“The South Carolina Digital Library provides free access to historic materials, such as photographs, manuscripts, journals, books, oral histories, objects, etc. illustrating the history and culture of South Carolina from over 40 cultural heritage institutions across the state. Over 200,000 items have been added so far.”

Free Aiken County South Carolina genealogy collections online include:

Broadsides from the Colonial Era to the Present “Broadsides is a virtual collection of posters from many different collections at the South Caroliniana Library.”
Eleanor Phelps World Cruise Scrapbook “In the winter of 1922, Aiken, South Carolina, resident Eleanor Phelps boarded the S.S. Laconia and embarked on the inaugural American Express Company Cruise Around the World. The photographs, diary entries, and souvenirs that comprise this collection document Eleanor’s visits to the Panama Canal, the Taj Mahal, and the Valley of the Kings, as well as dozens…”
Family Bible Records “This collection contains Bible records for a number of South Carolina families. They date from the late 1700s to the late 1900s. The Bible records contain information on births, marriages, deaths, and other notable events that occurred within the families.”
Forward Together, South Carolina in World War I “Forward Together is a multiple-venue project, developed by a consortium of historical and educational institutions, that focuses on the participation of South Carolina during World War I and its effects on the state.”
Gregg-Graniteville Archives Photograph Collection “This photograph collection is a small portion of USC Aiken’s historical Gregg-Graniteville Archive of documents and memorabilia of the Graniteville Company, a major Southern textile manufacturing firm founded in 1845 by William Gregg. The archive represents the only collection in existence devoted to William Gregg and the Graniteville Company.”
Henry William Ravenel’s Private Journal “This collection of one hundred ten manuscripts, thirteen manuscript volumes, and thirty-nine photographs documents the family life, business pursuits, and natural history interests of South Carolina planter, botanist, and agricultural writer Henry William Ravenel (1814-1887).”
Heyward Album “This Civil War-era photograph album contains cartes-de-visite photographs of members of the S. C. Secession Convention, Confederate and U.S. Governments, officers of the Confederate and U.S. Armies, S.C. governors, and officers of the South Carolina Volunteers 1st Regiment of Rifles.”
Historical Commission of South Carolina Pamphlets “Topics covered include: agriculture, Civil War regimental histories, education and schools, geology, industry, medicine, Native American tribes, nature, nullification, the Revolutionary War, the Reconstruction Era (1865-1877) …”
Inventory of (SC) Church Archives, 1937-1939 “A historical records survey known as the Inventory of Church Archives was completed by W.P.A. workers between 1937 and 1939. The original survey sheets are held in the Manuscripts Division of the South Caroliniana Library, University of South Carolina, Columbia. In 1980, the collection was microfilmed by the South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, through a …”
John Shaw Billings Photograph Albums, 1875-1939 “The series of photograph albums document the time that John Shaw Billings (1898-1975) and his extended family spent at the Redcliffe plantation in Aiken County, South Carolina. Known for his position as the first managing editor of Life Magazine, Billings purchased Redcliffe in 1935 from his uncle Henry Cumming Hammond (1868-1961) for $15,000.”
Mills Atlas of the State of South Carolina “The 1825 publication of Robert Mills’ Atlas of the State of South Carolina marked an American cartographic first. This volume is the first systematic atlas of any state in the union.”
Minutes of the Annual Conferences of the Baptist, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian Churches in South Carolina, 1785-1920 “This digital collection from the USC’s South Caroliniana Library comprises nearly 400 volumes of Minutes of the Annual Conferences of the Baptist, Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian Churches in South Carolina between 1785 and 1920.”
Negro Travelers’ Greenbook, 1956 “The Negro Travelers’ Green Book was a travel guide series published from 1936 to 1964 by Victor H. Green. It was intended to provide African American motorists and tourists with the information necessary to board, dine, and sightsee comfortably and safely during the era of segregation.”
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of South Carolina “Showing cities, farms, forests, reservoirs, coastlines, and other features across the state, the indexes provide a visual overview of each project’s collection of individual aerial photographs”
South Carolina Aerial Photograph Indexes, 1937-1989 “Spanning five decades, the University of South Carolina’s collection of aerial photograph indexes consists primarily of projects commissioned by the United States Department of Agriculture. Showing cities, farms, forests, reservoirs, coastlines, and other features across the state, the indexes provide a visual overview of each project’s collection of individual aerial photographs…”
South Carolina and the Civil War
South Carolina Book Collection
South Carolina Children’s Library Services Collection “The South Carolina State Library and the South Carolina Digital Library present the South Carolina Children’s Library Services Collection, a collection of historical and contemporary images from the 1940s-2000s relating to library services for children. The photographs are from the archives of the South Carolina State Library and many were taken by State Library field…”
South Carolina Department of Transportation County Road Maps “This is a collection of over 700 South Carolina county road maps from the 1930s to the 1990s, courtesy of the University of South Carolina Thomas Cooper Map Collection.”
South Carolina Federal Documents Collection “The South Carolina State Library maintains a print collection of federal documents as a member of the Federal Depository Library Program. Many of these documents are about South Carolina or include topics of regional interest.”
South Carolina Public Library History, 1930-1945 “The South Carolina Public Library History, 1930-1945 collection consists of photographs and documents from the archives of the SC State Library. These digital images highlight public libraries, bookmobiles, librarians, and patrons from around the state. Many photographs and documents relate to the federal Works Project Administration (WPA) Library Project in South Carolina, which provided statewide library services…”
South Carolina Library Buildings Collection
South Carolina Railroads Photograph Collection “The South Caroliniana Library has been collecting photographs of train stations, depots, rail yards, engines, and rolling stock for many years. The images come in as single items, as part of other collections, or as collections of their own. There are also photographs of railways used by the mining and lumber industries.”
South Carolina School Directories “Since 1911 the South Carolina State Department of Education has published a yearly directory of schools in the state.”
South Carolina State Documents Depository Collection “These publications provide citizens with crucial information about state government, including statistics, annual accountability reports, and data on a wide variety of topics related to the state.”
South Caroliniana Library Map Collection
Thomas Jones Davies Bible Records, 1830-1865 “The Bible and its inserts, owned by Thomas Jones Davies, contain vital statistics of enslaved African Americans living on Davies’ plantations located throughout Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina. The plantations mentioned in the records include: Malvern and Gardner’s Swamp, of Beech Island, SC; Swamp Place, near Hamburg, SC; Cherry Hill and Waldburg of Burke County, …”
Topographical Maps of South Carolina, 1888-1975
University of South Carolina Aiken Photograph Collection, 1961-2011 “The University of South Carolina Aiken Photograph Collection, 1961-2011, contains a selection of images showcasing the last 50 years of USCA. The five main collections are Campus, Students, Faculty, Athletics and Chancellors.”
WPA Federal Writers Project Materials on African American Life in South Carolina
WPA Photograph Collection

South Carolina Digital Library Aiken County Genealogy

Free Aiken County South Carolina genealogy collections online include:

Broadsides from the Colonial Era to the Present “Broadsides is a virtual collection of posters from many different collections at the South Caroliniana Library.”

Family Bible Records “This collection contains Bible records for a number of South Carolina families. They date from the late 1700s to the late 1900s. The Bible records contain information on births, marriages, deaths, and other notable events that occurred within the families.”

Forward Together, South Carolina in World War I “Forward Together is a multiple-venue project, developed by a consortium of historical and educational institutions, that focuses on the participation of South Carolina during World War I and its effects on the state.”

Historical Commission of South Carolina Pamphlets “Topics covered include: agriculture, Civil War regimental histories, education and schools, geology, industry, medicine, Native American tribes, nature, nullification, the Revolutionary War, the Reconstruction Era (1865-1877) …”

Mills Atlas of the State of South Carolina “The 1825 publication of Robert Mills’ Atlas of the State of South Carolina marked an American cartographic first. This volume is the first systematic atlas of any state in the union.”

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps of South Carolina “Showing cities, farms, forests, reservoirs, coastlines, and other features across the state, the indexes provide a visual overview of each project’s collection of individual aerial photographs”

South Carolina and the Civil War

South Carolina Book Collection

South Carolina Department of Transportation County Road Maps “This is a collection of over 700 South Carolina county road maps from the 1930s to the 1990s, courtesy of the University of South Carolina Thomas Cooper Map Collection.”

South Carolina Federal Documents Collection “The South Carolina State Library maintains a print collection of federal documents as a member of the Federal Depository Library Program. Many of these documents are about South Carolina or include topics of regional interest.”

South Carolina Library Buildings Collection

South Carolina School Directories “Since 1911 the South Carolina State Department of Education has published a yearly directory of schools in the state.”

South Carolina State Documents Depository Collection “These publications provide citizens with crucial information about state government, including statistics, annual accountability reports, and data on a wide variety of topics related to the state.”

South Caroliniana Library Map Collection

Topographical Maps of South Carolina, 1888-1975

University of South Carolina Aiken Photograph Collection, 1961-2011 “The University of South Carolina Aiken Photograph Collection, 1961-2011, contains a selection of images showcasing the last 50 years of USCA. The five main collections are Campus, Students, Faculty, Athletics and Chancellors.”

WPA Federal Writers Project Materials on African American Life in South Carolina

WPA Photograph Collection

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