating from the West Indies. He quickly became involved in the Indian trade. Broughton acquired at least four plantations, including Mulberry on the Cooper River, where he built a massive, Jacobean-style brick mansion. In 1696 he was elected to the Commons House of Assembly. Broughton became lieutenant governor of South Carolina in 1731 after being recommended by his brother-in-law, Governor Robert Johnson. Following Johnson's death in 1735, Broughton assumed the role of acting governor. His brief administration was marked by a renewal of factional tensions in South Carolina--a situation exacerbated by his inept and arrogant actions in office. Thomas Broughton was among the most controversial figures in the early history of South Carolina.

“P” is for Primus Plot (May-June 1720). The Primus Plot was South Carolina's first alleged slave conspiracy. Word of this conspiracy surfaced while the colony’s atmosphere was tense. There were rumors that Spain would invade South Carolina and, in the process, arm the colony enslaved persons against its White inhabitants. South Carolina’s enslaved Black majority had quickly grown to nearly twice the number of its White population. The Commons House Assembly was told that a group of enslaved persons, led by a man named Primus, were going to destroy plantations and kill Whites as they fled toward St. Augustine. While existing evidence suggests that the Primus Plot was an effort by a group of enslaved persons to reach freedom in Florida, rather than a planned rebellion, White South Carolinians regarded it as an insurrection in the making.

“P” is for Preston, William Campbell (1794-1860). U. S. Senator. Preston was an 1812 graduate of South Carolina College. After studying law in Virginia and at the University of Edinburgh, he practiced law in Virginia. In 1824 Preston moved to South Carolina and represented Richland District in the South Carolina House of Representatives (1828- 1833). In 1833 he was elected by the General Assembly to U. S. Senate. In the Senate, he was considered by many to be an eloquent orator. He was an active critic of President Andrew Jackson, voting to censure the president in 1834. His opposition to Jackson led Preston into the emerging Whig Party. In 1842 he resigned from the Senate and returned to South Carolina. In 1846 William Campbell Preston was appointed president and professor of belle lettres at the South Carolina College.

“M” is for Myrtle Beach Pavilion. Until its closing in 2006 the Myrtle Beach Pavilion was located at 812 North Ocean Boulevard in the heart of Myrtle Beach. The Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park’s eleven acres of roller coasters, thrill rides, go-cart tracks, water rides, attractions, arcades, shops, and games were a tradition for seaside visitors for generations. The original pavilion was a wooden structure built in 1901. Owned and operated by Myrtle Beach Farms Company (later Burroughs & Chapin Company) this structure was replaced in 1923 with an immense new pavilion. That pavilion burned in 1944, and a concrete pavilion and amusement rides park reopened in 1949 just north of the old pavilion’s location. One of the most notable features of the Myrtle Beach Pavilion was the hand-carved 1912 Herschell-Spillman carousel. 

“M” is for Murrells Inlet (Georgetown County; 2020 population 9,740). Murrells Inlet is located twenty-two miles up the Waccamaw Neck from Georgetown. By the 1890s, people from inland South Carolina towns began to establish a summer colony along the inlet creekfront. Since inlet seafood could not be shipped out, then people would have to go there to get it; and throughout the twentieth century they did just that. The food was fried and the atmosphere friendly. After World War II, prosperity made the community more accessible, and local seafood restaurants benefited from close proximity to Myrtle Beach. Hurricane Hugo gave the creekfront a new look overnight. But, as it had before, Murrells Inlet rebounded and the community held on to its heritage and history--and its reputation as a great place to visit and a great place to eat.

“M” is for Murray, George Washington (1853-1926). Congressman. Murray was born an enslaved person near Rembert in Sumter District. He attended the University of South Carolina and taught school in Sumter County. During the last two decades of the nineteenth century, he acquired an influential role in Republican Party affairs. He came to be known as the “Republican Black Eagle” and served as a delegate to several Republican National conventions. In 1892 Murray successfully ran for Congress in the Seventh Congressional District. Serving in the House of Representatives from 1893 to 1897, he was often a maverick. Although a Republican, he frequently voted with the agrarian Populist bloc on such issues as the unlimited coinage of silver. Defeated for reelection in 1898 George Washington Murray was the last African American to represent South Carolina in Congress for nearly a century.

