South Carolina – ipl Stately Knowledge: Facts about the United States

South Carolina

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AbbreviationSC
Source: United States Postal Service – Abbreviations
CapitalColumbia
Population4,625,364
Source: Resident Population Data – 2010 Census
GovernorNikki Haley (Republican, to January 2015)
Entered the UnionMay 23, 1788
as the 8th state
MottoesAnimis opibusque parati (Prepared in mind and resources) and Dum spiro spero (While I breathe, I hope)
NicknameThe Palmetto State
FlowerCarolina yellow jessamine
BirdCarolina wren
SongCarolina
Professional Sports TeamsNo NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, MLS, or NHL teams.
(sports listing policy)
Origin of NameIn honor of Charles I of England
Historical SitesFort Sumter National Monument
Points of InterestAircraft carrier USS Yorktown in Charleston Harbor; the Middleton, Magnolia, and Cypress Gardens in Charleston
Bordering StatesSouth Carolina borders North Carolina and Georgia.
FlagSouth Carolina's flag

Follow these links to read articles about South Carolina from Encyclopedias and Almanacs:

Official State Links

Other State Links

  • 50states.com: South Carolina
    http://www.50states.com/scarolin.htm
    The site provides a wealth of information about South Carolina. It includes everything from the highest point to county profile to climate.
  • Things To Do in South Carolina
    http://www.thingstodo.com/states/SC/index.htm
    ThingsToDo.com is an online guide to information about South Carolina’s entertainment, recreation, and travel, and includes the state’s interesting facts, famous people, and special events.
  • Roadside America: South Carolina Attractions
    http://www.roadsideamerica.com/map/sc.html
    Roadside America describes itself as an online guide to offbeat attractions. This site offers reviews of “weird sites along the highway” in South Carolina.
  • Friends of the Hunley
    http://www.hunley.org/
    This site is devoted to to the memory of the H. L. Hunley, the first submarine ever to sink an enemy ship. The historic mission took place on February 17, 1864, but then the Hunley vanished into the sea without a trace. Author Clive Cussler funded a fifteen year search for the submarine until its discovery on May 4, 1995. The Friends of the Hunley continue to research this mystery.
  • Welcome to Civil War @ Charleston
    http://www.awod.com/gallery/probono/cwchas/
    Use this directory of online websites to learn about the history and heritage of the Civil War around Charleston SC.
  • South Carolina State Trails Program
    http://www.sctrails.net/trails/
    The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism offers this site for hikers interested in different types of trails, maps, and other information about the State Trails program.
  • FedStats: MapStat: United States: South Carolina
    http://www.fedstats.gov/qf/states/45000.html
    Fast access to statistics from more than 100 federal agencies on “economic and population trends, crime, education, health care, aviation safety, energy use, farm production and more” in South Carolina.
  • South Carolina grows more peaches than any other state except California.
  • The state was the first to secede from the Union before the Civil War.
  • There is a place called Table Rock State Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains. According to Indian legend, a gigantic chieftain dined at the “table” high above ordinary mortals.
  • In 1830, the first U.S. Steam locomotive built for railroad use was put into service in the state.
  • SC was first settled by the Spanish in 1566 and later became an English colony.
  • The first American library housed in a separate building was constructed in 1840 at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
  • The oldest formal gardens in the U.S., Middleton Place, was founded in 1740 and took 100 people more than 10 years to complete.

Some Famous People from this State

  • Julia Peterkin (1880-1961), novelist. She was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Scarlet Sister Mary in 1929.
  • Dizzy (John Birks) Gillespie (1917- ), jazz trumpeter.
  • Joe Frazier (1944- ), prize fighter. He was heavyweight champion from 1970-1973.
  • Jesse Jackson (1941- ), civil rights leader.
  • Presidents from South Carolina with links to ipl’s POTUS (Presidents of the United States) page: