The resources in the Historical Society date back to the 19th century, but the history covered by these resources dates back even further. The need to preserve primary source material on the history of the county was one of the catalysts for creating this organization in the early 1960s. Since that time, the Historical Society has collected books, journals, ledgers, manuscripts, pamphlets, magazines, maps, newspapers, personal papers, and photographs.

Many of the resources will be made available online, but due to the fragile nature of some, you may need to visit the Society’s main office to view the full catalog of resources.

You will find a list of all available resources below the descriptions of our main collections.

Available Collections

Henry Bacon McCoy Papers

The McCoy Papers include personal papers from 1912-1988 from contractor and historian Henry Bacon McCoy, a Wilmington, NC native, who first came to Greenville as a U.S. soldier at Camp Sevier in 1917.

After World War I, McCoy returned to the Upstate and became a contractor for the next several decades. His papers include information on controversial topics of Greenville and South Carolina in the 1950s and 1960s. The collection also includes addresses of Woodrow Wilson, who attended college with McKoy’s father, and a copy of the constitution and debate surrounding the League of Nations.

The entire collection consists mainly of correspondences between McCoy and various individuals from Colonel Gillette to the Mayor of Detroit, articles from The Greenville News and papers McCoy himself wrote for the Greenville County Historical Society. McCoy’s book, Greenville SC Facts and Memories is available in our shop.

Laura Smith Ebaugh Papers

Ebaugh was born in 1897, raised in Greenville, and began to teach at Furman University in 1935. This collection spans 18 different categories from the life of the Greenville native. She was one of the founding members of the Greenville County Historical Society in 1962.

The collection of papers covers early articles of the Register of Historical Records in Greenville, SC, and personal correspondence covering a range of interests such as the Alston Home and the Grand Opera of Greenville. While most of the collection is connected to preservation and history, the inventory also contains several papers on race relations and desegregation in the South. It also includes several papers on the internment of Japanese Americans in the 1940’s. The Society has copies of Ebaugh’s book, Bridging the Gap: A Guide To Early Greenville, South Carolina.

Map Collection

More than 20 maps of Greenville and the surrounding area dating back to the 1880s are available for research and purchase at the Society office. Notably, the Society has three hard-bound Sanborn Insurance maps available for research.

Additional Research Materials

The Society has several other research materials available, including photographs, papers, and scrapbooks covering the history of other organizations in the County. These primary source materials are rare, one-of-a-kind copies that require careful attention when using them for research.

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