1886 Charleston Earthquake Photographs
This collection is comprised of 15 photographs documenting the destruction Charleston, South Carolina, suffered as a result of the August 1886 earthquake. Locations in the photos include King Street, Market Street, and Hibernian Hall. The massive earthquake occurred on August 31, 1886. Please, also visit the online exhibit, “Faults and Fractures: The Medical Response to …
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1920s Charleston Scenes
Sixteen ca. 1920s photographs of scenes in Charleston, South Carolina, affixed to pages removed from a photograph album, four photos on each side. Includes views of the Charleston waterfront, the Ashley River Bridge, Hampton Park, and aerial views across the Charleston peninsula. Note: Zoom in on the photographs to see the landscapes! The landmark buildings …
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1938 Tornado Photograph Collection
On September 29, 1938, five tornadoes swept through the South Carolina Lowcountry, two of which ravaged parts of downtown Charleston, causing several fatalities and injuries and two million dollars in damages. The tornadoes damaged or destroyed almost everything in its path, particularly on Market Street, Broad Street near Church Street, and State Street. As with …
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1967 King Street Survey Collection
In 1967, Historic Charleston Foundation was deeply concerned about the conditions of the downtown area, particularly the commercial blocks of King Street. Because the Foundation believed that the survival of King Street as a thriving retail shopping district was vital, it launched a feasibility study to determine the potential of the area. The study examined …
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72/74 Tradd Street Ownership History Scrapbooks
This scrapbook features a compilation of original deeds, titles, and other documents related to the transfer, sale, and ownership of 72-74 Tradd Street, known now as the Fotheringham-McNeil Tenements. Documents span the years 1765 to 1961, and likely represent the entire history of the ownership of the double tenement throughout that time period. The scrapbook …
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A Collection of Historic Bulletins from Voorhees College
This collection of historic bulletins from Voorhees College includes curricula, handbooks and manuals published between 1920-1981. The collection also includes academic records recorded between 1910-1921.
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A. Wolfe Davidson, The Man Behind the Sculpture
A. Wolfe Davidson created the Thomas Green Clemson statue in front of Tillman Hall (twice!). This exhibit provides a brief look at his Davidson’s life and the other works he created for Clemson University and other clients. Davidson was born in Russia in 1903, arrived in Greenville, South Carolina in the 1920s and enrolled as …
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Abstract of Voter Registrations Reported to the Military Government, 1868
This abstract was created by order of the commander of the Second Military District in accord with 14 U.S. Stats. 429, 15 U.S. Stats.2, and 15 U.S. Stats. 14, which gave him ultimate responsibility for the registration of voters and the conduct of elections. The series was abstracted prior to 12 September 1868 from the …
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AccessAble Books, Print-on-Demand by USC Press
The University of South Carolina Press and the University of South Carolina Libraries are pleased to announce the launch of AccessAble Books. Titles published under this joint imprint are selected from the diverse collections of the Thomas Cooper Library and the South Caroliniana Library as a means to republish important out-of-print volumes of scholarship and …
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Account Books of Benjamin Perry’s Wards, 1841-1864
The Account Books of Benjamin Perry’s Wards, 1841-1864 Collection consists of two volumes kept by Benjamin Perry for John Allen Miles (Volume 1) and Jeremiah Jackson Miles (Volume 2). A South Carolina Plantation owner, Senator (1846-1850, 1856-1857) and Secretary of State (1850-1854), Benjamin Perry married widow Sarah Free Waring Miles and acted as guardian for …
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Accounts and Estate Administration Books, 1824-1852
The Accounts and Estate Administration Book, 1824-1852 contains loose papers belonging to S.C. attorney Samuel Gaillard Barker (1799-1863). These papers include a list of slaves with their dates of birth, gender, their work as a full or half-time field hand and their “usefulness” as a slave. Also included is a mortgage for seven slaves, a newspaper clipping on the …
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African American Social Clubs
Meeting minutes of African American women’s social clubs including lists of members, dues collected, and programs sponsored.
