Statehood: May 23, 1788, the 3rd state
Capital: Columbia
Total Area: 40th among states, 80,779 sq km (31,189 sq mi)
Water Area: 2,792 sq km (1,078 sq mi)
Highest Point: Sassafras Mountain, 1,085 m (3,560 ft)
Total Population: 25th among states
1990 census - 3,486,703
1998 estimate - 3,835,962
Population Density in 1998: 49 people per sq km (127 per sq mi)
Distribution in 1990: 55% Urban, 45% Rural
Economy: Gross State Product - $89.5 billion (1996)
Personal income per Capita - $20,651 (1997)
Largest cities in 1990:
Columbia: 98,052
Charleston: 80,414
Greenville: 58,242
Spartanburg: 43,467
Sumter: 41,943
The Saint Cecilia Society, organized in 1767, sponsored America's first symphony orchestra.
The first engagement of the American Civil War occurred at Fort Sumter in 1861.
The largest organized Native American nation remaining in South Carolina is the PeeDee, with a population of about 2500 in four northeastern counties.
South Carolina grows more peaches than any other state except California.
The state was the first to secede from the Union before the Civil War.
There is a place called Table Rock State Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains. According to Indian legend, a gigantic chieftain dined at the "table" high above ordinary mortals.
In 1830, the first U.S. Steam locomotive built for railroad use was put into service in the state.
South Carolina was first settled by the Spanish in 1566 and later became an English colony.
The first American library house in a separate building was constructed in 1840 at the University of South Carolina in Columbia.
The oldest formal gardens in the U.S., Middleton Place, was founded in 1740 and took 100 people more than 10 years to complete.
Stretching 60 miles from Little River to Georgetown, South Carolina's Grand Strand is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the United States.