South Carolina

Hidden History of Hilton Head offers a lively array of historical tidbits and tales, focusing on people, lifeways, believe-it-or-not snippets and beloved local places.

Discover the ties that Harriet Tubman and Clara Barton had to the region and learn about the lives of oyster shuckers, root doctors, debauched ""Jack-ashores"" and many other characters in the island's rich history. From beautiful poems written by renowned locals to the songs that guided the slaves to freedom and time-tested regional recipes, author Alice Sink's collection truly encompasses the spirit of the Lowcountry.

In this engaging volume, local historian Douglas Bostick reveals the unacknowledged history of the second community in South Carolina, settled in 1671.

Whether investigating prehistoric clues about Native American life before European settlement, detailing the history of agriculture and the reign of King Cotton, following armies from multiple wars or chronicling the triumph of equality on the greens of Charleston's Municipal Golf Course, Bostick tells the story of James Island as only a native son can. Join Bostick as he brings this small jewel of an island out of Charleston's shadow and into the light of its own rich, historic assets.

Through the eyes of photographers a century ago, the story of Hunting Island unfolds.

Over 4,000 years old, the barrier islands of South Carolina's Lowcountry are ever-changing and hauntingly beautiful. Hunting Island's importance to Beaufort and the nation has always stemmed from its use as a recreational area. From the rice planters, who took their families here on week-long excursions to hunt and fish, to present-day naturalists, campers, and beachgoers, Hunting Island's unique ecology, terrain, and wildlife have always been enjoyed and valued on an international level. Readers visit early planters, and meet shrimpers who spread their nets in the shoaled waters surrounding the island. We travel though marshes brimming with life and enjoy moments of solitude along quiet sandy beaches.

The articles presented here are an excellent introduction to the history of one of the nation's most historic towns, from the Spanish explorers and early settlers to Revolutionary War battles and the area's unique architecture. Residents and visitors alike are sure to enjoy these delightful pages from Beaufort's past.

In this follow-up volume, Mark R. Jones uncovers the seedy and wicked past of Charleston: Prostitutes, Politics and Prohibition.

The city of Charleston, South Carolina, with its matchless Southern charm, has sparkled gem-like on the Carolina coast for more than three hundred years. The Holy City, as it is known, has been a cherished home to generations and an inviting destination for visitors from all over the world, who come to tour its celebrated historic sites and to bask in both the warm sun and the famous Southern hospitality. But below the gleaming surface of Charleston, there has always been a darker side--a second history that has been hidden and denied by those who retell the city's story, and by those who have lived it. Charleston has played host to a wide variety of unsavory characters, and has seen scores of sordid deeds played out on its cobbled streets, beneath flickering gaslights. Wicked Charleston, Volume 2: Prostitutes, Politics and Prohibition is a captivating companion to Mark Jones's hugely popular Wicked Charleston. In this new book, Jones reveals more of the city's seedy history--from drinking and prostitution to murder and crooked politics--offering a rarely seen glimpse of a sinister side of Charleston's past.

Wicked Charleston: The Dark Side of the Holy City, by local resident and tour guide Mark R. Jones, explores the dark alleys and seedy characters not often associated with the Charleston of today.

A beautiful Southern city distinguished by its opulent homes, towering church steeples and hospitality, Charleston, South Carolina, has long been associated with the genteel side of Southern living. However, beyond the outward appearances that most people associate with Charleston, there is another side that most visitors and residents would dare not believe is part of the very fabric from which the city's history was woven. From the sexual escapades of an original Lord Proprietor and the comings and goings of the most notorious pirates, to secret brothels and nightclubs, Jones leads the reader back to a time when "drinking, eating and whoring with more than fifty wenches" was perhaps more common in the Holy City than one may imagine.

Situated just south of the Carolina border in the scenic foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, Cherokee County offers the charm of small-town life and country living with the convenience of nearby metropolitan areas.

In 1897, the year of its founding, the county inherited a rich history that began with the Cherokee Indians. Home to two American Revolutionary War sites, Cowpens National Battlefield and Kings Mountain Military Park, as well as the Overmountain Victory National Trail, it exists as a bevy of historical sites that date before the county was established.Cherokee County pays tribute to this community's decisive history and celebrates the local architecture, business establishments, and residents, both past and present. Historic views, coupled with informative text, highlight the 1914 Carnegie Library, the charming railroad depot, the Limestone Quarry, and construction of the towering smokestack of Gaffney Manufacturing Company. Vintage photographs depict downtown Gaffney, settled almost a century before Cherokee County became a political entity, and historic Blacksburg, known as Black Station before 1888, while bringing to life the evolution of the 1845 Limestone Springs Female High School into the state's popular Limestone College of today.