TECH NEWSS

Palmetto State (tree), Swamp State, Rice State, South Carolina was originally named in honor of France's Charles IX and then in honor of England's Charles I and Charles II.

South Carolina is located in the Southern Middle Atlantic Coast and is bordered by North Carolina on the north, Atlantic Ocean (east), and Georgia (west).



At 31,117 square mile, South Carolina is the 40th largest state. The highest elevation is Sassafras Mt., in Pickens County at 3,560 feet while the lowest elevation is the Atlantic Ocean at sea level.

The highest temperature recorded was 111° while the lowest temperature was -19°.

National Parks & Monuments include Congaree Swamp, Fort Moultrie, Fort Sumter.

The History

Following exploration of the coast in 1521 by Francisco de Gordillo, the Spanish tried unsuccessfully to establish a colony near present-day Georgetown in 1526, and the French also failed to colonize Parris Island near Fort Royal in 1562.

In colonial days, the state was part of a vast region that Charles I, king of England, granted to Sir Robert Heath in 1629. The region was named Carolana, a word derived from the Latin form of Charles, in reference to the monarch. His son, Charles II, changed the spelling of the region's name to Carolina in 1663. During the 17th century the area now covered by the present state came to be called South Carolina and the area to the north became North Carolina.

The first English settlement was made in 1670 at Albemarle Point on the Ashley River, but poor conditions drove the settlers to the site of Charleston (originally called Charles Town). South Carolina, officially separated from North Carolina in 1729, was the scene of extensive military action during the Revolution and again during the Civil War. The Civil War began in 1861 as South Carolina troops fired on federal Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, and the state was the first to secede from the Union.

Points of interest include Fort Sumter National Monument, Fort Moultrie, Fort Johnson, and aircraft carrier USS Yorktown in Charleston Harbor; the Middleton, Magnolia, and Cypress Gardens in Charleston; Cowpens National Battlefield; the Hilton Head resorts; and the Riverbanks 200 and Botanical Garden in Columbia.

Cotton was long the backbone of South Carolina's economy. Today, manufacturing is the state's largest employer, based largely on resources found in South Carolina. The most important products are textiles, chemicals, non-electrical machinery, apparel, and paper and pulp. A valuable forestry industry is supported by 12.2 million acres of woods. Agriculture and commercial fishing remain important. Tourism is another important industry, with many visitors attracted to the Myrtle Beach, Charleston and the sea islands.

South Carolina became the 8th State to Unite under America on May 23, 1788.

The People

Between 1820 and 1920 blacks outnumbered whites in South Carolina. After 1920 the state's white population grew more rapidly than the black population because many blacks migrated to the North. Blacks are still a majority in parts of rural South Carolina, although many blacks have moved to urban areas.

whites constituted 67.2 percent of the population and blacks 29.5 percent. Asians were 0.9 percent of inhabitants; Native Americans, many of whom were members of the Catawba people, were 0.3 percent, and those of mixed heritage or not reporting ethnicity were 2 percent. Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders numbered 1,628. Hispanics, who may be of any race, were 2.4 percent of the population

The 1998 census put South Carolina population at 3,836,000. The State Capital is Columbia, other major cities or towns include Charleston, North Charleston, Greenville, Rock Hill, Mount Pleasant, Spartanburg, Sumter, Hilton Head Island and Florence.