South Carolina Historical Marker Program

The South Carolina Historical Marker Program, originally the South Carolina Highway Historical Marker Program, was authorized by an act of the South Carolina General Assembly in 1905 creating the Historical Commission of South Carolina with authority "to have direction and control of the marking of historic sites, or houses, or localities."  The program was officially established in 1936 when a marker was erected near the site of the Long Cane Massacre near Troy, in McCormick County. More than 1000 markers have been erected by the program since that time. Since 1954 the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, as the successor state agency to the Historical Commission of South Carolina, has been responsible for the program as part of the Historical Services Division. The enabling legislation creating the Department of Archives and History gave it the responsibility for "the approval of the inscriptions for all historical markers or other monuments erected on state highways or other state property."

South Carolina Historical Markers mark and interpret places important to an understanding of South Carolina's past, either as the sites of significant events, or at historic properties such as buildings, sites, structures, or other resources significant for their design, as examples of a type, or for their association with institutions or individuals significant in local, state, or national history. Historic properties individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places are ordinarily eligible for historical markers, as their status guarantees that a case has already been made for their significance. Many other places, however, either not eligible for listing in the National Register or not yet nominated through that program, are also eligible for historical markers. National or statewide significance is not a prerequisite, and many properties of primarily local significance have already been marked.

In the past, markers were placed along the nearest South Carolina state highway and contained references to the location of the place being marked, usually some distance away. More recently, markers have been erected at the historic site itself without restriction to state highways and on other public streets and county roads.

Without state funding, the Historical Marker program has always depended on the citizens of South Carolina to suggest, document, sponsor and pay for its historical markers, and to maintain them once erected. Markers may be sponsored by historical, patriotic, civic, or other organizations, or by institutions such as church congregations or schools and colleges. Though individuals may not sponsor markers, they may propose and pay for them provided the marker is sponsored by an appropriate local organization or institution.

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

• South Carolina Historical Markers are intended to mark historic places and are not primarily memorials to individuals or institutions associated with those places.
•  Historic properties less than twenty-five years old, associated with events that occurred less than twenty-five years ago, or significant for their association with significant persons who died less than twenty-five years ago will not ordinarily be eligible for historical markers. Any exceptions will only be made on a case-by-case basis after review by the Archives and History Commission.
• The sites of significant buildings no longer standing may be eligible for historical markers under the same criteria as other historic properties.
•  Historic properties or sites closely associated with significant persons may be marked primarily for that association only if:

a. the property is the property or site in the state which best represents the individual's community of birth or residence, productive career, association with a particular institution, or association with a significant event, AND
b. no other site in South Carolina closely associated with the individual and marked primarily for that association has already been marked.

• Sites of significant events should be marked, when possible, on the nearest public street, county road, or state highway.
• Counties, cities, or towns may erect markers based on their establishment or date of incorporation.
• Cemeteries may be eligible for a single marker based on their significance to a particular community, significant persons buried there, their association with significant events, or their significance in gravestone art, but individual gravestones, gravesites, or plots within cemeteries will not be eligible for historical markers.
• Individual components of a historic property already marked as an entity will not be eligible for historical markers.

MARKER SPECIFICATIONS AND PRICES

• South Carolina Historical Markers are made of cast aluminum. The earliest markers, cast from 1936 to 1954, have a circular device at the top center bearing a palmetto tree and "S C". They are gray with raised gray letters or silver with raised black letters. Markers cast since 1954 have a triangular device at the top center bearing the state flag; those cast from 1954 to 1990 are dark blue with raised silver letters, and those cast since 1990 are silver with raised black letters.
•  City Size Markers, erected in incorporated cities and towns, measure 24" x 36", with one title line (1.5" letters, 17 characters per line) and 18 lines of text (1" letters, 27 characters per line). These markers are available with either a standard 7' post or a 10' post if required by local governments.
• Country Size Markers, erected at all other sites, measure 42" x 32", with one title line (2" letters, 25 characters per line) and 11 lines of text (1.5" letters, 36 characters per line). These markers are available with a standard 7' post.
• Prices effective 1 July 2008:
  • City Size:
    same text both sides  ...... $1565.00
    different text each side .... $1725.00
    
  • Country Size:
    same text both sides ....... $1670.00
    different text each side .... $1830.00
     
• DO NOT SEND CHECKS TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY. When the final marker text is approved by the director, the applicant will send payment to:
  
  Sewah Studios
  P.O. Box 298
  Marietta, Ohio 45750
  (888) 557-3924

The coordinator of the South Carolina Historical Marker Program will advise applicants on the procedures for ordering historical markers once the final text is approved. It usually takes Sewah Studios, the foundry which casts historical markers for South Carolina and many other states, six to twelve weeks to cast and ship a particular marker once payment is received.

LOCATION OF MARKERS
Markers are usually placed in the right-of-way of state highways or public roads. The precise location of the marker must be approved by the South Carolina Department of Transportation in the case of markers erected on state highways and the chief elected official of a particular county, city or town in the case of markers erected on county or other public roads; when markers are erected on private property the property owner must approve their location. Permissions should be obtained early in the approval process. The Department of Transportation will often erect or assist in erecting markers, and applicants should contact:  

Assistant Director of Maintenance
South Carolina Department of Transportation
P.O. Drawer 191
Columbia, SC 29202

MARKER TEXTS

• Markers may either have the same text on both sides or different text on each side, depending upon the significance of the property being marked and the space required to properly interpret its history. Most markers for properties of national or statewide significance will require two sides of text, and while most markers for properties of primarily local significance will have the same text on both sides, those properties may also require two sides of text. Sponsors may wish to prepare draft texts for both types before making that decision.
•  Applicants will submit a draft text for the proposed marker, which will be reviewed and revised as necessary by the coordinator of the South Carolina Historical Marker Program for content, style, and space. This second draft text will be sent back to the applicants for their review and approval, and then revised as necessary. The final marker text will then be approved by the director of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, and copies will be sent to the applicant, the Department of Transportation, and Sewah Studios. The approval process generally takes from one to three months; marker applications are approved in the order in which they are received.
• Draft marker texts should be accompanied by documentation of the history and significance of the property being proposed for a historical marker. Footnotes or endnotes are not required, but copies of relevant portions of major primary and secondary sources used (including family papers; county and state government records; church, school, or cemetery records; newspaper, magazine, or journal articles; and county, city, or town histories, church histories, biographical sketches, or other pertinent sources) should be included.