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After the Great Earthquake
Souvenir booklet containing photographs of the aftermath of the Charleston Earthquake of 1886, featuring the damage done to buildings. Published by Walker, Evans & Cogswell (Charleston, S.C.), 1886. Photographs by Heliotype Printing Co., Boston, Mass. [24] leaves of plates, 12 x 20 cm.
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Agricultural Experiments and South Mulberry Plantation Journal, 1841-1907 (bulk 1841-1867)
The Agricultural Experiments and South Mulberry Plantation Journal, 1841-1907 (bulk 1841-1867) collection contains a bound journal kept by Sandford William Barker at South Mulberry Plantation in Berkeley County, South Carolina, which Barker acquired through his marriage to Christiana Constantia Broughton in 1835. A graduate of the Medical College of South Carolina as well as a …
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Agricultural Society of South Carolina Visual Materials
Organized in Charleston, South Carolina as the South-Carolina Society for Promoting and Improving Agricultural, and Other Rural Concerns, the society was incorporated in 1795 as the Agricultural Society of South Carolina. Photographs in this collection depict meetings and officers of the Agricultural Society, exhibits, farm scenes, farmers’ markets, livestock, and other related subjects.
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Albert Simons Papers, 1908-1977
Sketches of buildings and architectural features in Europe, Maryland, Turkey, Italy, Greece, France, South Carolina, and Spain, by Charleston architect Albert Simons. Also included are sketches during his military service in Europe during World War I. The images depict buildings of France, and soldiers and civilians of many nationalities.
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Alexander Glennie Journal, 1831-1859
Journal kept by Alexander Glennie concerning his activities as rector of All Saints (Episcopal) Church, Waccamaw, South Carolina. Includes a list of plantation chapels (Woodbourne, Laurel Hill, Brookgreen, Oaks, Litchfield, Waverly, Midway, True Blue, Hagley, Fairfield, Sandy Knoll, Cedar Grove, and Mount Arena); the constitution (1832) and minutes (1832-1838) of All Saints Sunday School (an …
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Alexander McBeth Store Ledger, 1794
A handmade ledger book from 1794 belonging to Alexander McBeth & Company, who began operations in Greenville County in the early 1790s. The store stood on the White Horse Road. This ledger is held by the Greenville County Library System’s South Carolina Room.
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Alice Ravenel Huger Smith Collection
The Alice Ravenel Huger Smith Collection contains the book, Twenty Drawings of the Pringle House (1917). This book was a collaboration with her father, D.E. Huger Smith. Alice R. Huger Smith (1876-1958), was part of the Charleston Renaissance and is remembered as a painter, printmaker, author, illustrator, historian and historic preservationist.
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Allen University Digital Collections
Allen University has a rich and distinguished history. Founded in 1870 by the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, the institution represents the dream of Daniel Alexander Payne (1811-1883), an apostle of black education in the United States, who saw the need for such a school among African Americans. Payne’s dream was fulfilled by Richard Allen, …
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Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA) records, 1998-2018
The Alliance for Full Acceptance (AFFA) is a social justice organization located in Charleston, South Carolina dedicated to achieving equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. The organization was founded in 1998 and is active as of 2020. AFFA has advocated for the equality of LGBTQ people in South Carolina through promotional …
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Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Photograph collection of Epsilon Tau Omega chapter members. The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority was founded in 1908 at Howard University by African-American women.
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Alston Wilkes Society Houses
Alston Wilkes Society provides services for homeless persons, veterans, ex-offenders, and at-risk youth. This collection includes photographs of the restoration of their 2 Greenville locations.
