South Carolina Sites

"Kings Mountain State Park is a South Carolina state park located in the Piedmont region of South Carolina... 6,141 acres (2,485 ha) of this park were donated in 1934 by the U.S. Government. An additional 744 acres (301 ha) were donated and purchased in 1995. The park was largely developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps. The Kings Mountain State Park Historic District was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2008."

"Lake Greenwood State Recreation Area is a state park located near the town of Ninety Six in Greenwood County, South Carolina. The 914-acre (3.7 km2) park partially sits on a series of peninsulas on the 114,000-acre (461.3 km2) Lake Greenwood. The state park sits on land donated in 1938 by Greenwood County and was one of 16 built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in South Carolina. Many of the structures built by the corps are still prominent features at the present day including picnic shelters, a water fountain, a lakeside terrace and a boathouse. Activities available at the park include picnicking, fishing, boating, hiking...

The eight-mile-long dam impounding Lake Marion was constructed as part of the massive Santee Cooper Project enabled by a $31 million grant-loan by the Public Works Administration (PWA).

Works Progress Administration (WPA) laborers worked to clear land in preparation for the creation of the 155-square-mile Lake Marion, part of the Santee Cooper Project. South Carolina Encyclopedia: "Following a four-year court battle, construction began in 1939. At its peak, the project employed nearly fifteen thousand workers, most of whom came from Depression relief rolls. Living in military-style camps scattered throughout the Santee and Pinopolis basins, the laborers cleared more than 160,000 acres with handsaws and mule-drawn wagons. They hauled dirt and clay to dam sites, built railroads, relocated cemeteries, and aided in the construction of the diversion and tail-race canals...

The dam impounding Lake Moultrie was constructed as part of the massive Santee Cooper Project enabled by a $31 million grant-loan by the Public Works Administration (PWA). South Carolina Encyclopedia: "In 1941 President Roosevelt declared the Santee Cooper a defense project, and one year later the power plant in Pinopolis began generating power. Within two decades it was providing electricity to the majority of the state’s farms as well as industries in surrounding counties."

Works Progress Administration (WPA) laborers worked to clear land in preparation for the creation of the 95-square-mile Lake Moultrie, part of the Santee Cooper Project. South Carolina Encyclopedia: "Following a four-year court battle, construction began in 1939. At its peak, the project employed nearly fifteen thousand workers, most of whom came from Depression relief rolls. Living in military-style camps scattered throughout the Santee and Pinopolis basins, the laborers cleared more than 160,000 acres with handsaws and mule-drawn wagons. They hauled dirt and clay to dam sites, built railroads, relocated cemeteries, and aided in the construction of the diversion and tail-race canals...

"Lee State Natural Area is one of South Carolina's first state parks. It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression of the 1930s as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal. Formerly Lee State Park, it is situated along the banks of the Lynches River. The park is open to visitors year round for activities like camping, hiking, nature walks, horseback riding and fishing. The park has a boardwalk into the wetlands to reach habitats that would otherwise be difficult to reach. Visitors can see white-tail deer, herons and egrets, warblers and reptiles and amphibians like...

Construction of the Lexington County Courthouse during the 1930s was enabled by funds provided by the federal Public Works Administration (PWA). From the building's National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: "The Lexington County Courthouse is a two-story red brick and limestone building located at 139 East Main Street on the eastern end of the core commercial downtown area of the town of Lexington, South Carolina. Laid in a variation of American or common bond, it is bordered on the east by South Lake Drive, on the south by Maiden Lane, and by neighboring commercial buildings on the west, and it is...

The old Carnegie Library in Darlington, SC, now the , Darlington Museum of History and Fine Arts, was improved as a result of the New Deal. Some sources conflict as to which agency provided the funding for these improvements. Sciway.net posits that the building was "expanded in the mid-1930s with the support of the Works Progress Administration ," although documents of the Public Works Administration (PWA) specifically list a completed library project in Darlington undertaken from 1938 to 1939, a project for which the agency provided $7,906 in grant money toward the project's $17,668 total cost. (PWA Docket No. SC 1106.)...

According to the Georgetown Times in 1962, the WPA provided clerical and other assistance for library programs in Murrells Inlet, SC. Following a relocation, the paper stated, "There will be several persons who will volunteer to check-out the books ... It is to be under the county library service as from the beginning, when the WPA with a local committee had the vision to not only serve them but thought of the future."

