South Carolina

E

Music and Theater

Musical activities in South Carolina date to early colonial days. In 1734 and 1735, Charleston audiences heard the first opera presented in what is now the United States. The Saint Cecilia Society, organized in 1767, subsequently sponsored America’s first symphony orchestra. Today there are symphony orchestras at Charleston and Columbia.

The history of the theater in South Carolina began in the 18th century. The Dock Street Theater, the first building designed wholly for theatrical performances in America, was opened in Charleston in 1736. After the American Revolution (1775-1783), a pall fell for a time on theatrical activity, but a theatrical revival took place in the 19th century.

In the 20th century, little-theater activity became popular in the state. The Columbia Stage Society, formed in 1908, was a pioneer in this movement and was the first little-theater group to build its own playhouse, the Town Theater. This group encouraged young playwrights and did much to stimulate native talent.

The Spoleto Festival USA, a major international festival of the performing arts, has been held annually since 1977 at Charleston in late spring. It includes musical, dance, and theatrical performances.

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VI

Recreation and Places of Interest

South Carolina offers tourists and residents a great variety of year-round recreational activities. The scenic mountainous section in the northwest affords good camping and hiking in wilderness areas, and water sports are the major attraction at the many fine resorts that line the state’s coast. Inland swamps and coastal areas abound in wildlife, and fish are abundant in both saltwater and freshwater regions. In addition, thousands of tourists visit the state’s numerous places of historic interest.

A

National Parks

Seven units of the National Park System are located in South Carolina. In Fort Sumter National Monument is Fort Sumter, where the opening engagement of the American Civil War was fought in April 1861. Cowpens National Battlefield commemorates the Battle of Cowpens, which ended British control in South Carolina during the American Revolution. Kings Mountain National Military Park preserves the site of an earlier important battle of the revolution, the Battle of Kings Mountain. The Ninety Six National Historic Site preserves a colonial trading village and seat of government. Fort Moultrie National Monument preserves the site where a squadron of British warships was repelled during the revolution; the fort was also among those bombarding Fort Sumter at the outset of the Civil War. Charles Pinckney National Historic Site preserves the simple 18th-century farm of a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. The last significant tract of virgin bottomland hardwoods in the southeastern United States is contained in the Congaree Swamp National Monument.

B

National and State Forests

The federal government maintains two national forests in South Carolina. Sumter National Forest, the larger one, includes foothills and mountains in three separate sections in the northwestern part of the state. Francis Marion National Forest in southeastern South Carolina is named after the Revolutionary War general also known as “The Swamp Fox” for his campaigns in the region. The state forests in South Carolina include Sand Hills State Forest, the largest, which adjoins the Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge, one of 11 in the state.

C

State Parks

Cheraw State Park, in the Sandhills country of the northeast, is the oldest in the system and contains a championship golf course. Table Rock State Park, which lies in the Blue Ridge province, is a scenic area that includes Table Rock and other peaks, and dense forests. Nearby, also in a mountainous area, is Oconee State Park, which includes a lake. Poinsett State Park, in central South Carolina, contains many wooded trails. In Myrtle Beach State Park, on the northeastern coast, are found a wide, sandy beach, sand dunes, and forests. Off the southeastern coast is Hunting Island State Park, located on a barrier island.

Several units of the state park system are primarily of historic interest. General Thomas Sumter Historical Site, in Stateburg, includes the grave of Thomas Sumter, an American Revolutionary leader. Old Dorchester, near Summerville, is a historical state park on the site of the old town of Dorchester, which was settled in 1696 by colonists from Massachusetts. The settlement was abandoned after the Revolutionary War, and the site includes its ruins. In Lancaster is the Andrew Jackson Historical State Park, in the region in which the seventh United States president was born. Rivers Bridge State Park marks the site of a Civil War engagement.

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