With Pickens County directly in the path of totality for Monday’s once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse, which blotted out the sun and turned day into night for two and a half minutes, events around the area drew thousands of visitors from around the state and nation. Clemson University officials said around 50,000 people were on hand for its Eclipse Over Clemson event, while Pickens County and Southern Wesleyan University also joined forces for an Eclipse Over Pickens County event that drew a large crowd to the university’s track complex. Easley Mayor Larry Bagwell, top, and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney and wife, Kathleen, left, were among those who donned special viewing glasses to watch the eclipse.

Photos by Carl Ackerman, John Bolton, Rex Brown, Lindsay Cunningham, Pamela Dodson, Rocky Nimmons and Ed Welch