Multiple New Deal-supported construction projects were undertaken on the campus of Winthrop University during the 1930s. "The WPA also directed the relocation and reconstruction of the chapel—believed to be designed by Robert Mills—in which Winthrop classes were first held in Columbia, before the college moved to Rock Hill." (sc.gov)

Long Hall, on the campus of Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina, was constructed with the aid of federal Public Works Administration (PWA) funds. The building originally housed the university's Agriculture department, though it now houses the Biology department. The PWA supplied a $220,000 loan and a $180,000 for the building's construction, which was completed at a final cost of $400,888. Construction on the building began in March 1936 and was completed April 1937. (PWA Docket No. SC 1016)  

Multiple New Deal-supported construction projects were undertaken on the campus of Winthrop University during the 1930s. "While a U.S. senator, Byrnes arranged for Works Project Administration funds to be used with matching state funds to construct three campus buildings – the auditorium, Thurmond Building, and Macfeat Nursery School, now the Macfeat House, a reception area created from the former Academic Computing Center." (winthrop.edu)

"The Mauldin Cultural Center, on the same grounds as the Gosnell cabin, is also historical. The building, built between 1935 and 1937 by the Works Progress Administration, was a high school until 1957, then an elementary school until 2002. The City of Mauldin has owned the property since 2005." (blogspot)

Maxcy College, a dormitory building on the University of South Carolina campus in Columbia, SC, was built in 1937, "part of an extensive building program on campus launched in the late 1930s as part of the New Deal. Originally planned as a student union building, Maxcy College and new wings at Thornwell College were erected at a cost of $225,000, a portion of which was paid for by the Public Works Administration. For some years the building housed administrative offices." The building is located at the north end of campus along Pendleton St. across from Marion St.

"McKissick Museum is located at the heart of the historic Horseshoe on the Columbia campus of the University of South Carolina. It was established in 1976 by the University Board of Trustees to bring together under one roof the many object collections housed in various departments and colleges across campus... The McKissick building is a Works Progress Administration structure erected in 1939 as the University's library. It stands on the site of the first President's house built on the Horseshoe, which was removed to make room for the library in 1937. A plaque commemorating the house lies in front of McKissick...

Mell Hall was constructed as the Clemson post office in 1940; as such its construction was funded by the federal Treasury Department. After postal operations relocated the building became part of the Clemson University campus, and it now serves as Clemson, University's housing office. The building is located just off the southern side of Old Greenville Highway between Riggs Field and Bowman Field.

Multiple New Deal-supported construction projects were undertaken on the campus of South Carolina State University during the Great Depression. "his three-story brick men's dormitory was constructed with Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works funds." (sc.gov)

"The WPA contributed to construction of the American Legion Municipal Stadium on Cherry Road, an open-air stadium accompanied by a stone building that housed the entrance to the stadium; a plaque on the building commemorates the contribution." (sc.gov) Believed to be located near the intersection of Cherry Road and York Avenue, the stadium was demolished in 1984. (rhhs65)

The Reconstruction Finance Corporation and the Public Works Administration funded the construction of municipal waterworks in Moncks Corner SC. Before the waterworks construction, the townspeople of Moncks Corner relied on individual electric pumps and wells for their water supply.

What was then known as the Municipal Yacht Basin was constructed as a New Deal project, undertaken by the Civil Works Administration (CWA) and Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA). As part of the broader development: "The City of Charleston continued to explore opportunities for using the as a seaplane terminal. In the spring of that year, flights from Germany to Charleston were proposed. In early 1937, the Works Progress Administration started work to convert the mill building into the James F. Byrnes air terminal. Pan American World Airways hired the New York firm of Delano and Aldrich to plan for a...

The Works Progress Administration constructed concrete runways in 1941 at the newly established Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. The base was closed in 1993; Myrtle Beach International Airport occupies the former Air Force Base site and much of the land of the former base is still in the process of redevelopment for civilian purposes.

"The Civilian Conservation Corps performed a variety of work throughout the state, including soil conservation, reforestation, fire prevention, and the development of recreational areas. The work of the CCC in South Carolina provided the genesis of South Carolina's state park system. South Carolina's first state park opened at Myrtle Beach in July 1936, and by 1938 fourteen state parks had opened and over 450,000 people had visited them."

The historic National Guard Armory in Fort Mill, South Carolina was constructed in 1938 with federal Works Progress Administration (WPA) assistance. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The armory is located along the west side of Unity St. between E. Elliott St. and E. Leroy St.

"The Charleston Naval Base provided defense for the United States from its formation in 1901 to its closure in 1996. Originally designated as the Navy Yard and later as the Naval Base it had a large impact upon the local community, the tri-county area and the entire State of South Carolina. Hundreds of thousands of people were employed, two hundred fifty-six vessels built, thousands of others supported and millions of dollars poured into the area’s economy." "The first dry dock, the largest on the east coast, was completed in 1907. In 1909, the powerhouse to supply electricity to the dry dock...

