Microfilm Collection

Name:  Farm & Factory (merged with the The Journal)
Dates:  1907—1926
Missing:  1917
Area of coverage:  Seneca

Name:  Keowee Courier (merged with The Journal)
Dates:  1849—April 27, 2016
Missing:  1851—1856; October 1886; 1891—1897; January 1898—March 1898; March 1932; 1933; 4 April 1934; 11 April 11 1934; May 1936—July 1936; August 1936—September 1936
Note:  There are various issues or fragments covering 1891-1893
Print Copies:  January 4, 2012—March 27, 2019 (available to view by appointment only)
Area of coverage:  Walhalla and surrounding area

Name:  Seneca Journal (The Journal)
Dates:  1930—1934 and 1937— November 13, 2015 (1968-Centennial issue only)
Missing:  1935—1936; 1938; 1942—1943; 1945; 1954—1955; 1968
Print Copies:  November 14, 2015—present (available to view by appointment only)
Area of coverage:  Seneca and surrounding area

Name:  Tugaloo Tribune (merged with the The Journal)
Dates:  1915—1952
Missing: No known missing issues
Area of coverage:  Westminster

Name:  Westminster News (merged with The Journal)
Dates:  1965—June 26, 2013
Missing:  1953—November 1965; January—July 1966; 1972—1976; 1978—April 1979; 1987—May 1988; 1990—August 1992; March 1993   
Print Copies:  June 5, 2013—March 27, 2019 (available to view by appointment only)
Area of coverage:  Westminster and surrounding area

Ann Rogers’ Newspaper and Cemetery Indexes:

In the 1970s a local historical society began indexing the Keowee Courier.  This index was later donated to the library.  Ann Rogers expanded this initial index to cover other local newspapers in the area.  Her work created a valuable resource that covers the births, deaths, marriages, marriage licenses, divorces, and anniversaries that appeared in the following newspapers:

Keowee Courier (1849-2011)

Farm and Factory (1907-1926)

Tugaloo Tribune (1915-1952)

Seneca Journal (The Journal) (1930-1934 and 1937-2014)

Westminster News (1965-2013)

Also Mrs. Rogers visited over 250 Oconee County cemeteries and documented tombstone inscriptions into an index.

Helpful Websites

These helpful websites are free.

Chronicling America: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

This is a project of the Library of Congress to digitize American Newspapers from all 50 states.  The collection is keyword searchable with scans of the entire newspaper.  Newspapers of interest to Oconee County are the Keowee Courier, Anderson Intelligencer, Pickens Sentinel, and the People’s Journal.  Due to copyright restrictions at the time of this project the Keowee Courier ends at 1922, but it remained in print till 2019.

Oconee County S.C. Cemeteries:  http://www.cemeteryscgs.scgen.org/37-oconee.html

Paul M. Kankula and Gary L. Flynn, along  with other volunteers, worked to index all the known churches and cemeteries in Oconee County.  When possible, the entries contain an aerial view, road map, photos, and text.  Also this collection does include African-American churches and cemeteries.  This project was done in the early 2000s.  Of particular interest are the burials removed for the construction of Lakes Hartwell and Keowee.

Find A Grave:  http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi

A volunteer-led website that provides access to cemetery locations and information on the burials within the cemetery.  Good to use as a starting point or to overcome a roadblock.

Oconee County GIS:  https://oconeesc.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html

This website by the Oconee County GIS Office provides access to some modern maps of Oconee County.  Of local history interest are the Lake Hartwell and Lake Keowee Project Maps.  These maps depict the areas that would be flooded to create the lakes.  There are also maps depicting the various waterfalls and parks in Oconee County.

Sanborn® Fire Insurance Maps of South Carolina: https://digital.library.sc.edu/collections/sanborn-fire-insurance-maps-of-south-carolina/

This collection provides an image of the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps.  There are maps of  Salem, Seneca, Walhalla, and Westminster.  A good resource on seeing what businesses were located in the downtown area.

South Carolina Digital Library:  https://scmemory.org/

The South Carolina Digital Library provides free access to historic materials from over 40 cultural heritage institutions across the state. Over 200,000 items have been added so far.  Included are some titles that either the Oconee County Public Library owned or obtained copyright permission to digitize.  Some of the books are:

• André Michaux's Journeys in Oconee County, South Carolina, in 1787 and 1788 edited by Margaret Mills Seaborn
• Benjamin Hawkins's journeys through Oconee County, South Carolina, in 1796 and 1797 by Margaret Mills Seaborn
• German Colony Protocol: minutes of the German Colonization Society translated by B.E. Schaeffer (Original German Text is available online at the Oconee History Museum: Why we celebrate—Oktoberfest).
• Oconee Station in Oconee County, South Carolina by Margaret Mills Seaborn
• Travels of William Bartram: annotated in re Oconee County, South Carolina by Margaret Mills Seaborn