Three fun facts about South Carolina: 

1. They have a sea monster in Lake Murray that is considered a “cousin”  to the Loch Ness Monster.  It has been described as a cross between a snake and something prehistoric and it is called “Messie”.   It was first reported in 1933 and has been reported every year since.  It is also supposedly very aggressive. 

2. The state dance is the shag.

3. Every year thousands of Purple Martins roost around Lake Murray in the spring and summer.  The area has been declared a bird sanctuary because of it.

The state is 40^th among the states in geographic area and 26^th in population.  It stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Spaniards explored the area as early as 1514.  They built fort San Felipe in 1566.  The English, led by Sir Frances Drake, later concentrated there and around 1670 established the first permanent European settlement.  King Charles II gave the Carolinas to eight English noblemen, called the Lords Proprietors. “Carolus” is Latin for Charles. The first settlers included many Barbadians and the area came to resemble more closely the plantation economy of the West Indies than other colonies.  By the 1750s, rice and indigo had made the planters and merchants of the South Carolina low country the wealthiest men in what would become the United States. 

Beginning in the 1890s, the state experienced rapid expansion in the textile industry.  Prior to the Great Depression, the boll weevil gave the state a head start into economic decline.  After that, the expansion of military bases during WWII and our nation’s investment in manufacturing, some in the textile industry, revitalized the state’s economy.  Today, with the state’s rich history, tourism is a major industry.  Major agricultural outputs are tobacco, poultry, cattle, dairy products, soybeans and hogs.  Industrial outputs are textiles, chemical products, paper products, autos and machinery.

Geographically, the state is unusual in that it is comprised of 36 geographic areas.  They have everything from a coastal zone, to sand hills, to actual hills, swamps and mountains.  The state is prone not only to hurricanes but also the occasional earthquake.  In the summer, the state is hot and humid with daytime temps averaging between 86 and 103 degrees.  Winter temperatures aren’t as uniform and range from very mild in the coastal areas to just below freezing upstate.  It is not uncommon for areas on the coast to receive no recorded snowfall and nowhere in the state averages more than 6 inches annually. 

The five largest ancestry groups are African-American (30%), American (14%), English (8%), German (8%) and Irish (8%).  For most of South Carolina’s history, African slaves and their descendants made up a majority of the state’s population. 

Religiously, 92% report themselves as Christian.  45% are Southern Baptist, 15% are Methodist, and 5% are Presbyterian.   

The state sales tax is 6% for non-grocery goods with no tax on groceries.  Counties have a 2% option sales tax.  Their income tax has 6 brackets with a top rate of 7% which kicks in at an income level of $13,150.  That is the 12^th highest nationally.  Their corporate income tax is a flat 5% which is 41^st nationally.  The state collects property taxes at both the state and local level, with local taxes being the most.

Politically, the state has historically been Democratic.  In 1964, Barry Goldwater became the first Republican to win the state since the Reconstruction era.  Since then, the state has voted Republican in every election with the exception of a 1976 win for Jimmy Carter.  The current governor is a Republican.  The governor is elected for a four-year term with an optional additional four-year term.  The state has historically had a weak executive branch countered by a strong, bi-cameral legislative branch.

The state has no professional sports franchises although they have numerous minor league teams.  However, college sports are very big.  Clemson University’s Tigers regularly draw more than 80,000 fans at home games.  NASCAR racing was born in the South.  Waterspouts are also very big.  With their large coastline, they draw surfers, boogie boarders, deep sea fishers and water skiers.  Some of the largest catfish ever caught were found in the state.  Golf was also first played in the states in Charleston.  The first opera in America was also in the state and to this day is largely supported.

So, we encourage you to visit South Carolina and the active adult communities there.  The thing to know, though, is that there is a legend that if you visit Marion and drink the water, you will become infatuated with the area and will wish to remain there.