A lot has changed in South Carolina since the 1950s. The era was ushered in after many years of hardship during the Great Depression and on the heels of World War II. But, sometimes a look at the past can also tell us where we’re going. We love these photos and feel they show a South Carolina that is going places in the 1950s.

  1. Three generations come together for this group photo taken in Beaufort in 1954.

Flickr/Joe Bartolini

  1. Christmas shoppers outside Belk Department Store at Main and Hampton in Columbia in 1955.

Flickr/Richland Library

  1. The family dog is front and center for this candid photo taken in Beaufort in the early 1950s.

Flickr/Joe Bartolini

  1. You can feel the love in this Christmas photo taken in the Lowcountry in 1956.

Flickr/Joe Bartolini [edited to remove family name]

  1. A woman catches some rays at Myrtle Beach in 1958.

Flickr/Chris Warren

  1. Citadel Cadets marching down Main Street in Columbia in 1950.

Flickr/Richland Library

  1. Pickin’ banjo at the Palmetto State Fair in Columbia in 1955.

Flickr/Richland Library

  1. Main Street in Columbia looking toward the Capitol in 1955.

Flickr/Richland Library

  1. A 1950s graduating class of Allen University gathers on the steps of Joseph Simeon Flipper Library.

Flickr/South Carolina State Library

  1. This fishing trip on Lake Wateree in South Carolina in 1956 looks like fun!

Flickr/Hunter Desportes

  1. The 1954-55 Varsity Basketball team at Bishop England High School in Charleston.

Flickr/Bishop England High School

  1. A woman waits outside the Allendale Branch of the Allendale-Jasper-Hampton Regional Library in 1951.

Flickr/South Carolina State Library

  1. Spartanburg, 1959. The Camp LeJune skeet team poses in Spartanburg after a victory.

Flickr/USMC Archives

  1. Stopping for a photo near Beaufort in 1954.

Flickr/Joe Bartolini

  1. This was taken in 1956. The notes attached to this photo place it in Chesterfield, South Carolina.

Flickr/Ryan Johnson

  1. This photo was taken from the top of the ferris wheel at the South Carolina State Fair in Columbia in 1956.

Flickr/Richland Library

  1. In this photo from Parris Island, South Carolina, a drill instructor’s young sons are saluting their father at home.

Flickr?USMC Archives

What do you think about these photos? Do you have a favorite? Tell us in our comments section below or on our Only In South Carolina Facebook page.

Flickr/Joe Bartolini

Flickr/Richland Library

Flickr/Joe Bartolini [edited to remove family name]

Flickr/Chris Warren

Flickr/South Carolina State Library

Flickr/Hunter Desportes

Flickr/Bishop England High School

Flickr/USMC Archives

Flickr/Ryan Johnson

Flickr?USMC Archives

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