Symbol | Official Item

Milk was recognized as the official state beverage of South Carolina in 1984. Dairy farms are found in almost every county of South Carolina, and the dairy industry is a 100 million dollar enterprise for the state.

Milk has been called a nearly perfect food - a source of protein, calcium, and several other important nutrients. Each dairy cow produces about 6.5 gallons of milk per day. Less than half of this milk is consumed as a beverage - the rest is used for butter, cheese, ice cream, milk powder and other processed products.

South Carolina designated amethyst as the official state gemstone in 1969. House Bill No. 1808 (H1808):

AN ACT TO DESIGNATE THE AMETHYST AS THE OFFICIAL STATE GEM STONE AND BLUE GRANITE AS THE OFFICIAL STATE STONE.
Whereas, South Carolina is one of three states where the gem stone amethyst of good quality is found in the United States; and

Whereas, the curator of mineralogy for the Smithsonian Institute has graded one of the largest early specimens from this State as the finest seen in the country; and

South Carolina designated the tiger swallowtail (Pterourus glaucus) as the official state butterfly in 1994.

Male tiger swallowtails are easily recognized with their distinctive "tiger stripes" on yellow wings (and small orange and blue spots near the tail). Female eastern tiger swallowtails come in two dramatically different colors. The light form looks very similar to the male butterfly, except that she has more blue on her hind wings. The dark form of female has no yellow or stripes.

South Carolina designated the wild turkey as official state wild game bird in 1976. A true native American, the eastern wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) is the largest and most widely distributed of the six recognized subspecies of wild turkey in North America. The male can grow up to four feet tall and weigh well over 20 pounds. Hens may be almost as tall but usually weigh no more than 12-14 pounds. The wild turkey is also an official state symbol of Massachusetts, Alabama, and Oklahoma.

Yellow jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) was designated the official state flower of South Carolina in 1924. All State Flowers

South Carolina designated the square dance as the official state folk dance in 1994 (the shag is the state dance). An activity for young and old, square dancing is a traditional form of family recreation in South Carolina recorded throughout the state's history .

Twenty-two states have passed legislation to declare the square dance as the state folk dance and more than thirty bills have been introduced at the federal level proposing the square dance as the national (folk) dance of the United States.

South Carolina designated the Carolina mantid as the official state insect in 1988 as a symbol of the science of entomology and its special role in agriculture controlling harmful insects. The praying mantis is also a fascinating specimen of living science for the children of South Carolina.

by Henry Timrod and Anne C. Burgess

South Carolina designated "Carolina" as the official state song in 1911: words by poet Henry Timrod (1829-1867), music by Anne Custis Burgess (1874-1910); edited by G. R. Goodwin.

Lyrics

Call on thy children of the hill,
Wake swamp and river, coast and rill,
Rouse all thy strength and all thy skill,
Carolina! Carolina!

Hold up the glories of thy dead;
Say how thy elder children bled,
And point to Eutaw's battle-bed,
Carolina! Carolina!

Carolina is from the Latin word for Charles (Carolus) honoring King Charles I of England (who made the original land grant in 1629). South Carolina was formed in 1729, when the Carolina colony was divided in two. South Carolina was the eighth state to ratify the United States Constitution in 1788 (see statehood order).

History

King Charles I granted territory in America in 1629 to Sir Robert Heath (his Attorney General) to be named Carolina, or the province of Carolina (the same charter also refers to the province as Carolana or New Carolana).

South Carolina designated the Carolina wolf spider (Hogna carolinensis) as the official state spider in 2000 due to the efforts of Skyler B. Hutto, a third grade student at Sheridan Elementary School in Orangeburg, SC (South Carolina also designates an official state insect and a state butterfly).