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StudySC – Know where you live.

Explore South Carolina through StudySC! Learn about your community, South Carolina history, and the people who have made a significant impact on the state and the world.

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Elliott White Springs standing in front of his plane surrounded by other people.

Elliott White Springs

Elliott White Springs was a South Carolina businessman and an American flying ace of World War I.

Mary Boykin Chesnut wearing a dark dress with a crossed white collar.

Mary Boykin Chesnut

Born near Statesburg, SC, Mary Boykin Chesnut was married to an aide to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and she kept a famous diary vividly describing events during the Civil War.

Alex English wearing a dark grey shirt with a yellow eight on the right side of the shirt.

Alex English

Alex English was a basketball player at the University of South Carolina and the Denver Nuggets and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.

An older man sitting outside in a black suit jacket.

Orville Vernon Burton

Dr. Orville Vernon Burton is a historian, educator, and author from Ninety-Six, SC.

A large brick building with a four large white columns and roof.

Calhoun County

Calhoun County was named for John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), who served as the United States vice president, secretary of state and of war, and senator.

A large white house with huge columns, dark windows, and gray stairs that leads out to a manicured green lawn.

Aiken County

Aiken County and its county seat, the town of Aiken, were named for William Aiken (1806-1831), president of the South Carolina Railroad.

A white building with outlined teal windows next to a willow tree.

Jasper County

Jasper County was named for Revolutionary War hero Sergeant William Jasper (ca.1750-1779).

A wooden building with a faded sign.

Fairfield County

The origin of Fairfield's name is not known, but local legend attributes it to a remark by Lord Cornwallis about the "fair fields" of the area. The county was formed in 1785 as a part of the Camden District.

South Carolina Facts

By Robert Henry Thurston, author. - "The Growth of the Steam-Engine. Part III: The Non-Condensing Engine, and its Application in the Locomotive." The Popular Science Monthly, Vol. XII, January 1878. Fig. 34, p. 270., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11039764

South Carolina Firsts

  • In 1526, Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón founded San Miguel de Guadalupe, the first white European settlement near present-day Georgetown. The Spanish settlement was unsuccessful and failed within a few months. 
  • The Stono Rebellion was not the first slave revolt in South Carolina. The enslaved Africans that came with the Spanish colonizers revolted in November 1526.

South Carolina Glossary

dark birds landing down in golden grass

refuge

(noun) - a place providing safety, protection, or shelter