First ship built in America to cross the Atlantic Ocean - Port Royal, 1562

First indigo planted in America - 1671

First free library established in America - Charleston, 1698

First opera performed in America - Charleston, February 18, 1735

First mutual fire insurance company - Friendly Society for the Mutual Insurance of Houses Against Fire in 1735

First building to be used solely as a theater in America- Dock Street Theatre in Charleston, constructed in 1736

First slave insurrection - Stono area near Charleston in 1739

First cotton exported to England from America - 1764

First public museum in America- Charleston Museum, organized January 12, 1773

First Black Baptist Church established - Silver Bluff in 1773

First business publication - South Carolina Price Current in Charleston in 1774

First independent government formed among American colonies, March 1776

First cotton mill built in America - James Island, 1789

First tea planted in America- Middleton Barony, 1802

First fireproof building built - Charleston, 1822

First steam locomotive built in the United States to be used for regular railroad service - "Best Friend of Charleston", 1830

First municipal college established - College of Charleston, opened April 1, 1838

First state to secede from the Union, December 20, 1860

First shot fired in Civil War on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, April 12, 1861

First Medal of Honor awarded to a Black recipient- W. H.Carney (Army), July 18, 1863

First Black Associate Justice of a state supreme court - J. J. Wright, February 2, 1870

First commercial tea farm in America - Summerville, 1890

First textile school established in a college - Clemson in 1899

First U.S. Senator elected by a write-in vote - Strom Thurmond, November 2, 1954
 
 
 

Population: 3.5 million(As of the 1990 census)

Annual Visitation: 32 million visitors

Visitor Impact: 6.1 billion dollars

Land area: 31,113 square miles

Largest Counties by Area:

1) Horry County 1,133 square miles

2) Orangeburg County 1,105 square miles

3) Berkeley County 1,099 square miles

Smallest County by Area:

Calhoun 380 square miles

Largest Counties by Population:

1) Greenville 345,173

2) Richland 292,601

3) Charleston 277,601

Highest Point: Sassafras Mountain at 3,548 feet

Highest Falls: Raven Cliff at 420 feet

First settlement: Santa Elena, established in 1566 by the Spanish.

First English settlement: established in 1670 at Albemarle Point on the Ashley River.

State Motto: Dum Spiro Spero (While I breathe I hope)

Oldest College: College of Charleston, established in 1785

Top Agriculture Crops:

1) Tobacco

2) Cotton

3) Soybeans

Mining: South Carolina is ranked 25th in the United State in total mineral value and the state is ranked nationally in the production and sales of kaolin, and first in the production and sales of vermiculite. The approximate financial impact of mining on the state of South Carolina is $483 million annually. There are 13 minerals extracted from 485 active mines in South Carolina. Those minerals are: Brick Clay, Fuller's Earth, Gravel, Limestone, Peat, Sericite, Vermiculite, Gold, Granite, Kaolin, Manganese, Schist, Sand, and Shale

State Flower: Yellow Jessamine

State Bird: Carolina Wren

State Tree: Palmetto Tree

State Stone: Blue Granite

State Animal: Whitetail Deer

State Fish: Striped Bass

State Game Bird: Wild Turkey

State Fruit: Peach

State Shell: Lettered Olive

State Beverage: Milk

State Gem Stone: Amethyst

State Dog: Boykin Spaniel

State Reptile: Loggerhead Turtle

State Insect: Carolina Mantid (Praying Mantis)

State Butterfly: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly