Colonial and Revolutionary Eras
(1566-1783)
Spain made the first permanent settlement in the Carolinas at Santa Elena in Port Royal Sound. It lasted from 1566 to 1587. Archaeological remains from this site recovered periodically since 1979 by Stan South include a Santo Domingo shard rim and a cannon ball.
In 1670 the first English settlement in South Carolina was founded near the present city of Charleston. The colony took several decades to expand beyond the coast, but by 1765 settlers from Virginia and the middle colonies were entering the Upcountry to take advantage of cheap land. A miniature diorama of an Upcountry farm from this era is supplemented with farm tools like those used during the Colonial era and a German Bible, c. 1735, Swiss settlers brought to Orangeburg.
South Carolina was the site of the patriot’s first major military victory, the battle of Sullivan’s Island (June 28, 1776) at the entrance to Charleston Harbor. Just days after the battle, the island’s defenders, the 2nd South Carolina Regiment, were presented with two banners. The blue one is displayed in the Revolutionary War exhibition. More battles were fought in the Palmetto State than in any other during the war. Several firearms and swords used by patriot and British forces are displayed.