The Ruins of South Carolina

South Carolina has always had a strong sense of its history, and not just from monuments, textbooks, and movies. More likely, it’s because so many historic buildings from centuries past simply refuse to crumble.

From the remains of a bygone frontier settlement, to an 18th-century church that survived two attempted burnings, to a cemetery so eerily overgrown that it inspired Edgar Allan Poe, the places on this list all speak to a history underscored by faith, resilience, and, of course, top-notch, battle-tested craftsmanship.

Welcome to South Carolina—it’s all (still) here!