“B” is for Brooks, Preston Smith (1819-1857). Congressman. Born near the town of Edgefield, Brooks was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives in 1852. In May 1856 an unusually harsh speech by U.S. Senator Charles Sumner assailed South Carolina's role in American history (especially during the Revolutionary War) and attacked by name Senator Andrew P. Butler (a distant cousin of Brooks). With the aged Butler unable to defend himself or his state, the task fell to his nearest relative, Congressman Brooks. He entered the Senate chamber and struck Sumner in the head with a cane. A special House of Representatives committee recommended Brooks’s expulsion, but its report failed to receive the necessary two-thirds vote. Though Preston Smith Brooks denied the House’s constitutional jurisdiction over the matter, he resigned in July 1856 and was subsequently reelected to fill his own vacancy.

“B” is for Brodie, Laura (1908-2004). Herpetologist. Brodie was born at Rockwood Farm five miles southeast of Leesville. At an early age she developed an interest in the living things around the farm. While Brodie was at Winthrop College, her biology professor noted her interest and called her to the attention of Howard K. Gloyd, a well-known herpetologist. He helped Brodie get a position at the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. In 1946 she joined the staff of the herpetology department at the Chicago Natural History Museum (now the Field of Museum of Natural History), In 1956 after being in a horrible automobile accident, Laura Brodie was forced to retire and returned to her childhood home near Leesville, where she remained an important contributor to the herpetology collections of some of America's largest museums.

“B” is for Brookgreen Gardens. Brookgreen Gardens was created in 1931 by the sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington and her husband, Archer M. Huntington. The sculpture garden is situated on thirty acres in the middle of 9,100 acres of the South Carolina lowcountry stretching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Waccamaw River. The site is best known for its beautiful display gardens and its unraveled American figurative sculpture collection, as well as its commitment to conservation and preservation. Comprised of four former rice plantations, Brookgreen was envisioned as a showcase of art and nature, a sanctuary where monumental works of art would be displayed against the tapestry of magnificent live oak trees and towering pines. Some 375,000 visitors annually enjoy daily tours, seasonal events, and programs at Brookgreen.  Brookgreen Gardens was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992.

“B” is for Bristow, Gwen (1903-1980.) Novelist. Born in Marion, Bristow graduated from Judson College in Alabama. After studying journalism at Columbia University, she became a reporter for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. There she met and married Bruce Manning. Together they collaborated on the writing of four mystery novels. By the summer of 1934 they had moved to California where Bristow began to experiment with historical fiction. The result of this was the publication of Deep Summer (1937) her first best seller. By 1959 sales of Bristow’s books had reached nearly three million copies. Gwen Bristow’s natural storytelling ability, neatly devised and detailed plots, sharply drawn characters, telling eye for landscape and its detail, use of common sense, gift for dramatic effect, and emotional sincerity were the characteristics of her work that critics and reviewers singled out for praise.

“B” is for Briggs v. Eliott (1954). Briggs v. Elliot was one of five cases, collectively entitled Brown et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka, Shawnee County Kansas, et al., argued before the United States Supreme Court. The historic decision of Brown v. Board of Education rendered the doctrine of separate but equal public education unconstitutional and led to the movement to desegregate public schools throughout the United States. Originally a lawsuit filed by twenty African American parents in Clarendon County for equal educational opportunities for their children, Briggs v. Elliott was the first case in the twentieth century to challenge the constitutionality of racially segregated schools. Briggs v. Elliott carries the names of the lead plaintiff, Harry Briggs, who had five children in the school district, and Roderick W. Elliott, chairman of Clarendon School District 22.

“S” is for South Carolina Wildlife Federation. Founded in 1931 the South Carolina Wildlife Federation (SCWF) was established by outdoor enthusiasts concerned with protecting and preserving the natural heritage of their state. In partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, the nonprofit organization strives to facilitate cooperative efforts of sportsmen and conservationists to advocate sound environmental stewardship and enhance wildlife habitats. Educational programs and alliances with other conservation groups have enabled SCWF to broaden public awareness and establish policies that protect South Carolina's natural assets. Through the Backyard Wildlife Habitat Certification program, South Carolina claims more certified wildlife habitats than any other state by encouraging private homeowners to create backyard environments in compliance with natural habitat specifications. The South Carolina Wildlife Federation is funded by its own membership and applies all resources to support South Carolina.

