Time Period: Reconstruction (1866 - 1877)

Standard Federal (Columbia S.C.) Photograph Collection

This comprehensive set of Columbia area images includes 146 prints from periods ranging from 1865 to 1980. The collection was amassed from various long time photographers in the community such as John A. Sargeant, Charles Old and Walter Blanchard. They operated studios in the city from the period c. 1915 through 1960. The images include …


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University of South Carolina Reconstruction Records

In 1873, the University of South Carolina became the only state-supported Southern university to fully integrate during the Reconstruction Era that followed the Civil War. By 1876, the student body was predominately African-American. After Wade Hampton was elected governor and whites regained control of state government, the University was closed for reorganization in 1877, and …


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University of South Carolina Buildings and Grounds

These images, dating from the 1920s to the 1950s, document the evolution of the University’s physical structures.


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The New South Newspaper, 1862-1866

Union postmaster Joseph H. Sears published the New South newspaper out of the post office building on Union Square in Port Royal, S.C., on a weekly basis beginning in March 1862. The paper was moved to the town of Beaufort sometime in 1865 and remained there until it ceased in 1867. The New South offers …


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William Drayton Rutherford Papers

This collection of one hundred fifty-three manuscripts begins in 1858 when Rutherford was courting Sallie Fair, the daughter of Simeon Fair, of Newberry, S.C. The courtship of William (“Drate”) Rutherford and Sallie Fair was interrupted in 1861 by secession and war.


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Wilkinson-Keith Family Papers

The Wilkinson-Keith Family Papers consist of correspondence and other documents among the Wilkinson, Keith, Siegling, Haskell, and Marshall families and their friends dating from 1785 to 1920. The bulk of the correspondence dates from 1820 to 1890, a large portion of which chronicles Willis Keith’s experiences as a Confederate soldier in 1862-1863. Antebellum correspondence discusses …


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Waring Historical Library Artifact Collection

As part of a grant from the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelly Foundation, the Waring Historical Library photographed 500 objects from its collection of medical artifacts. The artifacts date to the 18th century, and include pharmacy containers, surgical instruments, and bleeding apparatus. One hundred of the objects will be presented as “3D” videos that offer a 360 …


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USC School of Medicine Digital Collections

This collection gives an indication of the kinds and numbers of medical books in the hands of physicians in South Carolina and reflects the education and training of doctors during the 18th and 19th centuries.


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University of South Carolina Student Exams, 1854 – 1917

These student examinations date largely from the second half of the 19th century, a period in which the University of South Carolina underwent significant changes not only in its curriculum but also in its student body, its faculty and its educational goals. The exams in this collection that date prior to 1873 reflect the South …


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Woman’s College of Due West Photograph Collection

Early 20th century photographic images from the Woman’s College of Due West (SC), including class pictures. In 1904, the Due West Female College (founded in 1859) came under the control of the Synod of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and the school’s name was changed to the Woman’s College of Due West. There was the …


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