SOUTH CAROLINA

The first state law to require motor vehicle registration was 1906 Act 55, passed on February 21, 1906.  All owners of machines were to register with the Clerk of Court of their county of residence, pay a one-time fee of $1 and display an owner-provided rear plate with the county name and 3-inch-tall numbers in black on white.  The Clerk issued a numbered registration certificate.  This law continued in effect unchanged through February 1917.  In a situation similar to that of Florida in 1911-17, we have categorized the county plates of this era under the state page since it was a state law that provided for them, despite the fact that it was the counties who issued the registrations.

City registration also began in cities where such ordinances were passed, with Columbia being the earliest known in early 1906.  As the years progressed, and more cities enacted automobile ordinances, the distinction between city and county plates became more blurred.  This blurring was further complicated by the fact that 30 of the 45 counties in existence in the 1906-17 period had county seat cities or towns of the same name.  Finally, after 1913, several counties got state laws passed allowing them to tax motor vehicles annually (and in some cases, issue county plates) because previously, $1 per vehicle was not enough to maintain roads.  Some plates have two names indicating city and county, such as Columbia/Richland and Cherokee/Gaffney.  Are they city plates, county plates, or both?  This is what we hope to find out from studying them.

The state law specified that county plates bear the county name, and that they be black on white.  Any plates with other color combinations, city names, year dates, or abbreviations could automatically be considered to be city or county-issued plates, but instead, we need to take each on a case-by-case basis.  For the sake of uniformity, some city plates were also black on white, such as Clarendon 1916, and at least one porcelain county plate from Richland is white on black but identical to normal plates in all other respects.  Later Richland plates, which are dated and in different color combinations, are city plates even though they have only the county name, or both names.  (However, we note that 1916 motorcycle plates have only the name "COLUMBIA".)  Meanwhile, Greenville plates for 1915 and 1917 were dated and sometimes used different colors, but these are known to be county plates that were used in addition to the state-required county plate.  If you think the situation was confusing then, it's almost impossible to figure out now, 100 years later!

Abbeville (4,459)

An undated leather plate #364AB is known with a vertical "SC" suffix.

Aiken (3,911)

Dated black-on-white porcelain plates are known for 1914 (#335) and 1917 (#1089).

Anderson (9,654)

An undated leather plate #AND 10 is known, although there is also a possibility this plate originated in Anderson, Indiana.  A small oval disc is also known with the legends "CITY OF/ANDERSON, S.C./AUTOMOBILE LICENSE/252/1917".

Charleston (58,833)

An undated leather plate #258 is known with "CHAS" at left.  A c.1915 photo shows an automobile with an undated black-on-white plate #266 with "CHAS." at left, and another photo depicts a similar plate #1105 with "CHAS" above the numbers.  It is believed these are city plates since the name is abbreviated, even though two of them are of the county color scheme.

A flat steel 1916 city plate has been reported.  Nearly 900 registrations were issued by the city in 1916.  A November 26, 1916, news article in The State (Columbia), mentions that "The Columbia Seal & Stamp company has been awarded the annual contract of the city of Charleston for automobile license plates."  Therefore, a 1917 issue probably existed also.

Columbia (26,319)

A news article in The State (Columbia) on March 15, 1906, says that the automobile ordinance, "passed some time ago", goes into effect today.  Automobile owners must register at the City Clerk's office and display a rear plate with 3-inch-tall numbers.  Non-residents are allowed two days in the city before having to comply.  Plate numbers are to start with #1.  Dealers may use the word "dealer" with their number, and physicians, who are exempted from the speed limits of the ordinance, may use the letters "MD" with their number.  Curiously, no fee was mentioned.  An article on April 9, 1906, mentions that 39 automobiles are now registered with the city clerk.

Another article on April 14, 1915, announces the following:  "Tags for the registration of automobiles in Columbia have arrived and can be procured from the city clerk on payment of $1.  Up to April 22 automobile owners may reregister under their present numbers, after that date the numbers will be given out consecutively."

