South Carolina from A to Z

“B” is for Board of Public Works. The national trend toward improving waterways and other public facilities led South Carolina to create the Board of Public Works in December 1819.

“B” is for BMW. BMW in Greer, SC, is the global producer for BMW X3, X4, X5, and X6 vehicles and coupes (and their variants) for more than 140 global markets.

“B” is for Bluffton Movement (1844). On July 31, 1844, under a large oak (the Secession Oak) in Bluffton SC, the first organized political movement with the express goal of South Carolina's independent secession from the United States was born.

“B” is for Bluffton (Beaufort County; 2020 population 28,230).

“B” is for Blues. A powerful form of secular African American musical and cultural expression, blues developed in the South around the turn of the twentieth century.

“W” is for Winnsboro (Fairfield County; 2020 population 3,130).

"S” is for Simpsonville (Greenville County; 2020 population 25,272).

“S” is for Simons and Lapham. The Charleston architectural firm of Simons and Lapham was formed in 1920 by Albert Simons (1890-1980) and Samuel Lapham (1892 to 1972).

“S” is for Simons, Katherine Drayton Mayrant (1890-1969). Poet, novelist, playwright, historian.

“S” is for Simms, William Gilmore (1806-1870). Poet, historian, novelist.

“R “is for Rosemond, James R. (1820 to 1902). Clergyman. Recognized as one of The pioneers of the Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina, James R. Rosemond was commonly referred to as Father Rosemond.

“P’ is for Pocotaligo, Battle of (October 22, 1862).

“P” is for plantations. In the seventeenth century the term “plantation,” which formerly referred to any colonial outpost, evolved to refer specifically to large agricultural estates whose land was farmed by a sizable number of workers, usually enslaved persons, for export crops.

“D” is for Dorn, William Jennings Bryan (1906-2005). Congressman.

“C” is for Chattooga River. For most of its forty miles, the Chattooga forms the boundary between Georgia and South Carolina.

“C” is for the Charleston Riot [1876]. As the crucial local, state, and national elections of 1876 approached, tensions between the races in South Carolina reached a boiling point.

“C” is for Charleston Renaissance (ca. 1915-1940). The Charleston Renaissance was a multifaceted cultural renewal that took place in the years between World Wars I and II.

“B” is for Bishopville (Lee County; 2020 population 2,994).

“P” is for Pinckney, Josephine Lyons Scott (1895-1957). Poet, novelist, civic leader.

“P” is for Pinckney, Henry Laurens (1794-1863). Legislator, congressman, editor.

“M” is for Miles, William Porcher [1822-1899]. Educator, congressman.

“M” is for Milburn, Frank Pierce [1868-1926]. Architect. A native of Kentucky, Milburn established a practice in Charlotte in 1896.

“M” is for Mignot, Louis Rémy (1831-1870). Painter. Some scholars have maintained that Louis Rémy Mignot “was arguably the most accomplished southern-born painter of his generation.”

“H” is for Hopsewee Plantation (Georgetown County)

“H” is for Hoppin' John. Hoppin' John is a pilaf made with beans and rice that The recipe came directly to America from West Africa.

“G” is for Greenville County Museum of Art

“G” is for Greenville County (790 square miles; 2020 population 532,486).

“D” is for Dueling. Duels took place in South Carolina from colonial times until 1880, when the General Assembly officially outlawed the practice.

“C” is for Citadel, The. The Citadel originated in 1822 as an arsenal and guard house.

“C” is for Church of England. The first Church of England, or Anglican, house of worship in South Carolina was built in Charleston about 1681.

“C” is for Circular Congregational Church (Charleston)

“C “is for Church of the Nativity (Union)

“C” is for Church of the Cross (Bluffton)

“C” is for Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC was a New Deal federal initiative

“C” is for Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. One of the seven largest African American denominations, the CME church was originally titled the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church.

“B” is for Blue Ridge Railroad. Chartered in 1852, the Blue Ridge Railroad revived earlier plans to connect Charleston to the Midwest by rail.

"B” is for Blue Ridge. The Blue Ridge in South Carolina forms the smallest of the geological provinces.

“B” is for Blue granite. Blue granite was designated the state stone by law in 1969.

“H” is for Honey Hill, Battle of (November 30, 1864). The Battle of Honey Hill was the first in a series of engagements fought at the headwaters of the Broad River along the Charleston and Savannah Railroad in November and December 1864.

“H” is for Horry, Peter (ca .1743-1815). Planter, soldier, legislator.

“G" is for Greenville and Columbia Railroad

“D” is for DuBose, William Porcher (1836-1918). Professor, theologian.

“D” is for Drovers. From the late1790s until the 1880s, livestock from Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina were driven through Greenville County to the seaport of Charleston, destined for northern markets in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York or south to Florida and the West Indies.

“C” is for Christensen, Abby Mandana Holmes (1852-1938). Folklorist.

“C” is for Christ Church Parish

“C” is for Citizens’ Councils. Founded in 1954 in Mississippi, citizens councils quickly spread across the South.

“C” is for Chisolm, Julian John (1830-1903). Physician.

“C” is for Childress, Alice (1920-1994 ). Actress, theater director, playwright, novelist.

“P” is for Pinkney, Bill (1925-2007). Musician.

“T” is for Timrod, Henry (1828-1867). Poet, essayist. A native Charlestonian, Timrod—hedged by poverty, frail health, and the cataclysm of the Civil War—led a brief tubercular life.