Anderson-Oconee-Pickens County SC Historical Roadside Markers

SC Historical Roadside Markers

Horry to Laurens Counties

Compiled by: Paul M. Kankula NN8NN

On April 27, 1791, President George Washington spent the night nearby at the indigo plantation of Jeremiah Vereen. He wrote in his diary that he was “entertained (& very kindly) without being able to make compensation.” The next day Vereen guided Washington across Lewis Swash (now Singleton Swash) and onto the strand at Long Bay (now Myrtle Beach).

Erected by Horry County, 2008, replacing a marker erected by the Horry County Historical Society in 1941

U.S. Hwy. 17, about 1 mi. N of the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge and N of Cedar Creek Cemetery, North Myrtle Beach vicinity

(Front) On Jan. 1, 1740 George Whitefield (1714-1770), Anglican evangelist, stopped at a tavern nearby on his way to Savannah. Whitefield, the most famous revivalist of the Great Awakening in colonial America, wrote in his diary that since it was New Year’s Day and the crowd at the tavern was “dancing country dances,” he believed they “wished I had not come to be their guest.”

(Reverse) Whitefield, who believed dancing was a sin, tried to convince a woman dancing a jig “how well-pleased the devil was with every step she took.” Although she kept dancing and the fiddler kept fiddling, they soon stopped and allowed Whitefield to preach and baptize a child. Once he retired for the night, however, the New Year’s spirit prevailed, and the music and dancing resumed.

Erected by the Horry County Board of Architectural Review and Historic Preservation, 2009, replacing a marker erected by the Horry County Historic Preservation Commission in 1976

U.S. Hwy. 17 near South Carolina-North Carolina state line, Little River vicinity

During the colonial era the Boundary House, on the S.C.-N.C. line 1.3 mi. SE, was both a private residence and "public house." In 1775 Isaac Marion (d. 1781), eldest brother of future partisan leader Gen. Francis Marion, lived there. On May 9, 1775, when Isaac Marion received news of the Battle of Lexington, Mass., he forwarded the dispatch on to the Committee of Safety in Little River.

Erected in 2005 by the Horry County Historic Preservation Commissino, replacing a marker erected by the commission in 1976

Located about 5 miles E. of here, this Confederate fort included a blockhouse pierced for musketry and earthworks surrounded by a ditch about 10 ft. broad and 5 ft. deep. The fort was captured Jan. 1863 by U.S. Navy Lt. Wm. B. Cushing and twenty-five men while looking for blockade-runner pilots. Cushing held the fort briefly until his supply of ammunition was exhausted.

(Front) Robert Conway came to this area from Charleston before 1790. He became a large landholder and public official, serving six terms in the South Carolina General Assembly. He was a veteran of the American Revolution, and in 1806 succeeded Peter Horry as brigadier of the Sixth South Carolina Brigade. Conway died in Georgetown in 1823, at age seventy.

By 1733, Kingston Township had been "marked out" in this area, and by 1737 the town of Kingston was in existence. Since many landowners were nonresidents, the township did not flourish. In 1801, the town was renamed Conwayborough. Robert Conway had acquired large landholdings in the area, and in 1805 he conveyed some 223 acres to the town. In 1883, the town name was changed to Conway.

Erected by City of Conway and Horry County Historic Preservation Commission, 1976

Methodist Bishop Francis Asbury's many visits to Kingston (Conway) between 1785 and 1815 preceded the organization of a Methodist congregation here. Land was obtained in 1842 and the first church building was constructed here in 1844. Still standing are the 1898 gothic-style and the 1910 mission-style buildings. The church was renamed First Methodist in 1958 and the current Georgian sanctuary was completed in 1961.

A Presbyterian congregation existed here in the village of Kingston by 1756. Its meetinghouse was on this site but by 1795 the congregation had apparently disbanded. In 1855 a proposal to reestablish a Presbyterian church in the town was favorably received, and in 1857 an "Association" for that purpose was formed. In 1858 the present house of worship was erected, and Kingston Church was officially organized.

(Front) Originally part of colonial Craven County, Horry County has also been part of Prince George Winyah (1722), Prince Frederick (1734), and All Saints (1767) parishes, which served as early religious and civic jurisdictions. This area, which became part of newly-formed Georgetown District in 1769, was given its present boundaries and named Kingston County in 1785. In 1801, it was renamed Horry District, and, in 1868, Horry County.

