South Carolina Historical Society

THE SCHS MISSION IS TO EXPAND, PRESERVE, AND MAKE ACCESSIBLE OUR INVALUABLE COLLECTION, AND TO ENCOURAGE INTEREST AND PRIDE IN THE RICH HISTORY OF OUR STATE.

ARCHIVAL: THE SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL SOCIETY (SCHS) HAS APPROXIMATELY 3,000 MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS THAT INCLUDE LETTERS, DIARIES, LEGAL PAPERS, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS DATING FROM 1670 TO THE PRESENT AND MORE THAN 10,000 OVERSIZED PLATS, MONUMENTS, MAPS, AND DRAWINGS. OVER 30,000 PHOTOGRAPHS, PRINTS, AND OTHER VISUAL ITEMS ARE MAINTAINED, AS WELL AS A RESEARCH LIBRARY CONTAINING NEARLY 5,000 BOOKS SELECTED TO ADD CONTEXTUAL EVIDENCE FOR THE ARCHIVAL HOLDINGS. THE COLLECTION ALSO INCLUDES MORE THAN 45,000 HISTORICAL PAMPHLETS AND PRINTED MATERIALS AS WELL AS HUNDREDS OF FILES AND BOOKS PERTAINING TO THE PEOPLE AND PLACES OF SOUTH CAROLINA. IN ADDITION, THERE ARE NUMEROUS ARTIFACTS RANGING FROM OVERSIZED, UNIQUE BATTLE FLAGS TO SMALL, PERSONAL ITEMS. MOST OF THE COLLECTION IS HOUSED AT THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON'S ADDLESTONE LIBRARY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AREA. WITH THE MUSEUM INSTALLATION IN 2018, SELECTED ITEMS ARE EXHIBITED IN THE FIREPROOF BUILDING. ALSO, SOME ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS ARE MAINTAINED IN THE SOCIETY'S HEADQUARTERS. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ADOPTED THE POLICY TO NOT CAPITALIZE ITS COLLECTION BECAUSE IT IS IMPRACTICABLE TO ATTEMPT TO ASSIGN VALUES TO THE COLLECTION. EACH ITEM IS UNIQUE, MANY HAVE CERTAIN ATTRIBUTES SUCH AS AGE, PREPARATION, TYPE OF CULTURAL MATERIAL, AND RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS, PERSONS, OR EVENTS THAT MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO DETERMINE AN OBJECTIVE BASIS FOR EVALUATION. THE SOCIETY DOES NOT CONSIDER THE COLLECTION A FINANCIAL ASSET, BUT RATHER AN IRREPLACEABLE TREASURE OF SOUTH CAROLINA'S CULTURE TO BE PRESERVED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. THE SOCIETY'S LIBRARIANS AND ARCHIVISTS OPERATE OUT OF ADDLESTONE LIBRARY WHERE THEY MANAGE THE COLLECTION, PROVIDE REFERENCE SERVICE, AND ASSIST PATRONS VIA EMAIL AND PHONE AS WELL AS IN PERSON. THE READING ROOM IS OPEN MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. THE STAFF PROMOTES THE USE OF THE COLLECTION THROUGH SUCH ACTIVITIES AS CLASSROOM VISITS, PRIVATE TOURS OF THE COLLECTION, AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS TO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS. STUDENTS, SCHOLARS, AND THE PUBLIC ARE WELCOME TO EXPLORE THE ARCHIVES. THE COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON'S COVID RESTRICTIONS HAVE MANDATED THAT ALL PATRONS MAKE AN APPOINTMENT PRIOR TO VISITING. WITH THE HELP OF GRANT FUNDING, MANY ITEMS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT THE LOWCOUNTRY DIGITAL LIBRARY HTTPS://LCDL.LIBRARY.COFC.EDU/INSTITUTION/SOUTH-CAROLINA-HISTORICAL-SOCIETY/.

OUTREACH: THE SCHS UTILIZES SEVERAL FORMATS TO EDUCATE AND ENGAGE THE PUBLIC ABOUT ITS COLLECTION AS WELL AS THE HISTORY OF THE STATE. THESE INCLUDE A VIBRANT WEBSITE (HTTPS://SCHISTORY.ORG/), SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS (INSTAGRAM AND FACEBOOK), VIRTUAL AND IN-PERSON PROGRAMS, AND TRADITIONAL PUBLICATIONS. PUBLISHING SOUTH CAROLINA'S HISTORY IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY'S MISSION. THE SOCIETY FIRST PUBLISHED THE SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL MAGAZINE IN 1900. THE MAGAZINE'S EDITORIAL BOARD, A PEER GROUP OF LEADING AUTHORITIES ON SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORY, REVIEWS ALL MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS. THE MAGAZINE PUBLISHES EIGHT ARTICLES (EITHER INTERPRETIVE ESSAYS OR ANNOTATED PRIMARY DOCUMENTS) PER YEAR, ALONG WITH APPROXIMATELY FIFTY BOOK REVIEWS AND THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF RECENTLY PROCESSED COLLECTIONS WHICH ARE AVAILABLE FOR RESEARCH. THE CAROLOGUE OFFERS POPULAR ARTICLES AND PHOTO ESSAYS ABOUT THE STATE'S HISTORY, AS WELL AS INFORMATION ABOUT SOCIETY NEWS AND EVENTS. THE STAFF OF THE SOCIETY PRODUCES APPROXIMATELY 90 PERCENT OF THE CAROLOGUE'S CONTENT.SEVERAL PROGRAMS ARE OFFERED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR TO ENGAGE MEMBERS AND THE PUBLIC IN THE PAST. THESE INCLUDE VIRTUAL LECTURES, TOURS OF HISTORIC SITES, MUSEUM OPEN HOUSES, PRESENTATIONS BY WELL-KNOWN HISTORIANS, AND TALKS BY STAFF MEMBERS. THE WINTER LECTURE SERIES ARE VIRTUAL AND ATTRACT ROUGHLY 100 VIEWERS PER LECTURE. THE FALL TOURS ARE TYPICALLY ATTENDED BY 100 TO 200 PEOPLE. THE SCHS FACEBOOK PAGE HAS OVER 17,000 FOLLOWERS AND STAFF POST THREE TO FOUR ANNOUNCEMENTS AND ARTICLES OF INTEREST EACH WEEK.

FIREPROOF BUILDING/MUSEUM: THE BUILDING WAS DESIGNED BY ROBERT MILLS, A NATIVE SOUTH CAROLINIAN WHO IS BEST KNOWN FOR DESIGNING THE WASHINGTON MONUMENT. THE FIREPROOF BUILDING WAS THE FIRST IN AMERICA DESIGNED TO LIMIT THE SPREAD OF FIRE. DURING THE LATE EIGHTEENTH AND EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURIES, CHARLESTON (AND MANY OTHER CITIES) EXPERIENCED NUMEROUS FIRES IN WHICH LARGE PARTS OF THE CITY WERE DESTROYED. MILLS WANTED TO CREATE A BUILDING THAT COULD CONTAIN A BLAZE AND PREVENT IT FROM SPREADING TO OTHER BUILDINGS IN THE CITY. TO MAKE THE BUILDING AS "FIREPROOF" AS POSSIBLE, MILLS HAD CHALMERS STREET WIDENED TO PROVIDE A BETTER FIREBREAK. HE HAD ALL OTHER BUILDINGS ON AND AROUND THE SITE REMOVED. DURING THE 2016-2018 RENOVATION, CREWS FOUND FOUNDATIONS OF DWELLINGS THAT DATED TO CA. 1700-1720. THE BUILDING IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT STRUCTURES IN THE STATE. THE RENOVATED BUILDING, NOW FITTED WITH A STATE-OF-THE-ART MUSEUM, TELLS THE IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTIONS THAT MILLS MADE TO THE NATION'S ARCHITECTURE. IN ADDITION, THE EXHIBITS TELL THE STORY OF THE ENTIRE STATE THROUGH THE PERSONAL STORIES OF ITS MANY DIVERSE CITIZENS. UNIQUE ITEMS ON DISPLAY INCLUDE THE ONLY EXISTING "SLAVE MART" FLAG OF CHARLESTON, FRANCIS MARION'S POWDER HORN, AND A 1691 LAND GRANT FROM THE LORD PROPRIETORS OF CAROLINA. DEPENDING ON LOCAL TOURISM, THE MUSEUM USUALLY ADMITS BETWEEN 300 AND 500 VISITORS PER MONTH. IT IS OPEN TUESDAYS THROUGH SATURDAYS. THE EXHIBITS SHOWCASE ITEMS FROM THE SCHS COLLECTIONS IN THE FOLLOWING GALLERIES: GALLERY I: A HAVEN WITH PROSPECTS: EXPLORATION AND SETTLEMENT GALLERY II: NEW HORIZONS: BUILDING A STATE AND A NATION GALLERY III: SECESSION, WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION GALLERY IV: CHARLESTON RECOVERS GALLERY V: CELEBRATING DIVERSITY IN ART, LITERATURE, AND CULTURE GALLERY VI: THIS PLACE: FOODWAYS, AGRICULTURE, AND LAND CONSERVATION (ROTATING - THIS WILL CHANGE IN 2022 TO "AFRICA TO AMERICA: THE PLANTATION CULTURE OF EARLY SOUTH CAROLINA")