South Carolina

• Population- 4,012,012
• Capital- Columbia
• Largest cities– Columbia, Charleston, North Charleston
• Time zone- Eastern
• Date of Admission to the Union- May 23, 1788
• Slogan- “Smiling faces. Beautiful places.”
• State website URL- www.sc.gov

South Carolina is located in southeast United States. Three geographic regions cover the state. The Atlantic Coastal Plain (or the South Carolina Low Country) extends west from the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Coastal Plains are swampy, flat and marked by rivers near the coast. The Coastal Plains are forested and lined with sandy hills as you move inland. The higher elevations and rolling hills of the Piedmont are located northwest of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The more low lying Blue Ridge Mountains cross northwest South Carolina with elevations reaching 3,000 ft.

The coast of South Carolina was explored by the Spaniard Francisco de Gordillo in 1521. The Spanish and French were unsuccessful in building settlements in the 1500s. It was not until 1670 that the first British settlement was made at Albemarle Point and later moved to Charleston. The state declared its independence from the British on March 15, 1776.

South Carolina was the first state to secede from the union on December 20, 1860. Four months later in April of 1861 Confederate artillery opened fire on Fort Sumter, South Carolina, the opening shots of the Civil War. Visitors to South Carolina today can tour the Fort Sumter National Monument and Fort Moultrie or American Revolution historic sites at the Cowpens National Battlefield or Kings Mountain National Military Park.

South Carolina’s economy is historically based on agriculture. Tobacco, poultry, cattle, dairy, soybeans and hogs are important agricultural products. Growth of the textile industry met an ill fate in the 1920s with the appearance of the boll weevil--sending many African Americans north in search of work. Textile and clothing industries are based in Piedmont and continue to be an important industry to the state, along with chemical products, paper products, machinery and tourism.