A planter of French Huguenot descent, Peter Horry (O-ree) was born in S.C. ca.1747. A lieutenant colonel in the Revolution and later brigadier general in the SC Militia, he represented Prince George Winyah and All Saints parishes in the SC House and Senate. In 1801, Kingston County was renamed Horry District for Peter Horry. He died in 1815 and is buried at Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbia, SC.

Robertville Baptist Church, U.S. Hwy. 321 & S.C. Sec. Rd. 27-26, Robertville, Garnett vicinity

Named for descendents of Huguenot minister Pierre Robert, it was the birthplace of Henry Martyn Robert, author of Robert's Rules of Order, and of Alexander Robert Lawton, Confederate Quartermaster General. The town was burned by Sherman's army in 1865. The present church was built in Gillisonville in 1848 as an Episcopal church, moved here by Black Swamp Baptists in 1871. Erected by The Board of Deacons of Robertville Baptist Church, 1971

U.S. Hwy. 278/S.C. Hwy. 336, just NW of its intersection with S.C. Hwy. 462, about 1.8 mi. E

(Front) During this battle of Nov. 30, 1864, Confederate commander Charles J. Colcock, by ordering that a nearby field of grass be set ablaze, delayed approaching Federal troops and gave the Confederates time to collect additional forces. When the Confederate position could not be taken, Union troops retreated. The site is located about 1 mile north.

(Reverse) On Nov. 30, 1864, Union troops under Brig. Gen. John P. Hatch were marching to Grahamville to cut the nearby Charleston-to-Savannah rail line when they met Col. Charles J. Colcock's smaller Confederate force posted in a redoubt located about 1 mi. N. of here. In the ensuing battle, Union troops were repelled, owing to their lack of ammunition and strong Confederate positions.

Intersection of Purrysburg Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 27-34) & Honey Hill Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 27-203) at Purrysburg Landing on the Savannah River

(Front) In 1730, the British Crown instructed S.C. Governor Robert Johnson to lay out eleven townships to populate and protect the interior of the province. Purrysburg Township, laid out in 1731, stimulated the settlement of this area; but the growth of Savannah caused the town of Purrysburg to be unsuccessful.

(Reverse) By 1732, Swiss Protestants led by entrepreneur Jean Pierre Purry had begun to arrive here, and by August of the next year, 260 Swiss had settled at Purrysburg Township. Each settler was provided with a specific amount of land, tools, livestock, and provisions by the Royal Assembly. Erected by Jasper County Bicentennial Committee, 1980

(Front) This Episcopal church was a chapel of ease in the Parish of St. Luke for a number of years before it became a separate congregation in 1835. It is said that William Heyward gave the church land on which the present building, donated by James Bolan and completed by 1858, is built.

(Reverse) This Episcopal church, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is an outstanding example of Carpenter Gothic church architecture. The wheel window, board and batten sheathing, and buttressed tower are typical features of this style. A pipe organ is located in the gallery where slaves once worshipped.

By 1820, the road to Two Sisters Ferry intersected the Purrysburg road at this spot, which had become known as Hennis Crossroads by 1848. A post office established here in 1880 was given the name Tillman. According to tradition, this was to honor U.S. Congressman George D. Tillman, brother of Benjamin Ryan ("Pitchfork Ben") Tillman, Governor of S.C. from 1890 to 1894.

Shown on the 1820 Beaufort District map by Vignoles and Ravenel, Gillisonville had a free school by 1831, and a post office in 1840. The seat of Beaufort District from 1840 to 1868, Gillisonville was burned by General William T. Sherman's army on its march through South Carolina in early 1865. Erected by Citizens of Gillisonville and Jasper County Bicentennial Committee, 1984

just SW of the intersection of Old House Rd. (U.S. Hwy. 278/S.C. Hwy. 336) & S.C. Hwy. 462,

Member of South Carolina Provincial Congress and Council of Safety and of Continental Congress. Signer of Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation and captain of militia at Battle of Port Royal and Siege of Charleston. Prisoner of war 1780-81. Circuit Court judge 1778-89.

(Front) On October 22, 1862, in running encounters near Coosawhatchie, Frampton's Plantation, and Pocotaligo, Confederate troops successfully defended the Charleston-Savannah railroad and the interior of South Carolina against a Union attack force of 4,448 men from Hilton Head.

Following the capture of Hilton Head, Beaufort, and the nearby sea islands in the fall of 1861, General Robert E. Lee was given command of the coastal military department of South Carolina, Georgia, and East Florida. From his headquarters at Coosawhatchie, about 4 miles SW, he planned the strategy and defenses that successfully contained the enemy until the end of the war.

