South Carolina

The year 1865 brought an end to the war in America, but it also ended a civilization that had existed for nearly two centuries in South Carolina. Plantations, churches, farms, factories and whole villages and towns were pillaged and burned by General William T. Sherman's army, and a once thriving and wealthy state was reduced to poverty. While Columbia burned, besieging Union troops swept in and occupied the undefended city of Charleston, which Sherman called "a mere desolated wreck," and then launched raids into the surrounding countryside, including the rich plantation lands of Berkeley County. The surviving records of this period are numerous and revealing, and author Karen Stokes presents many of the eyewitness accounts and memoirs of those who lived through it.

Even in a city as conscious of history as Charleston, not everything has survived. Natural disasters, wars and other calamities claimed many treasures.

Only a few preserved bits of one of the city’s grandest mansions survive at Dock Street Theatre. An old Quaker graveyard still rests in peace but does so under a downtown parking garage. The famous corner of Meeting and Broad Streets was once the area’s busiest marketplace. The Grace Memorial Bridge spanned the Cooper River for more than seventy years. Author J. Grahame Long details the history of these and more lost locations in the Holy City.

Oconee County, nestled in the foothills of the Upstate, possesses a rich history intertwined with its geography, which extends from the fertile Cherokee lands along the waters of the Tugaloo to
the mountain forests of the churning Chattooga River. Equal to the challenges of the region's harsh
yet beautiful terrain, the people of Oconee County
entered the 20th century with an agrarian economy
established by Revolutionary War veterans, cultivated
by German settlers, brutalized by the events from the
Civil War, and advanced in part by educators from the county's military institute, Clemson College.

A Highway Runs Through It

When U.S. Highway 29 between Greenville and Spartanburg was completed in 1946, it became the first modern super highway in the Upstate region. Known by many as the Super Highway, it was lauded as the “finest type in the country.” Although it is technically a north–south highway, it takes a meandering course across piedmont ridges, adding side roads and economic development. The businesses that grew along the corridor created a new landscape for the region. J. Harley Bonds was a longtime furniture store owner who helped desegregate Greer High School. W.O. Ezell helped beautify Spartanburg with his landscaping. Authors William “Lynn” Duncan and Scott Withrow explore the fascinating history of this well-traveled Upstate highway.

The Stories Behind the Albums

Carolina beach music—those often-soulful songs about the beach, parties, that special love, dancing or just relaxing in the sun—has long been a mainstay of culture in the Southeast. Yet until the late 1960s, you needed an impressive collection of 45s if you wanted to hear those songs in your home or at a party. But beginning with Atlantic Records’ Beach Beat in 1967, that music slowly became available on albums from Bell, Warner Bros., Ripete and other labels. Through interviews and firsthand accounts, author Rick Simmons examines the stories behind those classic albums, the people who created them and the artists and songs that contributed to the phenomenon known as Carolina beach music.

In the foothills of South Carolina lies the beautiful, historic college known as Converse. It was founded near the end of the Victorian Age by several of Spartanburg's leading professionals who believed that "the well-being of any country depends much upon the culture of her women." Their vision of providing higher education to women has now been carried into a second century and has allowed Converse to touch the lives of thousands of people. Converse College is a pictorial tribute that honors one of the leading women's institutions in the Southeast. The volume is arranged in chronological order and offers varied views of campus architecture as well as individuals who have walked its grounds over the past 112 years. Vintage photographs show Wilson Hall as it first appeared before the fire of 1892 and how it reemerged afterwards; they show college founders, leaders, and teachers-those who contributed to the growth of the school and its students. Perhaps most importantly, the images within these pages celebrate the students of Converse College, not only by presenting their faces, but also by showcasing photographs taken by the students themselves.