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American Spinning Company
Contains photographs of the mill, village, and people of the American Spinning Company from the private collection of Robert “Bob” H. Duke of Greenville. Organized in 1895 by Oscar Sampson, James Orr, and Jacob Cagle American Spinning Company began as a two-story wooden building, but grew rapidly adding a new brick building and other additions …
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Andrews Museum Collection
The Andrews Museum Collection features photographs taken of the century old town of Andrews, South Carolina. Founded in 1909, Andrews was formed when the towns of Rosemary and Harpers merged. Known for its railway lines and lumber mills, Andrews quickly became a town that had a lot to offer. Churches, retail stores, movie theaters and …
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Angelica Singleton Van Buren Collection
Sarah Angelica Singleton was born in Wedgefield, South Carolina in 1818, the daughter of prominent South Carolina plantation owner, Richard Singleton, and his wife Rebecca Travis Coles. In 1838, Angelica would marry Abraham Van Buren, son of the 8th President of the United States, Martin Van Buren. During her father-in-law’s term of office, Angelica would …
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Anita Pollitzer Family Papers
The Anita Pollitzer Family Papers is comprised of documents and photographs gathered by multiple members of the Pollitzer family. The collection contains correspondence, funeral programs, an issue of The Jewish Women Quarterly, Gustave M. Pollitzer’s prayer book in the original Yiddish, marriage and birth certificates, tickets to events, and family photographs.
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Anna D. Kelly Papers, 1930s – 1999
Anna D. Kelly (1913-2007) is known for her efforts to connect Lowcountry African Americans with the Highlander Folk School, most notably recruiting Septima Clark. A graduate of the Avery Normal Institute in Charleston, South Carolina, Kelly was a charter member of the Avery Institute of African American History and Culture. She then played a crucial …
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Ansonborough Rehabilitation Project
In the 1950s many houses in Ansonborough were threatened with ”demolition by neglect,” having stood vacant or fallen into severe disrepair. In order to encourage homebuyers to move into the neighborhood to save these formerly unwanted treasures, Historic Charleston Foundation (HCF) was the first organization in the country to develop the Revolving Fund as a …
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Ansonborough Rehabilitation Project Photograph Survey
Since its founding, Historic Charleston Foundation had been nursing its interest in the rehabilitation of an entire neighborhood. However, a formal plan had not been devised until the late 1950s, a time when the historic Ansonborough neighborhood was in a state of decline, with many formerly grand houses in a state of severe disrepair and …
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Aquí Estamos (Here We Are) Digital Collection
English: Aquí Estamos is a digital archive that documents the history and culture of diverse groups of Latinos in the Lowcountry. The collection includes photographs, correspondence, promotional flyers, and other ephemera. The materials help document the first permanent settlement of Latino immigrants on Johns Island in the 1980s, the emergence of an Hispanic Catholic community, …
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Architect – George E. Walker
Architect George E. Walker replaced dismissed architect Peter Hammarskold when the foundations of the SC State House were found crumbling. This handwritten diary covers construction on the SC State House from August to November 1854.
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Architecture Publications
About the Collection This collection features publications related to architecture, including Charleston architecture. Additional works may be added in the future. See also the White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs Collection.
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Ariail-Kimball Genealogy
This collection contains genealogical information for the Ariail-Kimball and associated families including marriages, obituaries, military service, and family trees. These items are from the James and Lorraine Patterson Collection.
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Armstrong Family Papers, 1900 – 1930
One of America’s foremost early twentieth-century African-American magic acts. J. Hartford Armstrong, his wife, Lille Belle Armstrong, and eventually their daughter, Ellen Armstrong, performed feats that included mind reading, slight of hand, and card tricks. This collection of 127 items includes letters, photographs, and newspaper clippings.
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Art Work of Charleston: Published in Twelve Parts
A twelve-part, mostly pictorial publication about Charleston and the vicinity. Distributed throughout the parts is an essay describing Charleston’s history and development. The photographs feature buildings, residences, churches, street views, river views, historic gardens, cemeteries, railroad structures, phosphate mining activity, and wharves. Published in 1893 by W. H. Parish (Chicago, Illinois).
