SC Facts and Figures

Important South Carolina History

• In 1566, the colony of Santa Elena was established in South Carolina by the Spanish.
• The eight (8) Lord Proprietors, who were given the Carolinas by King Charles II, succeeded in establishing the first permanent European settlement in the state of South Carolina.
• The first English settlement was established in South Carolina in 1670 at Albemarle Point on the Ashley River.
• South Carolinians were leaders in the resistance to the Stamp Act.  
• Over 200 battles and skirmishes of the Revolutionary War were fought in South Carolina.
• The first decisive victory of the Revolutionary War involving land and naval forces was won at Fort Moultrie, near Charleston.
• The battles of Kings Mountain and Cowpens are considered by many historians to be the turning points in the Revolution.
• On May 23, 1788, South Carolina became the 8th state to ratify the Constitution.
• On December 20, 1860, in Charleston, South Carolina became the first state to pass the Ordinance of Secession and secede from the Union.
• The first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter in the Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861.