The South Carolina Room will be changing the hours in which they are open starting January 2, 2008.  The new hours are listed below:

The South Carolina Room collection has grown from a small one room collection on Greenville St. to an ever expanding historical, genealogical, and special collection room.  Our growth was made possible by several generous donations:

• Joseph & Jane Harris Major collection by Betty Daniel Robinson
• Peggy Burton Rich collection by Dr. Linville Rich
• Holocaust Collection by Elizabeth Marvin
• Access to HeritageQuest Online
• Access to Ancestrylibrary.com.  Available only inside the Library.

Local History 

Anderson County, along with Pickens and Oconee Counties, was once known as Pendleton District (1790- 1826). Anderson is named for General Robert Anderson, a Revolutionary war hero.  Anderson County has seen many changes over the last 100 years.  There has been a slow shift from an agrarian to an industrial economy.  The advent of railroads brought economic prosperity.  The first textile mill in the county was Pelzer Manufacturing Company (circa 1881).  The city of Anderson became known as "the Electric City" in 1895 with the production of electricity at Portman Shoals which was then transmitted to the city of Anderson.

Research in the South Carolina Room

The South Carolina Room is open for use during regular library hours. The collection is primarily for research. Some materials may be checked out, others may not be checked out. No materials are available for Interlibrary Loan. A copy machine is available in the room as are microfilm Reader/Printers. Copies are 10¢ per page from the copier and 20¢ per page from the microfilm Reader/Printers. The staff is happy to assist patrons to locate materials and make research suggestions, but cannot do genealogical research for patrons.

The staff will respond to postal mail, e-mail, or telephone inquiries that require checking indexes for a specific name (see below for obituary requests). Staff is unable to do research or make extensive numbers of copies. 

• Charges for inquiries are 25¢ per copy plus a $2.00 service charge.  
• Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope with sufficient postage  to cover your request.
• Address requests to South Carolina Room, Anderson County Library, PO Box 4047, Anderson, SC 29622. Make checks payable to Anderson County Library.

Obituary requests

There is a separate policy for requesting copies of obituaries. To obtain copies of obituaries send your request plus $1.25 per obituary and a self-addressed stamped envelope with sufficient postage to cover mailing your request. Send to the address listed above. Due to staffing limitations we will not copy more than ten(10) obituaries per mail request. Please, do not send a second request while you have a pending request. Allow two to three weeks for a reply.

Local Genealogical Researchers

A list of genealogical researchers in our area who perform fee-based research is available upon request. Please, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to the address listed above and the library will mail you a copy of the list.

Some Collection Resources

• South Carolina Death Index, 1915-1949
• R. M. Smith, The Book of the Dead
• Anderson County Cemetery Surveys, Vol. 1-8
• Harper, James, The Anderson Intelligencer, 1882-1900
• South Carolina Death Index, 1950-1953
• Social Security Death Index
• National Obituary Archive
• Anderson Independent-Mail
• US Census Records for Anderson County
• Confederate Historian
• Roster of Confederate Soldiers
• Pre-Civil War Transcripts for South Carolina
• The Official Records of Union and Confederate Armies and Navies - War of the Rebellion
• Deeds 1790 - 1900
• Wills 1790 - 1900
• Newspapers
• The Anderson Intelligencer, 1860-1900
• The Anderson Daily Mail, 1900-1971
• The Anderson Independent, 1929-1981
• The Anderson Independent-Mail, 1982-present

For more information, you may call or e-mail the South Carolina Room at 260-4500 ext. 130 or scroom@andersonlibrary.org.