Boy shucker, Varn & Platt Canning Co, Bluffton, South Carolina. Image courtesy of Library of Congress.
Industry came to South Carolina as entire families worked in the textile mills and factories in the Upstate.
Mill Life
- Historic Images of Upstate South Carolina Mills
See photographs of what the mills in South Carolina looked liked around the turn of the century. - Child Labor in the Cotton Mills
Listen to the story of children who went to work in the mills with their parents and siblings. - "Treated Like Slaves": Textile Workers Write to Washington in the 1930s and 1940s
Workers in the 1930s and 1940s wrote to President Roosevelt describing their miserable working conditions. - 1908: Dillon's Cotton Mill Workers
Many children were working in the mill in Dillon, even though most were not legally allowed to work until age 12. - Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World
Learn more about the lives of cotton mill workers and their families around the South. - Huguenot Mill in Greenville, SC
This postcard shows a cotton mill in Greenville, similar to mills around the state.
A Changing State
- Populist Movement
In the late 19th century many Southerners supported the Populist Movement, which fought for a change in economic legislation. - Maps of South Carolina, 1895-1912
Several counties were formed in this time period, including Saluda County, Bamberg County, and Lee County. - Fort Fremont (1899-1921), St. Helena Island, SC
Fort Fremont was built to defend the coast during the Spanish-American War. No shot was ever fired from the fort. - South Carolina Inter-State and West Indian Exposition
The Exposition in Charleston, SC was a fair promoted to stimulate trade through the city's harbor. - 1906 Automobile Registration
South Carolina began requiring automobile registration in 1906.
Spanish-American War
The Spanish-American War began when the U.S.S. Maine exploded in the Havana, Cuba harbor. Many South Carolinians participated in the short war, and Greenville and Columbia both had camps for soldiers.
- Spanish-American Soldiers Returning from War
- The Spanish-American War
- Photographs of Camp Wetherill (near Greenville), ca. 1898
Photographs and Video from Around the State
- Seneca from 1906 and Westminster in 1924
Watch two short videos about the history of towns in Oconee County. - Turpentine
Turpentine was made by collecting "gum" from living pine trees and processing it at a turpentine distillery. - 1886 Charleston Earthquake
The earthquake damaged 2,000 buildings, causing $6 million worth in damages. Between 60 and 110 lives were lost.
South Carolina Dispensary
The South Carolina Dispensary system required that all liquor sold within South Carolina borders be bottled and dispensed through state-run facilities. The system lasted from 1993-1907 statewide and until 1916 in some counties. You can see bottles from the dispensary system with the palmetto logo.
