South Carolina State Museum

History Exhibits 

The Great Charleston Earthquake, 1886

This exhibit examines the most destructive earthquake ever recorded in the eastern United States. The quake occurred near Charleston, SC on August 31, 1886. Discover details about the devastation and how rescue efforts were deployed during the 1800’s. The exhibit also teaches how to protect yourself today should an earthquake occur.

The Great Charleston Earthquake, 1886 was developed by the South Carolina State Museum with research, collaboration and assistance from Susan Millar Williams and Stephen G. Hoffius, authors of “Upheaval in Charleston: Earthquake and Murder on the Eve of Jim Crow” (University of Georgia Press, 2011) and the Emergency Management Division of South Carolina. The book is available for sale in the museum's store, Cotton Mill Exchange.

The exhibit comes with a tour that is aligned with S.C. education standards for those venues wishing to attract school groups and also includes materials for an entertaining tent building project to be used during family or school programs.

A DVD is included that includes additional information on the history of the quake and about the geological make up of South Carolina and why the state is prone to so many earthquakes.

Specs:

• 15 metal framed exhibit panels 31X 37
• 1 canvas depiction of St. Philip’s Church 114’ x 85”
• 1 education package for tent building project
• DVD featuring interviews with book authors and local experts on geology and history.
• Digital  press package with photos

Cost:

• $300 for one month rental
• $450 for two month rental
• $600 for three month rental

Pirates, Privateers and Buccaneers of the Carolinas

“Life on the seven seas was a hard, cruel existence,” said Chief Curator of History Fritz Hamer.  “Some turned to piracy as a means to gain wealth and to avoid the harsh conditions on naval ships or merchant vessels.” Many myths about pirates are dispelled in the exhibit, and one is that pirates frequently sank other ships.  Perhaps a warship in combat would be sunk, but pirates rarely sank a ship they wanted to capture, because that would be counterproductive.  Their loot and captives would go down with the ship.

One of the most feared pirates of all was Blackbeard, who was said to weave lit fuses into his beard for battle to increase his fierce countenance.   The story of Blackbeard, who blockaded Charleston Harbor in 1718 prior to his death in North Carolina can be found in this traveling exhibit, along with the stories of many other pirates.

This exhibit was developed by the South Carolina State Museum with research, collaboration and assistance from the North Carolina Museum of History, the Queen Anne’s Revenge Project of the North Carolina Office of State Archaeology, and the North Carolina Maritime Museum. 

Specs:
• 42 text ‘scrolls’
• each scroll approximately 30” x 45” and hang with wood dowels
• one life-size fiberglass pirate manikin

Cost:
• $300 for one month rental
• $450 for two month rental
• $600 for three month rental

A Historic Campaign

The voters of South Carolina made history Nov. 2, 2010 when they elected Nikki R. Haley the state’s first woman and first minority governor. It was a campaign unlike any other, and it was recorded by a photographer whose exclusive access to the then-candidate has produced a new traveling exhibit for the South Carolina State Museum.  From a 26-stop bus tour to intimate election night gatherings of family and friends and then to the inauguration the exhibit offers a rare behind-the-scenes view.

A Historic Campaign features 24 photographs of Haley, her campaign workers and family crisscrossing the Palmetto State to get her message to the voters.  The images are the work of photographer Renee Ittner-McManus who has documented the lives of South Carolinians since 1990. 

A South Carolina Photographer of the Year, Ittner-McManus has received accolades for her images in the Southern Photographer of the Year and Atlanta Photojournalist competitions as well as in the Nikon International Competition.  Her images also have been selected as part of the prestigious national Women in Photojournalism Juried Exhibition.  A long-time photographer for The State newspaper, Inner-McManus’s photos have appeared in Newsweek, The Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.

Mud, Sweat and Cheers: Football in the Palmetto State

Bring the excitement, drama, history and fun of American football into your gallery. The exhibit includes information about both high school and college football and features Carolina players who have gone on to the professional game.  “This exhibit examines the history of the game in the Palmetto State,” says Fritz Hamer, chief curator of history at the South Carolina State Museum. “It looks at how the rules have changed over the 20th century and examines how football expanded from being largely a collegiate sport in the first half of the century into the huge spectator sport it has become since the 1960’s.”

Specs:
• Approximately 100 linear feet
• 12 text panels describing the game 36” x 48”
• 20 college panels 24” x 32”
• 13 biography panels of players and coaches 24” x 32”
• 11 photo panels of various sizes

Cost:
• $300 for one month rental
• $450 for two months rental
• $600 for three months rental

Security: medium
Transportation requirements: van

The Life and Times of Congressman Robert Smalls

Camera Man's Journey: Julian Dimock's South

These historic photographs were taken in and around Columbia, Beaufort, and Hilton Head between 1904 and 1905 by noted photographer Julian Dimock. Dimock's large format images show men, women, families and a significant number of children engaged in everyday life - at work, at home and at play. They document the clothing, tools, toys as well as the landscape and architecture of the period. These pictures are a valuable resource for learning about life for African-Americans at the turn-of-the-twentieth-century.

Specs:
• 36 wood framed images 26” x 32”
• Approximately 110 linear feet

Cost:
• $300 for one month rental
• $450 for two months rental
• $600 for three months rental
 

Security: medium

Transportation Requirements: Van 

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521 All-Stars: A Championship Story of Baseball and Community

Security: low
Transportation requirements: Cargo van with no seats

Chapters in South Carolina History: Colonial Life

Experience colonial life in the South through this insightful exhibit.  See how lives were impacted and how South Carolina was forever changed after the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Specs: 31 exhibit panels 28" x 32"

Cost

• $300 for one month rental

• $450 for two month rental

• $600for three month rental

The First South Carolinians

The Life and Times of the First Cultures in the Palmetto State

During the Ice Age water frozen in glaciers lowered sea levels and exposed land. Anthropologists and archaeologists believe that a land bridge emerged connecting Russia and Alaska between 14,000 and 12,000 years ago. The earliest people, PaleoIndians, crossed it to North America following game and exploring land. Within 1,000 years of their immigration, what is now South Carolina had its earliest residents.

Specs: 27 exhibit 28” x 32” panels and 8 objects

Security: Moderate
Transportation Requirements: Cargo van

The Forgotten War

The Palmetto Regiment and the Mexican War, 1846-1917

In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, and President James K. Polk’s administration called for volunteers. South Carolina contributed 10 companies, the Palmetto Regiment. After two years of long marches, disease and battles interspersed with long periods of boredom, the Palmetto Regiment returned home, reduced in numbers but welcomed as heroes.