Time Period: Industry & the Gilded Age (1878 - 1889)

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 …


Quick Access:

Historic Charleston Foundation’s Map Collection

This small map collection features original and facsimiles of historic maps of Charleston. Additional maps may be added in the future.


Quick Access:

City Year Books for Charleston, South Carolina, 1880-1951

This collection of city year books (1880-1951) provides an overview of the city of Charleston’s annual status. Each year begins with an opening address by the mayor that is followed by data and reports from various municipal departments. Information in the year books includes: reports on Charleston’s economy, infrastructure, education, public health, census data, and …


Quick Access:

Charleston Dental Association Records

The Charleston Dental Association was first organized in December 1867 at the office of Dr. J. B. Patrick, Sr. on Society Street in Charleston “for the advancement of our Profession and to engender …good fellowship.” The first dental association in the state, the group met monthly to demonstrate new techniques, discuss current practices and socialize. …


Quick Access:

Sarah Campbell Allan, M.D. Papers 1895-1952

The Sarah Campbell Allan, M.D., Papers, 1895-1954, include a letter from John Gary Evans, Governor of South Carolina, offering her a position at the South Carolina State Lunatic Asylum; a copy of her will and other estate papers; her 1900 diary, kept while working at the South Carolina State Hospital and a typescript of the …


Quick Access:
View in Discovery

The Charleston Earthquake, 1886

Photographs of the damage caused by the Charleston Earthquake of 1886. Photos are captioned with details, including the dollar amount of the damage. Introductory text by Alex. M. Cochran. Also includes advertisements for a variety of Charleston businesses, trades, merchants, and professionals. Publisher unknown. 70 p.; 24 cm.


Quick Access:

Business Guide of Charleston, SC

Directory of local businesses of all sorts. Published by Cooke, Howard & Co. (Baltimore, Md.), ca. 1889. Advertisements interspersed throughout, many of which are illustrated. Business types include bakers and confectioners, barbers, blacksmiths, building materials, butchers, contractors and builders, cigars and tobacco, groceries, furniture, hotels, insurance, house furnishings, painters, plumbers, railroad companies, restaurants, sailmakers, tailors, …


Quick Access:

Berkeley County (S.C.) Memories – Daniel E. Smith, Jr. Collection

Thomas Smith, born in Exeter, Devon, England in 1648, came to South Carolina in 1684. He became a Landgrave in 1691 and Governor of South Carolina in 1693. His son, Judge Thomas Smith, Jr., Second Landgrave (1670-1738) bequeathed to his brother and sons acres of his Goose Creek lands, his Wassamasaw lands, and a proportional …


Quick Access:

Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary Collection

This collection from the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary located in Columbia, S.C., includes photographs, correspondence and documents that document its history and growth.


Quick Access:

Furman’s Legacy of Slavery

Primary and secondary sources related to the legacy of slavery at Furman University as identified by the work of the Task Force on Slavery and Justice in 2017-2018. Read the Report of the Task Force.


Quick Access: