Antique Maps and Prints of Historic South Carolina.
This short
REFERENCE PAGE is designed to provide no more than a 'glimpse' of
the history of the State,
with a couple of examples of antiquarian maps and engravings and some interesting Links.
This Page is provided as a REFERENCE
RESOURCE - it is NOT an Inventory.
Genuine original antiquarian maps and
authentic historical engravings, printed at the dates stated.
We do NOT deal in modern reproductions.
We supply genuine
historical maps and prints by mail order - all are eminently suitable for framing and
are offered On Approval, which
GUARANTEES
YOUR ENTIRE SATISFACTION!
Look us over, but don't
overlook us.
STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
The article below was written in 1885 and makes interesting reading.
Topography: South Carolina forms an irregular triangle, having the coast line for its base, and North Carolina and Georgia for its other sides. Its extreme length east and west is about 275 miles, its greatest breadth 210 miles, and its area about 30,570 square miles, or 19,564,800 acres.
The only mountains are those of the extreme northwest - the Blue Ridge. The highest peak is called Table Mountain, and has an elevation of about 4,000 feet. The coast is low; the country stretch-ing inward for 100 miles is flat, and beyond the sand hills which traverse what is known as the "middle country" the land rises abruptly, continuing to ascend until Table Mountain is reached.
There are about 200 miles of coast line and several good harbors, the most notable being those of Charleston and Port Royal. Along the coast are many small islands on which the "sea island" or long staple cotton is grown. The Savannah river forms the south western boundary.
Other important streams are the Great Pee Dee, the Santee and Edisto; the first named being navigable for a distance of about 150 miles from the sea. There are also many smaller rivers, and the State is well supplied with water.
The falls of the Saluda and Table Mountain are among the most noticeable natural features of the State, which contains much grand and picturesque scenery in the mountain region.
Climate: The temperature ranges from 15º to 95º Fahrenheit, and the mean of the different seasons is: spring, 65º; summer, 80º; autumn, 68º; winter, 51º; the whole year, 67º.
The average rainfall is from forty-six to fifty inches, but on the Georgian border it is somewhat less. The climate is generally healthful and equable, and aside from epidemics of yellow fever (usually confined to the seaports) the health of the State is good.
Frosts seldom occur, and Aiken and some other towns have become favorite winter resorts for consumptives and other invalids, who find relief in the dry and mild climate of that region.
History: The earliest settlers within the limits of what is now South Carolina were French Huguenots, a number of whom landed at Port Royal in 1562 and attempted a settlement, which was soon abandoned.
The first permanent settlement was made in 1670 by English colonists at Port Royal, whence they soon removed to the banks of the Ashley river. Charleston was laid out ten years later, and immigrants flocked in from Germany, Holland, Switzerland and other countries.
Carolina was subject to the proprietary government until 1729, and was nominally governed under the celebrated and utterly impracticable constitution prepared by the philosopher John Locke. The two Carolinas were separated in 1729, and the territory divided into two royal provinces.
During the Revolution several of the most hotly contested battles of the war occurred within the limits of South Carolina. The British held the country during 1780-81, but Gen. Morgan defeated Col. Tarleton at the Cowpens, and on Sept. 8, 1781, the battle of Eutaw Springs was fought, which resulted in the withdrawal of the invaders to Charleston, which they held until the close of the war.
Among those Carolinians whose names are closely connected with the struggles of the Revolution, are Marion and Sumter. A State constitution was adopted on March 26, 1776, nearly four months before the declaration of independence was signed, and South Carolina ratified the constitution of the United States on May 23, 1788. The next important event in the history of the State occurred in 1832.
For many years preceding this date, the South had uniformly opposed he imposition pf high tariff duties. A convention was held at Columbia, Nov. 19, 1832, by which what was known as the "nullification ordinance" was unanimously adopted. This ordinance renounced the tariff "null, void, and no law, nor binding on this State, its officers and citizens."
The declaration of the convention was indorsed by the governor, and by the legislature. But President Jackson ordered Gen. Scott to Charleston "to superintend the safety of the United States arts in that vicinity," and in a proclamation denounced nullification as treason.
The trouble was finally settled by the passage of the compromise tariff law, introduced by Henry Clay. South Carolina took the initiatory steps in the withdrawal of the Southern States from the Union in 1861. The ordinance of secession was adopted Dec. 20, and commissioners were appointed to treat with the president for the surrender of the Federal property within the State, and others to confer with representatives of the Southern States as to the formation of a Confederacy.
On the 27th Forts Moultrie and Pinckney were seized, Major Robt. Anderson, with a handful of United States troops, having withdrawn to Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston. On April 12, 13, 1861, occurred the bombardment of Sumter. Toward the end of the year Hilton Head and Bay Point were captured by the Federal forces, but an attempt to reduce Charleston in 1863 proved unsuccessful, and was not until Feb. 17, 1865, that this city was evacuated by the Confederates.
No great battles were fought in South Carolina, but Sherman marched through from Georgia and thoroughly subdued the State. In September, 1865, a convention held at Columbia repealed the ordinance of secession, and decreed the abolition of slavery. In 1868, a new constitution having been adopted and the fourteenth amendment ratified, South Carolina was readmitted to the Union.
Population: Census of 1880: Males, 490,408; Females, 505,169; Native, 987,891; Foreign, 7,686; White, 391,105; Colored, 604,472, including 9 Chinese and 131 Indians and Half-breeds.
VIEW OF CHARLESTON
Published by BROOKES - c1850
ANTIQUARIAN MAP OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Published by Encyclopaedia Britannica - 1903
INTERESTING LINKS
OTHER POSTAPRINT US STATES FEATURE PAGES
South Carolina Cities Chats and Links
Brief history of South Carolina
South Carolina Historical Sites, Buildings and Monuments
Contributions and suggestions for additional links would be most welcome.
Before I retired,
Postaprint supplied picture framers and antiquarian map & print dealers
for over 25 years. The inventory
encompassed examples of the
cartographer's art from the 16th to the 19th century, along with
topographical engravings, lithographs and etchings by
leading artists of their generation. You can Search
my wife's eBay Store Database for historic maps,
views, and engravings on virtually every subject,
including Vanity Fair (Spy) Cartoons. All our offers are genuine
old and historical items on a wide range of subjects.
All are
suitable for framing by Art Galleries, Shops and Fine Art Retailers.
Do visit my wife's eBay Store
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Perhaps a map or print of somewhere important in
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Specialist mail order suppliers of collectible historical antique maps and engravings.