Dive into the surprisingly understudied history of SC’s forests and their impact on the state’s economy through this compendium edited by Jessica Elfenbein and Mark Kinzer that brings together essays from emerging and established scholars. Wood Basket of the World examines how lumbering, wood-product manufacturing, and forest conservation transformed the state’s sandhills and coastal plain from the late nineteenth century to the present, shaping social, economic, and environmental landscapes today.
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About the Book
Tracing South Carolina’s hidden history of lumber, labor, and forest conservation across two centuries. South Carolina’s forests have long shaped the state’s economy, landscapes, and labor practices, but their history has remained surprisingly understudied. Wood Basket of the World brings together essays that explore how lumbering, wood-product manufacturing, and forest conservation transformed the state’s sandhills and coastal plain from the late nineteenth century to the present. Featuring contributions from both emerging and established scholars, the essays in the volume examine how South Carolina became central to the global timber economy while also serving as a testing ground for labor organizing, environmental reform, and conservation movements. Engaging environmental, economic, and social history, this collection offers new insight into the industries, people, and policies that have shaped South Carolina’s wooded landscapes—and the national conversations they continue to inform.
About the Authors
Jessica Elfenbein
Knowing that history has the power to be a productive tool in community building moved Professor Elfenbein to become an historian and has informed and enriched her work in the fields of American urban and public history. Elfenbein’s career has been a combination of teaching, scholarship, and administration. Her current research has moved into environmental and business history through the multi-faceted Wood Basket of the World project. Previously, she directed “Baltimore ’68: Riots and Rebirth”, which won highest program honors from the National Council on Public History and the American Association of State and Local Historians.
Elfenbein has spent much of her career as an academic leader. From 2019-2025, she served as Chair of USC’s History Department where she had the honor of championing the fascinating work of the University’s incredible faculty and students. Elfenbein also served as Senior Associate Dean of USC’s Graduate School from 2012-2016, an Academic Leadership Development Program Fellow for the Southeastern Conference in 2015-16, and an American Council on Education Fellow in 2009-10.
About Mark Kinzer
Mark Kinzer recently retired from the National Park Service, where he worked as a planner and wilderness program manager for over twenty years. In 2022, he received the Park Service’s national Excellence in Wilderness Stewardship Award. Prior to his career with the Park Service, he was a lawyer in private practice in Atlanta. He is the author of Nature’s Return: An Environmental History of Congaree National Park.