“S” is for South Carolina State University. The institution was founded in 1896 in Orangeburg as the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina. During its early years the college was devoted to training Back youngsters to be teachers, farmers, homemakers, and skilled artisans. The institution offered agricultural subjects as well as traditional academic courses. In 1947, the legislature created a law school and graduate program in order to prevent Black Carolinians from attending all-White state-supported institutions. In 1954 the name was legally changed to South Carolina State College. The institution was fully accredited for the first time in 1960. Over the past fifty years the campus population became more diverse with a gradual increase in the number of White and international students and faculty. In 1992 the General Assembly designated South Carolina State a university.

“S” is for South Carolina State Ports Authority. The South Carolina State Ports Authority is a state owned enterprise established by the General Assembly in 1942 to create and operate seaports in Charleston, Georgetown, and Port Royal. Charleston is South Carolina's principal seaport, with six terminals. As of 2026 Charleston ranked eighth in the United States for the number of containers handled and sixth in the value of cargo handled. In 2014 the Authority sold the Port Royal property and in 2023 turned over the Georgetown facility to Georgetown County for development. In Charleston the Authority manages its own facilities with its own employees, who are state employees. The South Carolina State Ports Authority is governed by a nine member board appointed by the governor and approved by the state Senate for seven-year terms,

“S” is for South Carolina State Museum. South Carolina's multidisciplinary State Museum opened in 1988. The development of a museum was initiated in 1973 when the state legislature formed the South Carolina Museum Commission and charged it with “the creation and operation of a state museum reflecting the history, fine arts and natural history and the scientific and industrial resources of the state.” Permanent exhibitions reflect the central themes of its charge: the geology, flora, and fauna of South Carolina; depictions of the everyday life of ordinary South Carolinians throughout history; the arts and crafts of South Carolinians; the assigned scientific and technological contributions of South Carolinians; and the impact of developments in such fields as transportation, communication, and manufacturing on the lives of South Carolinians. The South Carolina State Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums.  

“S” is for South Carolina Railroad. In the early nineteenth century, Charleston sought to bolster its economy by attempting to attract trade from the west. One portion of this effort was the South Carolina Railroad. Construction began in 1830 and was completed in 1833. The road stretched for 136 miles, from Charleston to Summerville, Branchville, Blackville, Aiken, and ending in Hamburg. At the time, it was the longest railroad under single management in the world. By 1848 the road had branches to Columbia and Camden. The South Carolina Railroad’s track, buildings, and rolling stock were thoroughly destroyed during the Civil War. Rebuilding began immediately but the company quickly became mired in debt. In 1889 the road was leased to the Southern Railway. In 1902 it was consolidated into the Southern Railway, ending the South Carolina Railroad's existence as an independent company.

“S” is for South Carolina Public Service Authority. The South Carolina Public Service Authority (better known as Santee Cooper) was established by the General Assembly in 1934 with the power to provide for navigation and flood control on the Santee, Congaree, and Cooper Rivers; to generate electricity; to reclaim swampland; and to reforest the state’s watersheds. The federal government approved the project in 1935, but construction did not begin until 1939. Within two years the massive project of dams, canals, and lakes was completed and Santee Cooper was generating electricity.  By 2001 Santee Cooper generated power had reached all forty-six South Carolina counties. Some unexpected benefits of the project were the numerous recreational opportunities created by Lakes Marion and Moultrie. A board of eleven members appointed by the governor administers the South Carolina Public Service Authority.

“S” is for South Carolina-North Carolina border. In 1735 the two colonies appointed a joint boundary commission that agreed the boundary should begin at a point thirty miles south of the Cape Fear River. Because of surveying errors, South Carolina's northern boundary was eleven miles south of where it should have been. To correct this mistake, the boundary was extended seventeen miles north of the 35th parallel and westward to the crest of the Saluda Mountains. In the 1990s issues arose regarding the state boundary between York County, South Carolina and Gaston County, North Carolina. The South Carolina Geodetic Survey and the North Carolina Geodetic Survey agreed to cooperatively reestablish the South Carolina-North Carolina boundary. In 2013 the effort to technically reestablish 334 mile long South Carolina-North Carolina boundary was completed and approved by the North Carolina-South Carolina joint boundary Commission.

“S” is for South Carolina National Heritage Corridor. The South Carolina National Heritage Corridor is a grassroots-led heritage tourism initiative that brings together communities throughout a fourteen county region from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Oconee County to the Atlantic Ocean along Charleston and Colleton Counties. In 1996 Congress designated it as a “national heritage area.” The Heritage Corridor is much more than a regional tourism promotion effort. Using heritage tourism principles, communities build on an existing amenity base through packaging their natural, cultural, and historic resources. In addition to Discovery Centers that help interpret and guide visitors to designated sites within each of the four regions of the Heritage Corridor, two parallel automotive routes run its length and tie together related attractions. The project is managed by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism.

