This week we are exploring Hidden South Carolina . Tom Poland, author and back-road explorer, joined us this week to take us on a virtual tour of South Carolina's back roads.

The road less traveled. That’s where the hidden South Carolina lives. Here we have three places that appear in my back-road books. Rare sites and rare sights. Visit them from the comfort and safety of your home. —Tom Poland
Times were, you could drive a back road, and sooner or later you’d see a barn with its roof turned into an advertisement. “See Rock City,” paling words on tin streaked with cinnamon-like rust. The barn you see stands on Highway 28 between McCormick and Abbeville. Weathered with boards missing and gaping holes, the old barn stands as a museum, a survivor, South Carolina’s sole Rock City barn.
-From The Last Sunday Drive , Arcadia-The History Press
They stand, but nowhere as many. I’m talking about tenant homes, those stately little shacks that provide one last glimpse of a vanquished culture. Resting on rock piles they stand like sentinels over fields. I came across one on Highway 176. Morning mists swirled around it. A mat of pine straw miraculously clung to its rusty tin overhang. The home itself, with one of its two windows shuttered, looked blind in one eye. It rendered the stretch of Highway 176 glorious. -From South Carolina Country Roads , Arcadia-The History Press
Off Highway 378 in McCormick County back roads lead to French Huguenot sites. Take Huguenot Parkway, follow the signs and a sandy lane to the left will lead you to a Maltese cross that marks the spot of the New Bordeaux Huguenot place of worship. New Bordeaux, 1764, was the last of seven French Huguenot colonies in South Carolina. The village prospered in the 1760s and early 1770s, but the Revolutionary War ruined its economy and New Bordeaux faded away.
-From Classic Carolina Road Trips , Arcadia-The History Press
Tom writes about the South, its people, traditions, lifestyles, and nature. He’s a member of the SC Humanities Speaker’s Bureau . In October 2018, Governor Henry McMaster conferred the Order of the Palmetto upon Tom. He lives in Columbia, South Carolina.
The Lebanese Legacy of Georgetown County
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, a number of Lebanese immigrants settled in Georgetown. Georgetown County Library honored this facet of local history with an original documentary featuring interviews with members of the community. The Georgetown County Library also offers  a digital exhibit celebrating the Lebanese Legacy of Georgetown County . SC Humanities supported these projects with a Major Grant.
Voices of the Santee Delta
The Village Museum in McClellanville in partnership with the South Carolina Historical Society conducted a major oral history project on “Voices of the Santee Delta ” supported by SC Humanities. The Santee Delta was once the location of an important section of the Rice Kingdom and an enslaved labor force whose descendants have provided a lasting Gullah culture. The voices of this community are diverse in ethnicity and occupation and include biologists, fisherman, property managers, and many others.
South Carolina in Postcards
The South Carolina Digital Library's South Carolina in Postcards collection contains picture postcards from the early part of the twentieth century that depict scenes across South Carolina.
Located in Jacksonboro, SC, the ruin of the brick church represents both religious and civic history of St. Bartholomew’s Parish from the Church act of 1706 through today. The Pon Pon chapel was destroyed by fire in 1801, rebuilt in 1819-1822, and abandoned as a regular worship site in the 1830s. View the 36-minute documentary on Vimeo . The premiere of this documentary was supported by SC Humanities.
South Carolina Humanities