Past and Present Agriculture and Industry of Colleton County (mural study, Walterboro, South Carolina Post Office) by Sheffield Kagy. 1938. Image courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Agriculture

• Digital Traditions-Agriculture
  Meet peach farmers, sugar cane makers, miller, and others who continue agricultural traditions in South Carolina.
• Economic Activity
  Explore images of agricultural trades throughout South Carolina’s history.
• Ag-tivity Pages
  Learn more about peanuts, cows, biomass, and agricultural jobs.
• Top Ten Commodities
  Did you know that chicken broilers are our state’s largest agricultural cash commodity?
• SC Agribusiness
  Read more about South Carolina’s agribusiness, the large-scale business operations of farming.
• Palmettovore
  Learn about this growing movement to eat locally-produced foods.
• South Carolina Agriculture Statistics
  Find out more about South Carolina’s agriculture with these statistics on farms, commodities, and more.

Agricultural History

• History of South Carolina Agriculture
  Agriculture is an important theme in the history of South Carolina.
• A Brief History of SC Agriculture
  Read this short history of agriculture in South Carolina.
• Boll Weevil
  Throughout much of the early 1900s, the boll weevil infested and destroyed cotton crops in the Southeast.
• Cotton Hills Farm
  This farm in Lowrys, South Carolina has been in operation since 1882.
• Rice & Indigo in South Carolina
  Both rice and indigo have been valuable cash crops in South Carolina.
• Colleton County mural
  This mural that was in the Post Office in Walterboro, SC shows several agricultural pursuits, such as cotton farming, grain harvesting, and farming of chickens and watermelons.

Specific Commodities

Boll weevil. Image from the USDA ARS, Image Num. K2742-6.

• Tobacco Barns
  Wooden tobacco barns dotted the Pee Dee region from the 1880s until the use of automated bulk tobacco curing.
• Forestry in South Carolina
  Timber in South Carolina is the most valued agricultural crop with an estimated value of $835 million.
• Shrimp in South Carolina
  Commercial shrimpers harvest the brown and the white shrimp off the shores of South Carolina.

Mining

• Mining Maps of SC
  What minerals are being mined in your county?
• Haile Gold Mine
  The Haile Gold Mine in Lancaster County opened around 1827 and has operated off and on for almost 200 years.
  • Modern Pictures of the Haile Gold Mine
• Aerial Photograph of Columbia, South Carolina Quarry
  Check out this birds-eye view of a crushed-stone mine in Columbia, SC.

Water

• SC Reel Kids
  This program just for kids will teach you how to catch a fish, learn about fish and their habitats, and receive awards for the goals you complete.
• Springs of South Carolina
  Explore historically important and contemporary springs around South Carolina.
• EPA Kids—Water
  Check out these fun activities to learn more about water in your community.
• What is Groundwater?
  Find out what groundwater is and why it is important.