Reconstruction in South Carolina

For 12 years in South Carolina, newly emancipated African Americans enjoyed a level of citizenship and freedom that had been denied them for almost two centuries. The towns, farmsteads, villages, churches and schools they built with this new-found freedom helped shape a distinctive culture that still influences every day life here. Vestiges of that period are preserved and shared as attractions. Below is a list of Reconstruction-era stops you can build into your itinerary on your next trip to South Carolina.