We love taking historic photo tours to see eras gone by in South Carolina. From taking a step back in time to see the oldest photos ever taken in the state to checking out shockingly sad images of the Great Depression, we periodically take a walk down memory lane because it’s good for the soul to know what’s in the past. Below are 14 photos we found from the early 1900s. We think you’ll enjoy this nostalgic look back to an era belonging to our parents and grandparents. Check it out below.
- Downtown Greenville, c.1910. Cars park on the dirt street, and seemingly in no orderly fashion.
Wikipedia/unknown
- Troops returning from WWI march in Downtown Columbia.
Wikimedia Commons/State Archives of North Carolina Raleigh, NC - WWI 62.B1.F20.9
- The Pinehurst School in Summerville, c.1900.
Facebook/The South Carolina Historical Society
- A group of men load tobacco in this rare photo taken in Conway in 1938.
Facebook/The South Carolina Historical Society
- Spartanburg, c.1909 in two photos pieced together to form a panorama.
Wikipedia/Public Domain
- In this shot, taken during WWII, The U.S. Coast Guard trains horses and dogs (along Hilton Head’s beach) to assist them in patrolling the Southeastern coastline.
Wikipedia/U.S. Coast Guard
- Main Street in Walhalla in the early 1900s. With all the banners in this photo, it appears to be a holiday.
Facebook/Oconee Heritage Center
- Construction of Oconee State Park in the mid-1930s. Workmen with shovels are hand digging what appears to be a road or a trail.
Facebook/Oconee Heritage Center
- Seneca’s Main Street in the early 1900s. Carriages make their way on the dirt road.
Facebook/Oconee Heritage Center
- Meeting Street in Charleston, c. 1908.
Facebook/The Charleston Museum
- Archie Love, a child worker at Springsteen Mill in Chester, poses in the mill village in this photo taken in 1908.
Flickr/trialsanderrors
- The Walhalla Fish Hatchery was built in the 1930s through the WPA, and with help from the CCC. It’s shown here in the 1930s.
Facebook/Oconee Heritage Center
- This image was captured near Gaffney in 1937. The Depression came early to South Carolina and lingered for nearly a decade. Here’s a family that is trying to make the best of hard times.
Dorothea Lange/Library of Congress LC-USF34-018113
- Folly Beach, shown here in the early 1900s. If only we could still drive and park on the beach!
Facebook/The Charleston Museum
Love looking at old photos of the Palmetto State? These photos taken of child labor (legal back then) at various cotton mills in South Carolina are guaranteed to pull at your heart strings.
Wikipedia/unknown
Wikimedia Commons/State Archives of North Carolina Raleigh, NC - WWI 62.B1.F20.9
Facebook/The South Carolina Historical Society
Wikipedia/Public Domain
Wikipedia/U.S. Coast Guard
Facebook/Oconee Heritage Center
Facebook/The Charleston Museum
Flickr/trialsanderrors
Dorothea Lange/Library of Congress LC-USF34-018113
OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article.