This woodburning steam locomotive with balloon smoke stack, was built by the H. K. Porter Company about 1910. It was used by Argent Lumber Company, a leading area employer established in 1916, to haul timber from forest to mill. In 1960 the locomotive was donated to the Town of Hardeeville for public display as a logging and lumbering relic of this area.

(Front) This county was established in 1912 from portions of Beaufort and Hampton counties and named, it is said, for Sergeant William Jasper, hero of the American Revolution. The same act establishing the new county also designated Ridgeland (incorporated 1894) as the county seat. Charles E. Perry, John M. Langford, J. H. Woods, J. P. Wise and Rodger Pinckney were first county commissioners.

Land for this courthouse was given to Jasper County in 1912 by Charles E. Perry, a local farmer, lumberman, and merchant. The courthouse was completed in 1915 with William A. Edwards, a native South Carolinian as architect; and C.V. York as contractor. The Georgian Revival style building was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.

(Front) The Euhaw congregation constituted this ecclesiastical group 24 March 1832, naming it Coosawhatchie Baptist Church. The South Carolina Baptist Convention met at the church in December 1845 and unanimously voted to join the recently formed Southern Baptist Convention. In February 1865, General William Tecumseh Sherman's troops visited the church and etched "War of 1861 & 62 & 63 & 64 Feb. (Reverse) 7th 1865 this is done by a Yankee Soldier," on the communion silver. The congregation became Gillisonville Baptist Church 19 November 1885. The 1845 church building, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, is a local interpretation of Greek Revival style of architecture; notable features include the slave gallery and box pews.

(Front) Established on Edisto Island about 1686 by Scotch dissenters, this is the second oldest Baptist organization in the South. For many years a branch of First Baptist Church in Charleston, Euhaw declared itself a separate church in 1745 after relocating to this vicinity from Edisto Island. A sanctuary was built 6 mi. NE

(Reverse) in 1751; it burned in 1857. The first sanctuary on this site was built in 1860. It burned in 1904 and was replaced by this sanctuary in 1906, which is still used for occasional services. The present sanctuary nearby was built in 1982.

S.C. Sec. Rd. 28-58 (Flat Rock Rd.), about 6 mi. N of Camden and 5.6 mi. N of the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 521 & U.S. Hwy. 1

(Front) Near here on August 16, 1780, an American army under General Gates was defeated by British forces commanded by Lord Cornwallis. Major General Baron deKalb was mortally wounded in this battle.

Tarleton's Legion, Twenty-third, Thirty-third and Seventy-first Regiments, Volunteers of Ireland, Royal Artillery, four light infantry companies, Royal North Carolina Militia, volunteer militia, and pioneers.

Armand's Legion, First and Second Maryland Brigades, Delaware Regiment, First Artillery Regiment, Porterfield's Light Infantry, North Carolina Militia, and Virginia Militia.

Erected by The Kershaw County Historical Society, 1974, replacing a marker erected in 1954

Battle of Hobkirk Hill in the Revolutionary War took place on this ridge April 25, 1781. The British Army was commanded by General Lord Rawdon, the Continental Army by General Nathanael Greene.

150 yards to the east is where Gen. Nathanael Greene had the headquarters of the American Army during the Battle of Hobkirk Hill April 25, 1781.

Marker # 1: Monument Square, N. Broad St., across from the Camden Archives & Museum, Camden

This area, first held by Wateree and Catawba Indians, was laid out as Fredericksburg Township in 1733. Here on the Catawba Path the trading town of Pine Tree Hill was settled. In 1769 courts were set up and the town named Camden in honor of Lord Camden, friend of the colonies. During the Revolution, Camden was the center of British activity in this region. It was incorporated in 1791. Erected by Kershaw County Historical Society and the City of Camden, 1958

On this corner stood the gaol, built in 1771 and burned in 1812. During the Revolution the British imprisoned in it many American soldiers and civilians. Among them, after his capture near the Waxhaws, was the boy Andrew Jackson, later seventh President. He is said to have watched the battle of Hobkirk Hill through a hole he cut in the wall of the gaol's second story.

Gen. Edward E. Potter commanding 2700 white and negro Union troops left Georgetown April 5, 1865, to destroy the railroad between Sumter and Camden. Here on April 18, in one of the last engagements of the war, a small force of Confederate regulars and local Home Guard fought a defensive action which delayed their advance for a day.

