See local history from a different angle
Civil War and Reconstruction-era Stereoscope Collections Now Available
View over 150 images in the Library’s new stereoscope collection. The images date back to the Civil War and Reconstruction time periods and include historic lowcountry sites and people around town. The images can be enjoyed with or without 3D glasses. The two collections are available for viewing in the Lowcountry Digital Library:
Civil War and Reconstruction Era Stereoscope Photographs of the Port Royal Region
This collection of 106 Civil War period photographic stereopticon cards of the Beaufort area, St. Augustine, Florida, and Charleston are primarily from the Samuel A. Cooley studio. This collection was purchased from New Hampshire based collector, Stephen J. Edwards. There are a number of scenes depicting the homes and life of the freedmen, a rarity. Dr. Stephen Wise, the Parris Island Museum Director verified the authenticity of the images, noted how unusual it was to find an entire collection of local interest together, and introduced the images to the public on 7 December 1997 in a formal library program attended by 100 members of the community. Beaufort County Library Trustee funds and donations from the Friends of the Beaufort County Library and Beaufort County Historical Society secured the purchase of the images in November 1997.
L.A. Hall Collection of Mid-Century Stereoscopic Images
L.A. Hall, Beaufort's postmaster, gave the Beaufort Township Library a collection of 36 stereopticon views of Beaufort taken "right after the War between the States" that he had received "from a friend in the north." Twenty-six of the images were taken in Beaufort by photographer E.W. Sinclair who worked for Samuel A. Cooley, self-described "Photographer, 10th Army Corps" during the Civil War and early Reconstruction periods. According to the Beaufort Times June 21, 1944, "The pictures are most interesting, including those homes which were used as hospitals, the old Magnolia hotel, which is no more, and many of the homes which still exist."
The stereopticon card "Cotton picking at the Yard - St. Helena Island Fall of 1879" was donated by a Mrs. Evans though the date of her donation is unknown.