“P” is for Preservation Society of Charleston. Founded in 1920, the Preservation Society of Charleston is the oldest community-based historic preservation organization in the United States. Originally called the Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings, it was founded by Susan Pringle Frost and other individuals who were concerned about the future of the Joseph Manigault House. In 1931 the Society was instrumental in persuading the Charleston City Council to pass the nation's first historic district zoning law, which established a board of architectural review and designated a 138 acre “Old and Historic District.” The district has expanded to include more than 4,800 historic structures. In 1957 the organization changed its name to the Preservation Society of Charleston, reflecting its expanded mission to protect not only dwellings but all sites and structures of historic significance or aesthetic value.

“P” is for Presbyterian College. A liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Clinton, South Carolina, Presbyterian College was founded in 1880 by William Plumer Jacobs.  Originally known as Clinton College, the institution became the Presbyterian College of South Carolina in 1890. In 1923 the school gained full accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. In 1965 the college began admitting women as residential students. From its inception the college had welcomed women, but only as commuting students. Presbyterian College’s community spirit was exemplified in the school’s honor code and its dedication to service. In the twenty-first century, Presbyterian College maintains its close connection to the Presbyterian Church (USA). The institution prided itself on providing a liberal arts education “within a community of faith, learning, and intellectual freedom.” 

“P” is for Pratt, Nathaniel Alpheus (1834-1906). Chemist, engineer, inventor. A Georgia native, Pratt earned his M.D. from Savannah Medical College. During the Civil War he was named assistant chief of the Confederate States Nitre and Mining Bureau at Augusta, Georgia. Pratt moved to Charleston at the end of the war with plans to construct a chemical plant to manufacture fertilizers. He organized the Charleston Mining and Manufacturing Company in 1867. In 1868 he organized the Sulfuric Acid and Superphosphate Company. That same year he published A pamphlet, Ashley River Phosphates… and Discovery and Development of Native Bone Phosphates of the Charleston Basin. In 1872 Pratt received three patents for improvements in treating phosphate of lime, phosphatic rocks and the manufacture of fertilizers with lime. Nathaniel Alpheus Pratt moved to Florida where he located and developed phosphate deposits.

“P” is for Praise houses. Praise houses (sometimes called “prayer houses”) functioned on antebellum South Carolina plantations as both the epitome of slave culture and symbols of resistance to slaveholders’ version of Christianity. Generally simple, clapboard structures built by the slaves themselves, praise houses were erected with the knowledge--if not always the complete approval--of the master class. Gatherings   usually occurred on weeknights rather than on Sunday mornings. Enslaved Christians favored empty space over altars, kneelers, pulpits, and sometimes even chairs and pews. The resulting sparseness provided the slaves more room for “ring shouts” during often all night sessions of prayer and song. Weddings, funerals, and other activities centered on the praise house. Following emancipation some of the structures continued to serve the freedmen, providing them with a place for schools and public meetings. 

“M “is for Mullis, Kary Banks (1944-2011). Scientist.  Born in North Carolina, Mullis grew up Columbia, S.C. A graduate of Georgia Tech, he obtained his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California at Berkeley. While employed at Cetus Corporation, he conceived and developed the idea of PCR, polymerase chain reaction, in 1983. This technique amplifies DNA, enabling scientists to make a virtually unlimited number of copies of a single DNA molecule in a short time. Considered by many scientists to be one of the greatest advancements in molecular biology, Mullis's work on PCR garnered him (with Michael Smith of the University of British Columbia) a share of the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1993 in recognition of his milestone discovery. Kary Banks Mullis’s impact on the world of biotechnology has been described as no less than revolutionary. 

“M” is for Mullins (Marion County; 2020 population 4,026). Mullins did not exist when the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad arrived in 1854, but the town grew up around the railway station. The town was named for William Sydney Mullins.  In the 1890s bright leaf tobacco became a commercial crop in the area. In 1894 the first tobacco sales building in Mullins was completed and the first auction sale was held that same year. Additional warehouses followed. Throughout the twentieth century Mullins remained the largest tobacco market in the state. Today the traditional auction warehouse system has been replaced by contracted tobacco sales. Some of the tobacco warehouses remain but the structures have been repurposed for other uses and businesses. In a nod to its history, Mullins sponsors an annual Golden Leaf Festival that attracts numerous visitors.