(Front) The first Baptist Church in this area of Kershaw County was founded in a wooded area on Mecklenburg Road, two miles south of Lynchwood, now the town of Bethune. The church was founded in 1852 by Ellie Copeland and established on land owned by the Copeland family, who deeded most of the 1.68 acre lot in 1895.

(Reverse) Five buildings have been used for worship services: a log and plank church about 1852-1897; a one room white frame building 1897-1951, sold at auction in 1951; a 1 ½ story brick sanctuary, burned in 1953; the John M. Catoe store building; and this sanctuary, educational building and pastorium dedicated on January 30, 1955.

On this site stood the birthplace and boyhood home of Bernard M. Baruch (1870-1965), financier, philanthropist, and advisor to presidents. He was instrumental in establishing the Camden Hospital, which opened in 1913, as a tribute to his father, Dr. Simon Baruch, surgeon in the Confederate Army and later a pioneer in medicine in New York.

About 2.5 miles south is Hanging Rock, where Maj. Davie surprised a British force, Aug. 1, 1780, and killed or wounded most of them. There also, Aug. 6, 1780, Col. Hill, Col. Irwin, and Maj. Davie, all

under Gen. Sumter, successfully attacked the Prince of Wales's American Regiment and detachments of the 63rd and of the 71st Infantries, under Maj. Carden.

Lancaster County Park, S.C. Hwy. 522 just S of intersection of S.C. Hwy. 522 & S.C. Hwy. 9, between Lancaster and Tradesville

Col. Buford's 11th Virginia Regiment and a detachment of Washington's Cavalry, retreating after the fall of Charles Town, were attacked by Col. Tarleton, May 29, 1780, at the site of the monument 955 feet southwest. The American loss was 113 killed, 150 wounded, 53 made prisoners; the British, 5 killed, 14 wounded. In that grave, lie many of Col. Buford's men.

About 3 miles W. is Waxhaw Presbyterian Church, organized 1755, first church in upper South Carolina. President Andrew Jackson, born nearby, was baptized there. His father lies in the churchyard with other early settlers of the Waxhaws and many veterans of various wars, including: Gen. Wm. R. Davie, Maj. Robt. Crawford, Major John Barkley, Col. J. H. Witherspoon, Isaac Donnom.

BIRTHPLACE OF DR. JAMES MARION SIMS
U.S. Hwy. 521, just N of Salem Cemetery, near its intersection with S.C. Sec. Rd. 29-34,

About 1 3/4 miles west of this spot stood the house in which Dr. James Marion Sims was born on January 25, 1818. Father of modern gynecology, Dr. Sims was honored by the American and by European governments for his service to suffering women, empress and slave alike. Dr. Sims died in the city of New York on November 13, 1883.

Erected by Lancaster County, 1949; Sponsored by the Waxhaws Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution

(Front) Built in 1825-1828. Designed by Robert Mills of Charleston, South Carolina, America's first native born, professionally trained architect, State Civil and Military Engineer and designer of the Washington Monument.

in 1792 gave a courthouse site to the people of the region known as Lancaster County (1785-1798), Lancaster District (1798-1868), and Lancaster County since 1868. Three courthouses have occupied the site: a log house (1795-1800), a frame building (1800-1828), and the present structure.

(Front) Lancaster County-built, 1823. This is the "gaol" that Willis W. Alsobrook contracted to build for LANCASTER DISTRICT ". . . agreeable to the plans and specifications signed by Robert Mills. . ." In 1868 Lancaster District became Lancaster County and this structure became the Lancaster County Jail.

Robert Mills of Charleston, South Carolina, Civil and Military Engineer of his state, was America's first native born, professionally-trained architect. He is best known as the designer of the Washington Monument.

(Front) Located on this site, Lancaster Normal and Industrial Institute for black students was incorporated in 1905; M. D. Lee was president and J. G. McIlwain chairman of the board. By 1912, the school was offering both elementary and advanced education to a number of students, many of whom trained for industrial employment or as teachers.

(Reverse) This school, incorporated in 1905, was operated by the General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. By 1908 the campus included the Springs Industrial Building, named in honor of Colonel Leroy Springs (a benefactor of the institute), and the Clinton Young Men's Building, named for African Methodist Episcopal Zion Bishop I. C. Clinton.

