January 31 - July 31, 2008
Special Collections Main Exhibit Area
Lower Level, Strom Thurmond Institute Building
The story of 4-H in South Carolina is told through photographs, documents and artifacts. 4-H is the youth development program of the Cooperative Extension Service. It is operated by the U. S. Department of Agriculture, state land grant universities and county governments working through federal, state and local Extension staff and volunteer leaders.
For one hundred years, 4-H has responded to the changing needs of society and particularly young people. It has developed from a few projects designed to teach rural youth how to improve their daily lives to a diverse variety of activities which encourage young people from all racial, cultural, social and economic backgrounds to develop life skills to become more competent, coping and contributing members of society.
The history of 4-H in South Carolina begins with the state's first Boys' Corn Club in 1908 and first Girls' Tomato Club in 1910. These and similar groups in other states developed into the national 4-H organization. Hundreds of thousands of South Carolinians have been part of the 4-H family over the past 100 years.