“C” is for Coogler, John Gordon (1865-1901). Poet. Coogler was born in Richland County near the town of Doko (now Blythewood) By the mid-1880s he was living in Colombia and printed at his own expense his first volume of poetry. Coogler and his poetry garnered attention of readers and reviewers from across the nation, who found his work entertaining, if not aesthetic. In 1897 Coogler published a one volume edition of his complete works, Purely Original Verse, which sold more than 5,000 copies. His couplet “Alas! For the South, her books have grown fewer—She never was given to literature” became a part of American folklore when repeated by national critics. John Gordon Coogler achieved notoriety in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as one of South Carolina’s and the South's, most famous and arguably worst poets.

“C” is for Conway (Horry County; 2020 population 24,849). Conway, originally named Kingston Village, was established on a bluff of the Waccamaw River about 1735. It became the seat of Kingston County (later renamed was renamed Horry--in honor of Peter Horry, a Revolutionary War hero). At the same time the village’s name was changed to Conwayborough. In 1883 the General Assembly shortened the name to Conway. As a county seat, the town benefited from the jobs and trade the courthouse drew. After World War II Horry County’s beaches began attracting visitors in ever greater numbers and the thriving sunbelt economy offered varied employment to local residents. In 1960s Coastal Carolina College, established in 1954 as a branch of the University of South Carolina, began to play a significant role in the town's economy. A new campus, for what became Coastal Carolina University, was erected in suburban Conway.

“C” is for Converse College. Converse College was founded in 1889 by a group of Spartanburg leaders to provide for the education of young middle-class women. The institution was named to honor its founder Dexter Edgar Converse. The college opened its doors in 1890 with 117 students. Unlike many southern women's colleges, Converse offered students a course of study roughly equivalent to that offered by male colleges. The college established a School of Music in 1910. Two years later Converse was accepted into the Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools of the Southern States. The school's highly respected conservatory-style musical education drew students from all over the United States. Although men had been admitted to graduate programs in the 1940s it was not until 2020 that Converse College became coeducational at the undergraduate level.

“B” is for Brewton, Miles (1731-1775). Merchant, legislator. Born in Charleston, Brewton traveled to England to finish his education and establish commercial ties. Through his marriage, numerous land grants, and purchases, he accumulated a large quantity of real estate. However, he made his fortune principally as a merchant rather than as a planter, becoming one of the wealthiest men in South Carolina. In 1769 Brewton constructed a grand house on King Street and decorated it in the latest English taste. Still standing in the early twenty-first century, the structure is considered one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in America. Brewton served in the Commons House of Assembly from 1765 until his death. In late August 1775 on a voyage from Charleston to Philadelphia, Miles Brewton and his family were lost at sea.

“B” is for Brawley, Edward McKnight (1851-1923). Missionary, educator. Brawley was born in Charleston to free African American parents. In 1861 his parents sent him to Philadelphia to further his education. In 1870 he became the first full time theology student at Howard University in Washington, DC. He later transferred to Bucknell University and became that institution's first African American student. The American Baptist Publication Society hired Brawley to perform missionary service among black South Carolinians. In 1876 he organized the Colored Baptist Educational, Missionary, and Sunday School Convention. He went on to organize numerous local Sunday school programs throughout the state. In October 1883 Brawley accepted the presidency of the Alabama Baptist Normal and Theological School. Returning to South Carolina Edward McKnight Brawley was instrumental in founding Morris College in 1908 and served as its first president. 

“S” is for South Carolina Land Commission. In 1869 the General Assembly established the South Carolina Land Commission. The commission’s goal was to purchase land for sale in plots of between twenty-five  and one hundred acres, which would then be sold to landless African Americans on favorable terms. From the beginning the Commission was plagued by organizational and other problems. In addition to corruption and incompetence, the operation of the Land Commission was commonly dictated by politics more than economics. By 1871 approximately one-half of the Commission land was in the Black majority counties of Charleston, Colleton, Georgetown, and Beaufort. After 1877 the state’s White politicians moved the South Carolina Land Commission away from its original intent, viewing it purely as a source of state revenue. Land was sold in large parcels and eviction rules were vigorously enforced. 