Rock Hill Hwy. (S.C. Hwy. 5), 2 mi. W of Charlotte Hwy. (U.S. Hwy. 521), Van Wyck vicinity

On the Catawba Path near here/King Hagler,/Chief of the Catawba Nation/(1750-1763),/was slain on August 30, 1763, by a raiding band of northern Indian braves as he journeyed from the Waxhaws Settlement on Cane Creek to a Catawba town on Twelve Mile Creek.

(Front) Organized in 1825, was the most widely-known of the four schools that occupied this site. Henry Connelly was its first principal. J. Marion Sims who later achieved world fame as a surgeon was one of its pupils. The building of brick was said by Robert Mills to be a fine structure, two stories high.

This land has been dedicated to the cause of education since 1799 when Rev. John Brown, Dr. Samuel C. Dunlap, Wm. Nisbet, John Ingram, and John Montgomery were named trustees for a school, known in 1802 as Lancaster Academy. It grew into Franklin Academy, 1825, the Graded School, 1893, and Central School, 1915.

Seventh President of the United States. Near this site on South Carolina soil, Andrew Jackson was born on March 15, 1767, at the plantation whereon James Crawford lived and where Jackson himself said he was born.

Flat Rock Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 29-15) at its intersection with Hanging Rock Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 29-467), about 2.5 mi. S of Heath Springs

While on his Southern tour, President George Washington spent the night of May 26, 1791, at the James Ingram house, near here. According to Washington's diary, he left Ingram's at four o'clock the next morning and continued his journey northward, traveling eighteen miles before breakfast. Sherman's Army is said to have destroyed the house in 1865.

On the morning of May 27, 1791, President George Washington had breakfast near here at Nathan Barr's Tavern, which was located about a mile and a half north of the present Lancaster Courthouse. According to local tradition, Washington paid for his meal by giving Barr's young daughter half of a Spanish dollar he had cut with his sword.

Rock Hill Hwy. (S.C. Hwy. 5), ¼ mi. W of its intersection with Charlotte Hwy. (U.S. Hwy. 521),

Near this site was the home of Major Robert Crawford, where President George Washington spent his last night in South Carolina on his Southern tour, May 27, 1791. Here Washington was met by a delegation of the Chiefs of the Catawba Nation, who set forth their apprehensions that attempts would be made to deprive them of their land.

Mt. Carmel Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 29-19), just S of its intersection with S.C. Sec. Rd. 29-620,

(Front) According to local tradition, this African Methodist Episcopal Zion Campground was established c.1870. Instrumental in organizing the campground was former slave Isom Caleb Clinton, who was ordained Bishop of the church in 1892. Through the years the campground has flourished; hundreds now participate in the annual ecumenical encampment.

(Reverse) Mt. Carmel A.M.E.Z. Campground was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Frederick A. Clinton (1834-1890), organizer and lifetime trustee of Mt. Carmel, brother of Bishop I. C. Clinton and the first Lancaster County black elected to the S.C. Senate (1870-1877), is buried here.

One of the last refinements in the N.C.-S.C. boundary was marked with a stone inscribed "1813" and located about ½ mile SE of here. This adjustment was made because of uncertainty in location of the Salisbury Road which had served as north-south boundary from the western terminus of the state line, surveyed in 1764, to the Catawba Indian lands of 1763.

This congregation was organized May 5, 1835. Its first minister was James H. Thornwell, who later headed SC College in Columbia. The Gothic Revival building was dedicated 1862 and entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. The congregation, now First Presbyterian Church, moved in 1926 and this building, purchased in 1961 by Dr. Ben F. Emanuel, was presented to the community in 1976.

This late Federal-style house blending elements of the Greek-revival style with Victorian-era modifications was built by local dentist Joseph Lee between 1826 and 1834. Thought to be the oldest residence in the town of Lancaster, Kilburnie was owned by the Crawford family for a number of years and was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The original part of this house was built by Robert W. Gill soon after he purchased the lot in 1828. About thirty years later, it was enlarged by Samuel B. Massey. Local textile manufacturer and banker Col. Leroy Springs remodeled the house 1906-1907. Springs' son Elliott, noted author and World War I flying ace, was born here, 1896. The house became city hall after a 1957 lease-purchase agreement with the city of Lancaster.

Intersection of Charlotte Hwy. (U.S. Hwy. 521) & W. Rebound Rd. (S.C. Hwy. 75), Van Wyck vicinity

Governor of South Carolina from 1828 until 1830, Miller was born near here May 8, 1787, the son of Charles and Margaret White Miller. He served in the US House of Representatives (1822-1828), SC Senate (1822-1828) and US Senate (1831-1833). He died March 8, 1838 in Raymond, Mississippi and is buried there.