"The Civil Works Administration and the Federal Emergency Relief Administration funded the construction of a stadium dedicated at Northside School in September 1934." The former Northside School and the gym have since been demolished.

The federal Public Works Administration (P.W.A.) contributed to the development of Rock Hill's original North Side School. "School buildings and classroom additions went up at Central School, Northside School, Arcade-Victoria School, and Ebenezer Avenue School, with A. D. Gilchrist the architect for all these PWA projects." The former Northside School has since been demolished.

"Oconee State Park is a state park located in the Blue Ridge Mountain region of South Carolina. This 1,165 acres (4.7 km2) park has several recreational opportunities to choose from. They include cabins, camping, fishing and boating in the two small lakes located on the park grounds, hiking on eight nature/hiking trails, and several picnic and meeting facilities... Oconee State Park was created by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in the 1930s. This park was created during the Great Depression when Franklin D. Roosevelt put men to work in civilian works projects. Some of the park buildings existing today were made by...

The historic Olympia Armory in Columbia, South Carolina was constructed in 1936-7 by the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA). The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"The Outdoor Theater was built as a gift of the Class of 1915, and designed by one of its members and the university's first architecture graduate, Leon LeGrand. It was built in cooperation with the Work Projects Administration. The Art Deco stage was nearly demolished and replaced in 1977, but protests prompted its renovation and the addition of concrete terraced seating. It is a contributing property to the Clemson University Historic District II (NRHP)."

Paris Mountain State Park was developed in large part by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). "CCC structures, including the Camp Buckhorn lodge, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places." The state park on Paris Mountain was built in the 1930s by the Depression-era CCC. Sixteen other parks in the state of South Carolina were also created due to the work of the CCC. The land for the park was acquired in 1935 from the city of Greenville." CCC work included the development of the entrance, road construction, a bathhouse and an office, picnic facilities, staff residences, a gazebo, the development...

Wikipedia: "Parker High School Auditorium is a historic high school auditorium located at Greenville, South Carolina. It was built in 1938 with funding provided by the Works Progress Administration. It is a Classical Revival style 7,500-square-foot rectangular brick building with a front gabled roof. It is the last remaining building from the largest WPA school project in South Carolina. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996."

The historic Dock Street Theater, known as America's First Theater, in Charleston, South Carolina, was the subject of a massive Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) and Works Project Administration (WPA) renovation project between 1935 and 1937. The structure was designed by the local architecture firm Simons & Lapham. CharlestonStage.com: After the Civil War, the Planter's Hotel fell into disrepair and was slated for demolition. But in 1935, after Milton Pearlstine made the property available to the City of Charleston and at the urging of Mayor Burnet Maybank and other notable citizens, the original building became a Depression Era WPA (Works Progress Administration) project. At that...

According to the Georgetown Times in 1937, "An $80,000 Pleasant Hill School was nearing completion as a WPA project." However, further confirmation of this is needed; according to the school's National Register of Historic Places nomination form, "there is no record that Pleasant Hill Consolidated School was constructed with Federal monies, the Georgetown County School District did receive significant amounts of Federal aid from 1935 to 1939."

"Sumter County donated 1,000 acres (4 km2) for the park, which opened to the public in 1936. Many buildings still in use at the park were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps from locally quarried coquina rock. Coquina is a young limestone in which fossil seashells are still readily apparent. Poinsett State Park was the first of many parks built by the CCC in South Carolina. The park was closed in 1963 for a year, along with all of South Carolina's state parks, due to a Federal court order to desegregate the parks, and it wasn't until 1966 that all its...

The historic post office building in Bamberg, South Carolina was built in 1937; a New Deal mural titled "Cotton the World Over" hangs in the lobby.

"A one-story, T-shaped brick building, designed by Louis Simon, government architect, and built in 1937. The building features brick laid in English bond. Simon designed Federal post offices across the nation."   (NRHP Inventory Form)

"Post office built in 1937. An addition was made in 1983. A New Deal mural entitled "Rice Growing" hangs in the lobby."   (flickr)

The historic post office building in Ware Shoals, South Carolina was constructed with federal Treasury Department funds in 1935. The building, which houses an example of New Deal artwork, is still in use today.

South Carolina's State Stone, Blue Granite (often called Winnsboro Blue Granite), was quarried from the Kincaid-Anderson Quarry and exported all over the east coast to build and decorate scores of buildings. The quarry was the site of Fairfield County's biggest industry until it closed in 1946. Yet the stone was not used for this brick post office built in 1936 by the US Treasury. Winnsboro also boasts the longest running clock in the US!