“S” is for South Carolina Jockey Club. The earliest record of horse racing in South Carolina is February 1734. During the next two decades the sport increased in popularity in the colony, but it became organized with the founding of the South Carolina Jockey Club in 1750. By the turn of the nineteenth century, the club ushered in what would be called the “golden age of racing.” The club’s annual races, usually held in January or February, served as the high point of the Charleston social season and as a common meeting place for members of the planter class from across the state. The loss of thoroughbreds during the Civil War and the economic decline that followed led to the demise of horse racing in the state. The South Carolina Jockey Club disbanded in 1899 

“S” is for South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance. The South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance (SCMA), a powerful networking, information, and lobbying group for the state's varied manufacturing industries, began as an organization for cotton mill owners in 1902. The group's first paid lobbyist was hired in the late 1920s, and the association eventually became a visible and powerful voice for the textile industry. In 1951 the organization became the South Carolina Textile Manufacturers Association (SCTMA) and helped transform post-World War II South Carolina from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy. In 1996 the SCTMA transmogrified itself into the broader based South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, whose members represented all manufacturing industries in the state. On January 1, 2026, the South Carolina Manufacturers Association merged with the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce to become the South Carolina Manufacturers and Commerce.

“S” is for South Carolina Lunatic Asylum / State Hospital. The South Carolina Lunatic Asylum, located on Bull Street in Columbia, was established by the General Assembly in 1821 but did not open until 1828. It is the third oldest state mental institution in the United States. In 1896 the institution was renamed the South Carolina State Hospital for the Insane and it gradually adopted a custodial function, caring for large numbers of patients deemed primarily chronic and incurable. By the 1960s and 1970s anti-psychiatry and civil rights movements, community care initiatives, and Medicaid led to deinstitutionalization, a gradual process by which the number of patients in the hospital dropped markedly. By 2015 the Department of Mental Health had sold all of the property of the old South Carolina Lunatic  Asylum / State Hospital.

“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 connection with the South Carolina Arts Commission through its Artists-in-the-Schools program. Sinclair promoted public appreciation for poetry via educational radio programs during National Poetry Month. She also taught poetry at the Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities. In addition to four books of poetry, she published short stories as well as a novel, The Lynching. Bennie Lee Sinclair composed poems in her mind before writing them down and amazed everyone with her capacity for memorization.

“G” for Gullah. The term “Gullah,”or “Geechee,” describes a unique group of African Americans descended from enslaved Africans who settled in the Sea Islands and lowcountry of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and North Carolina. Some believe the term “Gullah” derives from “Angola”; or it could refer to the Gola people of Liberia.  The origin of the term “Geechee” (for residents of the Georgia lowcountry) is also uncertain. During the slave trade, Africans from different societies passed through Sullivan’s Island and melded together to form a new African American people. Thus, the process of combining African peoples and languages in the lowcountry led to the emergence of Gullah or Geechee as a common language. The Gullah/ Geechee people of the South Carolina and Georgia lowcountry continue to manifest unique African cultural attributes that have survived for more than three centuries.

“C” is for Converse, Dexter Edgar (1829-1899). Industrialist. Born in Vermont, Converse worked in a New York cotton mill and learned how mill machinery worked and how the business was operated. In 1854 he moved to Spartanburg and worked at the Bivingsville Cotton Factory. He soon became the mill’s manager. In 1868 Converse and his brother-in-law purchased the company and in 1870 they changed its name to D. E. Converse and Company. In 1880 Converse organized the Clifton Manufacturing Company. The factory employed 500 workers and operated 7,000 spindles. He opened a second mill in 1890.  During the 1890s the profits for the company ranged between twenty-five and thirty percent. In addition to establishing one of the most important industrial enterprises in Spartanburg County, Dexter Edgar Converse contributed to the educational institution in Spartanburg that bears his name.

“C” is for Continental Regiments. In the aftermath of the battles at Lexington and Concord, the Continental Congress passed resolutions that created the Continental army in June 1775. Congress then delegated the recruitment of soldiers up to the  individual states. The First and Second Provincial Congresses of South Carolina in 1775 and 1776 created six regiments that were adopted into the Continental Line. The First, Second, Fifth, and Sixth South Carolina Regiments were infantry units.  The Third South Carolina Regiment of Rangers was designed for protecting the frontier and the Fourth South Carolina Regiment was an artillery unit. Detachments from all South Carolina Continental Regiments participated in campaigns in South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia from the “Snow Campaign” of November and December 1775 to the Siege of Charleston and its surrender in the spring of 1780.