1915 Richland plates do not have the name "COLUMBIA" on them but the unusual color of white on red and the year date strongly suggest that these may have been Columbia city plates.  The design has "RICHLAND" at top, "1915" vertically at left and "S.C." vertically at right.  Numbers from #16 to #1161 are known.

The 1916 and 1917 issues have both names "COLUMBIA" and "RICHLAND", with the 1916 being the more traditional black-on-white scheme and 1917 a close blue on white.  1916 plates are porcelain with numbers #84 to #1457 known, and have "COLUMBIA" at top, "RICHLAND" at bottom, and "SC" over "16" at right.  A 1916 motorcycle plate #23 is known with only the name "COLUMBIA".  1917 plates are flat steel, #29 to #173 being known, with "COLUMBIA" followed by "RICHLAND" at left, both vertically, and "SC" over "17" at right.

A December 18, 1915, article mentions that "City Clerk G. F. Cooper has awarded to the Gibbes Machinery company the contract for supplying the city with automobile license plates needed during next year."  This company manufactured other porcelain plates for various counties including Barnwell, Florence and Richland, so it was a logical choice to produce the 1916 Columbia plates.

According to an article on March 6, 1917, the 1916 city license fee was a flat rate of $1.  For 1917 this was changed to 25c per horsepower.  1,557 city plates were issued in 1916, and 1,041 were issued in 1917 as of March 5, 1917.  Starting on March 1, 1917, half of the fee was to be refunded by the city due to complaints about double taxation.

Gaffney (4,767)

Two undated plates are known, both containing the two names "CHEROKEE" and "GAFFNEY".  They are believed to be county plates since they are black on white and not annually dated.

Greenville (15,741)

Articles in the Greenville News provided updates on city-issued plates here.  On January 2, 1914, it reported that "In accordance with a provision of the supply ordinance for 1914, enacted by city council at a meeting in December, owners of automobiles, who reside within the city limits, must pay a license fee of $2.50 for each and every car owned by them...The city will furnish, upon payment of the license, a metal tag to the owner of the car for which the required license is paid, which tag must be displayed in some conspicuous place on the automobile."  The issue of January 8, 1914, said that "City Clerk G. Frank League said yesterday afternoon that the supply of automobile numbers and licenses badges recently received were being rapidly distributed.  The special number tags are an improvement on the numbers formerly given out, being larger and of clearer print." 

On December 22, 1914, it was announced that "The new tags for automobiles...have arrived and are on sale at the City Clerk's office.  The automobile license sells for $2.50 and will be blue and white in stead of black and white as heretofore employed."  The January 21, 1915, issue said that "Motorcycles are being taxed for the first time this year.  The fee is one dollar, with the tag furnished by the city."  A further report on March 8, 1915, mentioned that "Last year some 500 cars bought tags, while this year only some 300-odd cars have the new numbers attached."  The May 28, 1915, News reported that Greenville had issued 438 city tags so far.  Another article on July 19, 1916, stated that "The city collected license from 499 auto owners during 1915..."  This probably represents city plates issued during the first half of 1915 before the new county plates superceded them in June 1915.

An undated leather plate #GV 986 is believed to be from the city of Greenville.  1915 and 1917 Greenville plates are known, but may have been issued by the county instead of the city, so they are listed on the Pre-state State page.

Spartanburg (17,517)

A news article in The Spartanburg Herald on October 21, 1915, states that the city council is considering "putting a special automobile tax in the license ordinance for the coming year...The plan that will probably be suggested will be somewhat similar to that in effect in the city of Greenville, where every automobile owner is required to purchase from the city a numbered metal plate which is to be displayed on the machine in addition to the county registration number.  Under the Greenville law, the city numbers are placed on the front of the car for the better enforcement of the speed laws."

An undated leather plate #S1428C is known, believed to be a city plate.  Three white-on-blue undated porcelain city plates #152, #190 and #293 are known with "SPARTANBURG" at top and a vertical "SC" suffix.  An interesting 1916 motorcycle plate #2 is also known.  It is vertical, fender-shaped, blue-on-white, with "S.P.T.B.G." over "SC" over "1916" at top.  The unusual punctuation marks function as apostrophes except for the fact that there should be none between the "S" and "P"!