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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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StudySC's SC250 Resources

Discover how South Carolina helped shape the American Revolution. Explore the people, places, and pivotal moments that made the Palmetto State a turning point in the fight for independence.

Resources

Cover of De Orbe Novo

Francisco de Chicora

Francisco de Chicora was a Native American that was taken to Spain, where he met chronicler Peter Martyr and told him about the Chicora tribe.

Anna DeCosta Banks in a nurse uniform.

Anna DeCosta Banks

Charleston native, Anna DeCosta Banks, was the first head nurse at the Hospital and Training School for Nurses in Charleston, South Carolina. 

Pearl Fryar wearing a baseball cap, white shirt, and black jeans.

Pearl Fryar

Pearl Fryar is a topiary artist in Bishopville, SC. His garden has over 1,000 ornate art pieces. 

William Henry Gist wearing a dark coat over a light colored vest.

William Henry Gist

William Henry Gist was the governor of South Carolina from 1858-1860 and a leader of the secession movement.

A square brick building with three curved archways for the front door and windows.

Union County

Union County was named for the old Union Church, which served both the Presbyterian and Episcopal congregations in the area.

A wooden building with a red rooftop.

Kershaw County

Kershaw County was named for Joseph Kershaw (1727-1791), an early settler.

A light brown and cream building with a metal roof and two small brick chimneys

Orangeburg County

Orangeburg County and its county seat, Orangeburg, were named for William IV (1711-1751), Prince of Orange, the son-in-law of King George II.

Orange-brown brick building with a white window tower

Chesterfield County

Chesterfield County was named for the English statesman Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773).

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

Cars of different colors face a large white screen.

drive-in theater

(noun) - a theater where the movie is projected onto a large screen and people stay in their cars to watch.