These 15 Vintage South Carolina Tourism Ads May Have You Longing For The Good Ol’ Days
Oh, the “Good Ol’ Days….” You remember those, don’t you?
In the good ol’ days folks would travel from all points in the Southeast to vacation in South Carolina. (They still do!) Some would visit the healing springs in hopes of regaining vitality or curing ailments, while still more visited other beautiful places in the mountains and along the coast.
We gathered up some historical tourism advertising that bridges South Carolina’s timeline in the last 100+ years or so. Here are some travel ads from the old days.
Miriam Stevenson from Winnsboro, South Carolina won the Miss Universe title in 1954. She was the first Miss USA contestant to win the title. Here, she endorses romantic and fun places to visit in South Carolina.
Built in 1840 near present day Taylors, SC by Burwell Chick, the Chick Spring Hotel was a bustling and popular place. Image the house of Downton Abbey filled with hundreds of wealthy guests all at once. That's how first-hand accounts of the Chick Springs Hotel in the 1850s sound.
Advertisement is from the Anderson Intelligencer, May 16, 1915.
Advertisement is from the Anderson Intelligencer, May 16, 1915.
This ad promoting the Isle of Palms ran in the Manning Times in August of 1914. Charlestonians began using the Isle of Palms as a vacation spot in the late 1800s. In 1912, James Sottile built a pavillion and an amusement park right on the beach. (Both are shown in the postcard above.) According to this ad, it cost $3.20 for a weekend excursion from Manning to the Isle of Palms.
From Nov. 2, 1916 - an ad promoting "Fair Week" in Southern Carolina.
The fair was hosted in Walterboro and this ad ran in The Bamberg Herald. By automobile today, it's approximately 40 miles from Bamberg to Walterboro.
The fair was hosted in Walterboro and this ad ran in The Bamberg Herald. By automobile today, it's approximately 40 miles from Bamberg to Walterboro.
An advertisement from 1911 promotes the "Popular Excursion" to Columbia.
The ad ran in the Batesburg Advocate. Note the roundtrip fare between Batesburg and Columbia in 1911 was exactly one dollar.
The ad ran in the Batesburg Advocate. Note the roundtrip fare between Batesburg and Columbia in 1911 was exactly one dollar.
Library of Congress/Chronicling History
From Sept. 1, 1866: An ad for the Mills House in Charleston in "The New South" newspaper in Beaufort, SC.
The ad reads: This hotel has been completely refurnished, and offers to the traveller every comfort and convenience. The travelling public are respectfully invited to favor me with a call. No pains will be spared to render them comfortable. - JOSEPH PURCELL, Proprietor.
The ad reads: This hotel has been completely refurnished, and offers to the traveller every comfort and convenience. The travelling public are respectfully invited to favor me with a call. No pains will be spared to render them comfortable. - JOSEPH PURCELL, Proprietor.
The large and luxurious 188-room hotel opened in downtown Greenville in 1925 during the Great Depression.
In its "heyday" Glen Springs in rural Spartanburg County was a playground for affluent people all over the South. They came in droves and basked in the healing properties of the springs. Built in 1834 the luxurious hotel had added private cottages by 1870. Some families would come and stay the entire summer.
This ad ran in 1894 in Sumter's newspaper, Watchman and Southron.
This ad ran in 1894 in Sumter's newspaper, Watchman and Southron.
The hotel at Table Rock opened in 1848 to mixed revues. Some said the bedding was dirty, and others said the proprietor was very accomodating.
From The Pickens Sentinel, Sept 16, 1875.
From The Pickens Sentinel, Sept 16, 1875.
The Table Rock was named by the Native Americans in the area. They believed the great spirits dined on the big flat rock to the right and the smaller rock to the left was the seat for the table.
What era represents the “Good Ol’ Days” for you? We’d love to know, so tell us in our Facebook comments below.
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