February 2019

South Carolina “Dum Spiro, Spero”

Posted on 02/18/2019 by Nathan Lewis in New Content Releases

There are more peaches produced in South Carolina than in Georgia. In the town of Gaffney, this water tower shaped like a giant peach was built in the 1980s to honor the region’s peach farmers.

Today, we are excited to announce that nearly 200,000 aerial photos of South Carolina are now available to search and view online. The state motto is the Latin phrase “Dum spiro, spero,” which translates to “While I breathe, I hope.” Before being known as the Palmetto State, South Carolina was known as, and had emblazoned on their license plates, the Iodine State. This motto was an effort by the South Carolina Natural Resources Commission to publicize the high levels of iodine found in the state’s fruits and vegetables. South Carolina is very often clumped together with its neighbor to the north but South Carolina boasts its own unique history, cultures, and way of life. 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.

South Carolina entered the Union on May 23, 1788 and became the 8th state. On April 12, 1861, the Civil War began at Fort Sumter in South Carolina when Confederate soldiers opened fire on the Union soldiers guarding the sea fort. David Robert Coker conducted his early crop-improvement experiments on the family plantation in Hartsville. Beginning with 30 experimental cotton selections and methodically applying the latest techniques in the scientific breeding of crops, the work of Coker Experimental Farms played a great role in the agricultural revolution in the South. The introduction of tobacco in 1894 rocketed Mullins into the Tobacco Capital of South Carolina. As many as 200 tobacco barns sprang up throughout the community and the first tobacco sale took place on August 28, 1895.

South Carolina has a long history in agriculture and it is still the prominent industry in the state today. The Lake City tobacco market was established in 1898, and has grown to become one of the two largest markets in South Carolina today. South Carolina is the nation’s leading peach producer east of the Mississippi River. Broilers are the most produced agricultural commodity by value. Fresh market fruits and vegetable produced include cucumbers, snap beans and tomatoes, melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. South Carolina greenhouse and nursery products generate around $240 million per year. South Carolina is home to the only tea farm in North America, The Charleston Tea Plantation. There are over 26,000 farms averaging 189 acres. These farms cover 4.8 million acres of land. The total economic impact of South Carolina’s agriculture industry is over 40 billion dollars a year.

We invite you to come and take a look at these homes and farms in our collection of nearly 200,000 aerial photos of this great region. Home is the place where you became you. Find your way back!