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Atheneum: Yearbook of Coastal Carolina University
Atheneum, the Coastal Carolina University yearbook, was published from 1969 to 1997. The yearbooks allow us to trace change in the culture and attitudes of students on the CCU campus throughout the years. The 1969 yearbook is considered to be the first volume because previous editions were included as part of Garnet and Black, the University …
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Avery Normal Institute
Founded in 1865, the Avery Normal Institute provided education and advocacy for the growing Charleston African American community and trained blacks for professional careers and leadership roles. Although the Institute closed its doors in 1954, it graduates preserved the legacy of their alma mater by establishing the Avery Institute of Afro-American History and Culture. This …
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Avery Research Center Oral History Collection
The Avery Research Center houses a variety of oral history interviews, largely documenting African American experiences in the Lowcountry. Oral history projects include the Avery Normal Institute documentation effort and the Sea Island Preservation Initiative.
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Avery Research Center Sweetgrass Basket Collection
The Avery Sweetgrass Basket Collection holds significant modern examples of a centuries-old craft. Following African traditions, baskets of coiled grasses were originally produced by slaves on Lowcountry plantations for agricultural use. Over time, sweetgrass baskets have become artistic expressions that retain the African aesthetic — a symbol of African American culture and a signature of …
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B. A. Rodrigues Ottolengui Collection
The B. A. Rodrigues Ottolengui Collection consists of various newspaper clippings, theater programs and advertisements, as well as theater tickets which feature performances by a number of members of the Ottolengui family. Notable in this collection is a scrapbook given to Benjamin Adolf Rodrigues Ottolengui by his mother and father, Helen Rodriguez Ottolengui and Daniel …
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Babcock Blueprints
The iconic Babcock Building, part of the campus of the South Carolina State Hospital on Bull Street, opened its doors in 1885. The design follows a modified “Kirkbride Plan” in which wards were staggered to allow for increased natural light and improved ventilation. The Babcock Building’s red cupola became a symbol of the mental health …
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Barnwell Family Papers
This collection consists mostly of the correspondence, with some related materials, of the Barnwell family of Beaufort and lowcounty South Carolina. Topics covered by various family members include the solace of religion; ministering in various Episcopal Churches in South Carolina (1830s-1860s); temperance; conflict and disagreement (1830s-1860s) with the Roman Catholic Church and Father John Fielding’s …
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Beaty Family Scrapbook
The Beaty Family Scrapbook contains images of the family during their time spent in Murrells Inlet during the years 1908-1915. The family purchased the Hermitage in 1905 and spent many happy days fishing and swimming in the inlet.
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Beaufort and the Sea Islands
Beaufort and the Sea islands, a guide prepared by Federal Writer’s Project, Works Progress Administration, South Carolina, 1938. Sponsored and published by the Clover Club.
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Beaufort Hurricane of 1893 Photograph Collection
This collection features 20 photographs that record the damage caused by the hurricane that swept through Beaufort County on August 27th, 1893. Images captured include wrecked and stranded ships and steamers, including the “City of Savannah,” damaged buildings and wharves and a debris covered Bay Street. For more information, please see the companion publication, The …
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Beaumont E Newspaper Collection
Built in 1890 during the southern textile boom, the Beaumont Manufacturing Company was established thanks to efforts of J.H. Sloan (president), John B. Cleveland, Joseph Walker (original landowner), H.A. Ligon, C.E. Fleming, and Vardry McBee. In addition to capitalizing on the growth of the textile industry in the upstate region of South Carolina, Sloan wanted …
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Beautifying and Improving Greenville, S.C.
In 1907, the landscape architecture firm Kelsey & Guild, of Boston, MA, prepared a report for the Municipal League of Greenville in which they outlined, “the possibilities for beautifying and improving Greenville and…practical ways to accomplish results.” This report, presented here in its final published version as well as the typescript version initially submitted to …
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Belle W. Baruch Collection
The Belle W. Baruch Collection features photographs provided by the Belle W. Baruch Foundation. In 1905, Bernard M. Baruch purchased and merged 11 former plantations as a winter hunting retreat calling it Hobcaw Barony. Today, Hobcaw includes 17,500 acres of research reserve left by his daughter Belle W. Baruch and is one of the few …