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League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area records

 Collection
Identifier: Mss 0157

Collection Overview

Records document the operations and activities of the League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area (LWVCA) from its foundation to the present day. Records include administrative and program files, budget files, newsletters, scrapbooks, and a small amount of audiovisual material. The majority of the records are comprised of the organization’s administrative files documenting the operations and activities of the LWVCA as well as its early history and include correspondence, mailings, membership materials, event and forum planning files, board reports and meeting minutes, treasurer reports, publications, and other materials. Program files document the various local, state, and national LWVCA educational initiatives and advocacy programs and include clippings, publications including reports, magazines, and newsletters, convention and conference materials, and publicity materials. Budget files contain analysis sheets detailing general League expenditures and income with associated receipts. Additionally, there are newsletters published from 1948 to 2009, including the League Log and the Voters Voice, as well as scrapbooks containing newspaper clippings documenting LWVCA activities, a photograph album featuring images from various LWVCA events, annual meetings, and conventions, and a small amount of audiovisual materials consisting of audiocassettes and videocassettes.

Additions comprise further administrative files, Board of Director files, topical files, publications, board minutes, and newsletters.

Dates

  • Creation: 1947-2023

Creator

Language of Material

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions

This collection has been minimally processed, but is open for research.

Copyright Notice

The nature of the College of Charleston's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. Special Collections claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

Historical Note

The League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area (LWVCA) was founded in December of 1947 by Estella Fitch Harris and Harriet Simons, the organization’s first president. In 1950, delegates from Charleston, Columbia, and Spartanburg, along with representatives from Greenville and Sumter, established the League of Women Voters of South Carolina (LWVSC), which received official recognition in 1951 and today comprises 12 local Leagues serving communities throughout South Carolina. The LWVCA, a nonpartisan political organization, is dedicated to encouraging informed and active participation in governance and to increasing understanding of significant public policy issues while influencing public policy through education and advocacy efforts. In 2022, the LWVCA celebrated its 75th anniversary.

Full Extent

19.25 linear feet (18 cartons, 2 document boxes, 1 slim document box, 5 scrapbooks, 1 photograph album, 3 audiocassettes, 2 videocassettes, 2 CDs)

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Abstract

Assorted records documenting the operations and activities of the League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area (LWVCA), a nonpartisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government at the local, state, and national levels.

Collection Arrangement

Materials are described at the box level.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Special Collections cannot provide access to audiovisual materials and CDs due to a lack of required hardware.

Acquisitions Information

Materials donated in 2008 by the League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area. Additional materials donated in 2013, 2019, and 2024 by the League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area.

Processing Information

Minimally processed by Josh Minor, April 2025. At the point of acquisition, this collection contained no discernable original order. For preservation purposes, the collection was re-housed by transferring materials into acid-free boxes and rehousing materials into acid-free folders. File order has been maintained as found within each box and folder headings in quotation marks indicate original folder titles. In order to create a preliminary inventory, box titles were created based on the contents contained within each box. This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.

Additions were minimally processed by Josh Minor, April 2025.

Title
Inventory of the League of Women Voters of the Charleston Area Records, 1947-2023
Status
Minimal Record
Author
Minimally processed by: Josh Minor; finding aid created by: Josh Minor
Date
2025
Description rules
Dacs
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Special Collections
College of Charleston Libraries
66 George Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424
(843) 953-8016
(843) 953-6319 (Fax)