The population of South Carolina today can be de-scribed in many ways. It is as diverse as the towns andcities in which people live and work. The towns and citiesare judged on their quality of life, which reflects theirlocation, availability of health care, low cost of living,and low crime rate. Most towns in South Carolina en-joy these features.

Crops of all kinds are grown throughout the state.Abundant fresh water provides energy production andrecreation opportunities which are important to thestate’s economy. In the last twenty-five years, the indus-trial base in the state has broadened. Although the stateis still primarily agricultural, the economy is growing inother fields, especially tourism.

South Carolina’s PeopleThe United States has been called a “melting pot,”

where people from many different countries have learnedto live and work together. This contributes to the over-all culture of the United States. It has also been called a“tossed salad,” where many different groups of peoplehave been thrown together in a large bowl and blendedtogether to make a society. Each person or group, how-ever, retains something of distinction, like each ingredi-ent in the salad.

What Makes SouthCarolina Special?

As you read, look for:• the diversity of South Carolina’s population,• South Carolina communities,• South Carolina’s economy,• South Carolina’s resources, and• vocabulary terms: ethnic group, census, senior citizen,

rural, urban, suburbs, economy, natural resource, yield,cash crop, kaolin, and tourism.

Below: Marvin Ladson isa shrimp fisherman on St.Helena Island.

4 Chapter 1 Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places

Section1Section1

?Did You Know?Did You Know?

South Carolina’s nicknameis the Palmetto State.

It is also called the IodineState, Keystone of the South

Atlantic Seaboard, RiceState, and Swamp State.

SEX

RACE

SEX

AGE

Both descriptions for South Caro-lina are true. People from many dif-ferent regions of the world—Africa,Europe, Asia, the Americas—havebeen mixed together to form theSouth Carolina of today. But eachgroup retains distinctive characteris-tics of its ancestry.

Today, the population of SouthCarolina is made up of more thanone hundred different ethnic groups.An ethnic group is a group of peoplewho possess a common tradition andstrong feelings of belonging. Accord-ing to the 2000 census (an actualcount of the population), the largestethnic group—European Americansor whites—makes up just over 66percent of the population. The sec-ond largest group—African Ameri-cans or blacks—accounts for about30 percent of the population. AsianAmericans, Hispanics, and AmericanIndians account for roughly 4 per-cent of the total population.

These broad ethnic groups can bebroken down further. EuropeanAmericans include English, Scotch-Irish, Irish, French, Belgian, German,Swiss, Swedish, and numerous othergroups whose origins are found inEurope. African Americans includeZairian, Sierra Leonian, Nigerian,and many other groups whose ori-gins are found in Africa. They also include blacks from the Caribbean is-lands. Asian Americans include Filipino, Asian Indian, Korean, Japanese,Vietnamese, and other groups whose origins are found in Asia or the is-lands of the Pacific. Those of Hispanic origin include Mexican, PuertoRican, Cuban, Chilean, and other groups whose origins are in Central andSouth America and the Caribbean. American Indians are those groups whowere in America when the Europeans, led by Christopher Columbus, ar-rived. They can be divided into Cherokee, Catawba, Creek, Yemassee,Lumbee, and many others. All of these groups have contributed to the de-velopment of South Carolina.

RACE

SEX

AGE

Section 1 What Makes South Carolina Special? 5

SEX

RACE

Figure 1South Carolina’sPopulation in1990

SEX

AGE

Male48.4%

Other, 1.8%

Figure 2South Carolina’sPopulation in2002

White69.9%

Black29.8%

Female51.6%

18-65, 62.2%

over 65, 11.4%

under 1826.4%

18-65, 52.5%

under 1825.2%

over 65, 22.3%

Other, 4.4%

White66.1%

Black29.5%

Male48.6%

Female51.4%

Below: The town square inAbbeville features a CivilWar memorial.

The population of South Carolina today can be described in other ways.Over 97 percent of South Carolinians are American citizens by birth, whilejust under 2 percent are non-citizens. Women are a little over 51 percent ofthe population. Children under the age of 18 make up about 25 percent ofthe population, while more than 22 percent of the people in the state aresenior citizens (those over the age of 65). In fact, the average age of the peopleof South Carolina has been increasing steadily over the last ten years. Theaverage age of a South Carolinian in 1985 was 38 years; in 1995, it was 40;in 2000, it was 41.

Why is the age of the people increasing? For one reason, South Carolin-ians are living longer. In addition, the number of retired people moving intothe state in recent years has increased, and the birth rate has held steady ordeclined slightly.

South Carolina’s CommunitiesLike all other states, South Carolina is made up of many communities.

For years, most South Carolinians lived in the rural (countrylike) areas ofthe state. Even though the residents did not live in cities or towns, they be-longed to communities that worked together to provide the best way of lifepossible. According to the 2000 census more than 60 percent of South

6 Chapter 1 Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places

Discovering South CarolinaDiscovering South Carolina

Lost Places in South CarolinaHave you ever heard about ghost townsout west? Ghost towns are places where build-

ings still stand but no one lives there. Are there

any ghost towns in South Carolina? Not really.

But there are plenty of places that are lost; that

is, they existed at one time but no longer exist.

Many of the lost places in South Carolina

are plantations, houses, and cemeteries that

were lost or destroyed when one of South

Carolina’s large man-made lakes was built.

The land beneath Lake Murray was once

home to 5,000 individuals, 3 churches, 6

schools, and 193 cemeteries. When Lake

Murray was lowered in 2003 to allow work on

a back-up dam for Murray Dam, many grave-

stones were seen sticking up out of the water. When lakes

Marion and Moultrie were created in 1939 from land in

Berkeley and Orangeburg counties, numerous old plan-

tations, cemeteries, and antebellum houses were flooded.

These places are lost forever in history.

Several towns have been lost in South Carolina. The first

town to become lost in the state was Hamburg. Hamburg

was located in Aiken County in the early 1840s and was

one of the important locations for railroad development.

Over a number of years the town dwindled to nothing

and today is part of North Augusta.

Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell counties were home to

several towns destroyed in the early 1950s to make way

for the Savannah River Nuclear Plant. The inhabitants of

seven small towns—Ellenton, Dunbarton, Hawthorne,

Leigh, Meyers Mill, Robbins, and Sleepy Hollow—were re-

quired to give up their homes and move to other places.

Dunbarton was a small town in Aiken County with less

than 300 people. The town had several small businesses,

a train depot, two cotton gins, a fertilizer plant, a lumber

mill, and several grain and syrup mills. It also had a strong

sense of community. Only one of the towns—Ellenton—

was recreated outside of the 200,000 acre Savannah River

site. That town is now called New Ellenton. Overall, about

1,500 families had to move to new homes as part of the

plan for the United States to have a facility to produce plu-

tonium for nuclear weapons.

The next time you travel and see one of South

Carolina’s big lakes, think about what may be lost under

the water. Remember, as well, that inhabitants of entire

towns were required to move to establish the Savannah

River Plant. There are many lost places in South Carolina,

but they do not have to be forgotten.

Lost Places in South Carolina

Above: The brick bell tower of St. George’sAnglican Church still stands at Colonial DorchesterHistoric Site in Summerville. Dorchester wasdestroyed by retreating British troops in 1781.

Section 1 What Makes South Carolina Special? 7

Above: South Carolina’scities are some of the mostlivable in the UnitedStates. This city park is inSpartanburg.

Carolinians live in urban (city) areas, though 75 percentof South Carolina’s cities and towns had a populationof less than 5,000. Even the urban areas are made up ofcommunities. Some of the communities, such as MelroseHeights in Columbia and The Battery in Charleston, arewithin the city limits. Other communities called suburbssurround the cities but are outside city limits.

Whether residents of cities or small towns, South Caro-linians have kept the small-town feeling. Travel brochuresboast of smiling faces, picture-perfect scenes, and warmhospitality. Most South Carolinians believe that smalltowns are the best places to live and raise families. Yet,most of the small towns are close to large cities.

South Carolina towns and cities have earned nationalattention as All-American cities or have made the lists ofbest towns or cities in which to live. Florence and Aikenare two All-American cities. Year after year, Charleston,Greenville, and Columbia are listed in the top one hun-dred cities in which to live. The towns and cities arejudged on their quality of life, which reflects their loca-tion, availability of health care, low cost of living, andlow crime rate. Most towns in South Carolina enjoy thesefeatures.

South Carolina’s EconomyFor more than three hundred years, South Carolina’s economy revolved

around agriculture. The word economy refers to all the activities involvedin the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Firstrice, then cotton was the backbone of the South Carolina economy. Indigo,tobacco, corn, and peaches are other crops on which South Carolina basedits economy. After the Civil War, textile manufacturing became the primaryindustry in the state. Even today, every county in South Carolina has at leastone textile-producing business. In the last twenty-five years, the industrialbase in the state has broadened. Automobile and automobile parts manu-facturing and chemical production are some of the new industries in SouthCarolina.

The United States military provides South Carolina with an even broadereconomic base. Fort Jackson outside of Columbia, Shaw Air Force Base westof Sumter, and Parris Island Marine Corps Training Facility near Beaufortbring millions of dollars into the state each year. Other places also had mili-tary bases that are now closed. Charleston Naval Base closed in 1995, andMyrtle Beach Air Force Base closed in 1993.

The leading growth areas in the state are Columbia, the state capital andsite of the University of South Carolina; Greenville-Spartanburg in the up-

8 Chapter 1 Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places

Above: Edgefield County isfamous for its peaches.There is an area in thecounty that, in a good year,produces more peachesper acre than anywhereelse in the nation.

state; Rock Hill and the area south of Charlotte, North Carolina; Charles-ton, Myrtle Beach, and Georgetown along the coast; and Aiken near theGeorgia border. Businesses and population are both expected to increase inthese areas over the next twenty years.

South Carolina’s ResourcesSouth Carolina lies along the Atlantic Coast in an area rich in natural

resources, which are those things that are in or supplied by our natural en-vironment and can be consumed or used by people. These include thou-sands of acres of forests; rich soil; plenty of clean, fresh water; and variousminerals. The coastal waters are full of seafood of all kinds.

Throughout the state of South Carolina are forests, covering about 65percent of the state’s land area. Every county in the state has some industrybased on the use of trees. The greatest forest-related industry is paper andpaper products. Lumber and lumber products are also important to the state’seconomy. During the last twenty years, many improvements have been madein the industry. Waste paper and forest materials that once were burned ordiscarded in dumps are now used to make paper. Many of the paper-pro-ducing companies are also investing in the development of trees that growfaster and produce higher yields (amounts produced). ?

Did You Know?Did You Know?

The water tower in Gaffney—called the Peachoid—isprobably the best-known,most-photographed watertank in the United States.

Section 1 What Makes South Carolina Special? 9

Map 1South Carolina’sResources

Map Skill: What resourcesare found in the area whereyou live?

The rich soil of South Carolina allows crops of all kinds to be grownthroughout the state. Many grain crops are raised, with corn producing thehighest yield and the most money. Fruit and vegetable farms abound. Fruitsgrown in South Carolina include peaches, apples, nectarines, strawberries,blueberries, kiwi, and grapes. South Carolina is second in the nation in pro-ducing peaches, trailing only California. Squash, tomatoes, beans, peppers,and other vegetables thrive in the warm climate and fertile soil. Nonediblecrops are also important. Cotton and tobacco are still important to the stateeven though they are not grown as widely as they were twenty-five years

ago. Tobacco remains the top cashcrop in the state. A cash crop is onegrown to be sold to earn money.

Abundant fresh water providesenergy production and recreationopportunities, both important to thestate’s economy. Large manmadelakes like Lakes Murray, Wateree,and Hartwell provide the waterneeded for both producing electric-ity and fishing. The water supply isalso important to farmers.

South Carolina does not havevast amounts of coal, oil, iron, orother important minerals like Ken-tucky, Minnesota, or Texas. How-ever, deposits of gold have beenfound in Chesterfield and Fairfieldcounties and have been or are beingmined. Deposits of granite and sand

10 Chapter 1 Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places

Opposite page, above: Thestate’s rich soil supportsmany different crops. Top:The sand from this quarry inWalterboro is used forconstruction and on golfcourses. Above: The lumberindustry is importantto the state’s economy.

1. How would you describe the size of most of SouthCarolina’s cities and towns?

2. What industry became prominent after the Civil War and isstill important in South Carolina today?

3. What are South Carolina’s leading growth areas?4. What is a cash crop, and what is South Carolina’s leading

cash crop?5. Name two resources that are provided through South

Carolina’s manmade lakes.

It’s Your TurnIt’s Your Turn

are found throughout the state. Together with the clay deposits used tomake brick, they provide the basis for building materials production. De-posits of kaolin, a fine clay used in ceramics, are found in the western re-gion of the state.

Perhaps the most important natural resource South Carolina has is itscoastline. Tourism, one of the largest service industries in the state, is builtupon people going to the beach. The saltwater also provides the state withfresh seafood such as shrimp, crab, oysters, and fish. The coastline has giventhe state valuable seaports at Charleston and Georgetown.

But South Carolina’s greatest resource is its people. South Carolinianshave contributed to every aspect of life. Noted inventors, politicians, enter-tainers, and soldiers have come from inside its borders. The people of thestate have gained the reputation of being hard workers. This reputationencourages businesses to move to South Carolina or expand the plants theyalready have in the state.

Section 1 What Makes South Carolina Special? 11