This image is the cover for the book African Americans of Lower Richland County, Images of America

African Americans of Lower Richland County, Images of America

Aptly named for the area's rich land, Lower Richland County encompasses approximately 360 miles in the heart of South Carolina's geographic center.


Discovered by Virginia settlers over 250 years ago, this fertile swath of land, with the Wateree River in the east and the Congaree River bordering the south, the area immediately attracted settlers eager to make their fortunes. They became wealthy planters and accumulated large land tracts, creating plantation systems that sustained the economy built on cotton crops and the labor of enslaved Africans. The area became some prosperous that the state legislature voted to move the state capital from Charleston in 1786 to the city that would become Columbia, South Carolina's capital to this day.

Marie Barber Adams, Deborah Scott Brooks

Authors Marie Barber Adams and Deborah Scott Brooks are descendants of Lower Richland residents. Their grandmothers, Mamie Holley Barber and Minnie Holley Neal, respectively, were sisters and were born in Lower Richland shortly after slavery ended. The authors have been fortunate to find and preserve collections of images and documents belonging to their grandparents, parents, and relatives who recognized the value of oral and visual history. Others generously shared photographs to help tell these stories of tribulation, inspiration, and triumph. The authors hope to continually influence others to preserve and share the history of their beloved Lower Richland.

Arcadia Publishing