South Carolina history South Carolina holds a firm place in
American history. This is where new arrivals from England
established one of their first New World settlements, and the
first shots of the American Civil War later rang out here. With
more than 1,300 sites listed on the United States National
Register of Historic Places, South Carolina’s museums and
historic sites document the state’s rich, varied history, from
its importance in Colonial times and during the American
Revolution to its indigenous history and the state’s pivotal
role in the Civil War. But the state’s history began long before
that. For thousands of years before the arrival of the
Europeans, the state was occupied by at least 29 indigenous
tribes. That population greatly declined, due to disease and
conflict, after European settlers reached it’s shores. A few
tribes have, however, survived, including the Catawba, Cherokee,
Pee Dee, Chicora, Edisto, Santee, and Chicora-Waccamaw. The
first known European attempt at a settlement was a grou