(This page's most recent update is
June 2024)
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An old proverb states that “the eyes are the windows into the soul.” A genealogy corollary is that “a photo is a window into the lives of your ancestors.”
I love old photos, whether they are portraits of my ancestors or historical photos of the period when they lived. It is important to complete research that one attempts to understand the environment that surrounds our ancestors’ lives if one wants to truly appreciate what they went through.
So where can they be found? Obviously, the best resource is our photo albums and those that our relatives possess. But what about other resources? Many archives, historical societies, libraries, and genealogical societies have collections of old photos. And in the past few years, there has been a massive movement towards making these historical photo collections available online. Some have search capabilities where you can actually put in a surname or a location, the name of a building, or a historical event and find what is available.
For the state of South Carolina, what collections are available for you to browse and/or search online? Here is a list of sites to start with. Please feel free to add in the comments other online resources that you might be aware of in the state.
Please be aware that there may be very strict rules regarding downloading or other use of the images that you may find. Copyright and other legal protections may be in force. Make sure that you read the limitations of use for any image that you find in these collections and wish to download and/or copy. It is your responsibility to adhere to the rules for all of these collections.
South Carolina Historical Photo Archives
- Anderson County Museum – Anderson
- Central-Clemson Area Historical Photos
- Charleston Civil War Photos
- Charleston Museum Photograph Collection
- Citadel Photograph Collection
- Civil War Photos
- Clarendon County Scenes from our Past
- Clemson University Historical Images
- Clemson University Vintage Photos
- College of Charleston Digital Collections
- Columbia Local History Photographs
- Columbia Historical Photographs
- Dillon County Photographs
- Dorchester County Photograph Album
- Easley Area Historic Photos
- Elon University Photograph Collection
- Elon University Portrait Collection
- Furman University Army ROTC Photos
- Furman University Digital Collections
- Furman University Historical Images
- Georgetown County Digital Library Photo Collections
- Greenville County Images
- Greenville County Library System Digital Collections
- Greenville County Miscellaneous Photos
- Greenwood County Library System Photo Collections
- Gregg-Graniteville Archives Photograph Collection
- Historic Charleston Foundation – Charleston
- Historic Charleston Images
- Historic Charleston Postcards
- Historic Photos of Charleston
- Horry County Historical Society Photograph Collection
- Lexington County Public Library Digital Photography Archive
- Library of Congress Prints & Photographs – South Carolina
- Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
- Lowcountry Digital Library – Images
- National Archives – Digital Photograph Collections
- Newberry County Photo Gallery
- Pickens Area Photographs
- Pickens County Library System Historical Photo Collection
- Piedmont Image Collection
- Richland Library Photograph Collections
- Scenes of Colleton County
- School Insurance Photographs 1935-1952
- SCIWAY Collections
- Smithsonian Images
- South Carolina Ancient Faces
- South Carolina Dead Fred
- South Carolina Department of Archives and History
- South Carolina Digital Library – Images
- South Carolina Penny Postcards
- South Carolina Picture Project
- South Carolina Postcard Collection
- South Carolina Railroad Photograph Collection
- South Carolina State Museum – Standard Federal (Columbia) Photo Collection
- South Carolina, DP.LA Photos
- South Carolina, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives
- Spartanburg County Photos
- Spartanburg County Public Library Historical Digital Collections
- Standard Federal (Columbia) Photo Collection
- Sumter County Photos
- The State Newspaper Photograph Archive
- University Of South Carolina Aiken Photograph Collection, 1961-2011
- University of South Carolina Libraries – Digital Collections
- University of South Carolina Photos and Images Collections
- Vintage Aerial Photos – South Carolina
- Vintage Clemson Photos
- Vintage Photos of Myrtle Beach
- Winthrop University Archives
- Wofford College Photograph Collections
- York County Photograph Database
For historical photos from other states as well as articles about photo research, please visit the Photos page.
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!