(to 1925)

Here we look at how the state’s rural economy slowly changed in the wake of the Civil War. Bolstered by country stores and a poor, fledgling public education system, the introduction of cotton mills in the 1870s and ‘80s helped to create an industrial economy for the Upstate that gave many poor farmers another way to earn a living.

A one-room schoolhouse from Spartanburg County (c. 1875-1905), a reconstructed country store and a mill worker’s room are among the highlights of this section.

Prehistoric Era • Colonial Era • Antebellum Era • Civil War • African American History