“H” is for Hogs. Pork has been important to the diet and economy of South Carolina since colonial times. Hogs were probably introduced to South Carolina in the sixteenth century by Spanish explorers. Indians acquired some of the animals and English setters purchased swine from the natives in 1670. Settlers also acquired animals from other colonies. By the early 1680s South Carolinians were selling pork to other English colonies. Settlers took hogs with them into the backcountry, and pork in many forms became a cornerstone of the diet. By the late twentieth century, hog farming had become a highly specialized and capital-intensive enterprise. Meanwhile, the economic importance of pork has steadily declined in South Carolina. In the early twenty-first century, the state’s hog population fell below 250,000 head, the smallest since record keeping began in 1867.
“H” is for Hogs
