SC Facts and Figures

Did You Know?

• The largest remaining virgin stand of bald cypress and tupelo trees in the world is located in the Francis Beidler Forest near Charleston, South Carolina.
• The oldest brickworks in America were found in Columbia.
• Columbia is the boyhood home of President Woodrow Wilson.
• Fort Jackson, located in Columbia, is the largest military training base in the country.
• The Lake Murray dam is the second largest earthen dam in the world.
• The 1920's dance craze, the Big Apple, originated in Columbia.
• Riverbanks Zoo is rated one of the top 10 zoos in the nation.
• The first American library housed in a separate building was constructed in 1840 at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
• Only four cities in the nation have more interstate highways intersecting than in Columbia.
• Brookgreen Gardens is the world's largest collection of outdoor sculpture.
• Middleton Place Gardens are the oldest landscaped gardens in America.
• Golf was first played in the in Charleston, South Carolina. The South Carolina Golf Club was formed in 1786, this was the first golf club.
• The nation's only commercial tea farm, American Classic Tea, is located on Wadmalaw Island near Charleston.
• The first submarine ever used in warfare was "Hunley's Boat" used by Confederates in 1863 in the Charleston Harbor.
• The first public museum, the Charleston Museum, was founded in 1772 and is still operating today.
• First opera performed in America - Charleston, February 18, 1735.
• First fireproof building built - Charleston, 1822.
• South Carolina is the nation's largest producer of peaches for the fresh market.
• The town of Abbeville is known as “the birthplace and deathbed of the Confederacy.”
• The combined cascades of the Upper and Lower Whitewater Falls near the NC/SC border creates one of the highest series of waterfalls in the eastern United States .
• The Edisto River is the longest black water river in the world.
• Bob Jones University in Greenville is the largest, non-denominational Christian liberal arts college in the world.
• There are more than 300 public and private golf courses in South Carolina.
• Greenwood, SC has the widest main street in the world.
• The National Wild Turkey Federation is headquartered in Edgefield, SC.
• The Pendleton District is one of the largest national historic districts in America.
• Honea Path is the only place in the world with this name.
• Campbell's Bridge is the only covered bridge remaining in South Carolina.
• The Town Clock in Winnsboro is believed to be the longest continuously running town clock in the USA.
• First Medal of Honor awarded to an African-American - W.H. Carney (Army), July 18, 1863.
• First African-American Associate Justice of a state supreme court - J.J. Wright, February 2, 1870.
• The first textile school established in a college - Clemson University, 1899.
• There were more than 8,000 Prisoners of War at more than a dozen camps throughout the state at the end of World War II.
• An international fair known as The South Carolina Interstate and West Indies Exposition was held in Charleston in 1901-1902.
• In the 1830s there were more than 100 gold mines in operation in the state and at that time gold mining was the second largest industry behind agriculture.
• Ludy Godbold from Estill was the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal at the 1922 Olympics in Paris. She brought home a total of six medals from the games.
• The poinsettia flower, so prominently associated with Christmas, is named in honor of Joel R. Poinsett who brought the plant from Mexico where he was ambassador in 1825.
• The state is among the top 10 producers of granite and is famous for its blue granite, the state stone.