South Carolina culture is deeply layered and complex. Industry, tradition, conflict, and art meet here to create the unique landscape of this Southeastern region.
If you want to learn some fast facts about South Carolina history and culture to impress your friends, check out the Carolina Snaps series. Carolina Snaps highlights South Carolina's people, places, and significant historical events...all in a snap! These 60-second episodes can be found on Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels, YouTube Shorts, scetv.org, and the SCETV App.
South Carolina History and Culture
Before South Carolina was the South Carolina we know today, the Native American people were much more densely dispersed throughout the state. The Catawba Nation, out of Rock Hill, has a history spanning thousands of years, and its members are still present in Rock Hill today. They are particularly notable for their close cultural ties with the pottery arts, usually taken up by female tribe members. The Catawba were expansive and had lots of little influences on the history of South Carolina, as well as North Carolina, and even parts of Virginia.
A cultural staple of the Deep South and Carolina coastline is Gullah basketweaving. The baskets are made from bulrush, a sturdy type of grass that primarily grows in coastal regions. Basketweaving was a tradition that slaves brought with them from Africa, as they were initially used as rice fanners on farms and plantations, but also helped in plantation labor in America as well.
Another often-overlooked cultural staple in South Carolina is our street art. In recent years, street art has begun decorating stores and businesses across the state. From abstract paintings to murals done in remembrance, street art undoubtedly adds character to South Carolina's streets.
South Carolina also owes some of its economic development to big businesses that move to the state to benefit from our low cost of living. Two major manufacturers that set up shop in SC are BMW and Sonoco.
In 1994, BMW opened its first factory outside Germany in Spartanburg, SC. The factory brought thousands of jobs and established South Carolina as a key player in the manufacturing sector. BMW alone boosted the US GDP by $15 million dollars and greatly supported South Carolina’s local economy as well.
Sonoco, originally founded in 1890 as Carolina Fiber Company, began by producing paper cones as well as pulp and paper from pine trees. Today, Sonoco is a leading packaging manufacturer with 300 locations in 36 countries across the globe…and it all started right here, in Hartsfield, South Carolina.
A regrettable event in South Carolina's history was the Battle of Camden, which took place during the Revolutionary War on August 16, 1780, and ended in a dramatic patriot defeat. Patriot soldiers had been struck with dysentery the night before, resulting in only 3,000 soldiers being well enough to fight the next day--much less than the 12,000 men they initially had. Because of the lack of manpower and weapons, the Patriot army’s defeat by the British was brutal and sobering. The combination of a lack of manpower as well as weaponry resulted in a brutal defeat by the British army.
South Carolina’s culture is a rich tapestry woven together just as much by people and their connections to each other as it is by historical mishaps. Through learning about South Carolina's history, one can also gain an understanding of how the state evolved into what it is today. And though you can’t see the history around you, just know that it is always there.