(Reverse) After his graduation from South Carolina College in 1808 and his admission to the bar in 1811, Miller practiced law for many years. He was one of South Carolina's foremost leaders of the states' rights movement, which culminated in the ordinance of nullification, 1832. A Diary From Dixie is based upon diaries kept by his daughter, Mary Boykin Chesnut.

Intersection of Flat Rock Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 29-15) and Kershaw Country Club Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 29-13), S of Heath Springs, near the Lancaster County-Kershaw County line

(Front) American forces under Major William R. Davie had captured a British convoy July 21, 1780, and were retreating with prisoners mounted two to the horse when ambushed by British several miles west of here on Beaver Creek. Nearly all the British prisoners were killed or wounded. One American was killed and two were wounded.

Near here on July 21, 1780, an American expedition commanded by Major William R. Davie captured a convoy of provisions, spirits, and clothing destined for British troops at Hanging Rock. Davie withdrew at dusk with the British captives and their horses.

Erected by Flat Rock Chapter, National Society of The Daughters of the American Revolution, 1977

3737 Victory Rd., just S of Old Jefferson Rd. (S.C. Hwy. 265), Midway community, Kershaw vicinity

This church, organized July 4, 1776 by Rev. George Pope, a native of Virginia, held its first meetings in a brush arbor on this site and was known as the Upper Fork of Lynches Creek until it was renamed Flat Creek Baptist Church in 1881. The first permanent sanctuary, a log building, was replaced by a frame sanctuary which burned in 1912; the present sanctuary was built in 1913.

Intersection of S.C. Hwy. 56 & Jefferson Davis Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 29-38), about 2 ½ mi. SW of Joanna

Jefferson Davis/President of the Confederacy/on his flight from Richmond, Va./with his Cabinet and other/high ranking officers/spent the night of April 30, 1865/at the house 1 ½ miles west/then the home of Lafayette Young./Arriving there from Union/Davis left early next morning/for Cokesbury and Abbeville.

Erected by Stephen D. Lee Chapter No. 1066, United Daughters of the Confederacy, Clinton, South Carolina, 1961

Intersection of U.S. Hwy. 221 & Dillard Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 30-149), Waterloo vicinity

About 2 ½ miles southwest, a granite monument stands on the site of Rosemont, birthplace and home of Ann Pamela Cunningham, founder and first regent of the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union. Through her efforts Mount Vernon was purchased by the association in 1858, and Washington's home was restored and maintained for posterity.

Erected by Ann Pamela Cunningham Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1974

The cemetery, located about ½ mile SW, marks the original site of this church, founded Sept. 10, 1836. Buried here is William Blakely, Sr., survivor of Hayes Station Massacre, 1781, who with Samuel Blakely donated the land for the church and cemetery. The congregation moved to Clinton about 1902.

This cemetery marks the original site of Providence Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, founded Sept. 10, 1836. Buried here is William Blakely, Sr., survivor of Hayes Station Massacre, 1781, who with Samuel Blakely donated the land for the church and cemetery. The congregation moved to Clinton about 1902.

Intersection of Young’s Schoolhouse Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 30-399) & Harris Bridge Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 30-263), Youngs community, about 6 mi. N of Gray Court

Here at Young's School in 1915 Dr. Wil Lou Gray (1883-1984) initiated for her native county of Laurens a seven-school program of night education for adults, which led to the adoption of a state-wide system and her national recognition as a tireless and effective opponent of illiteracy.

Erected by Young's Community Association and Laurens County Historical Society, 1984

(Front) Laurens County was one of the six counties created from Ninety-Six District March 12, 1785. The courthouse here, built in 1838 by Dr. John W. Simpson, and remodeled and enlarged in 1858, 1911, 1940, and 1973, was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Three Laurens women, Ann Pamela Cunningham, Dr. Wil Lou Gray, and Dr. Anne A. Young are in the S.C. Hall of Fame.

This historic district, part of a Royal landgrant to John Rodgers in 1774, was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It includes the courthouse square and surrounding commercial buildings and extends north and west into residential areas. In the 1820s Andrew Johnson, 17th president of the U.S., worked as a tailor here. S.C. governors Wm. D. Simpson & Robert A. Cooper were natives of Laurens.

The first recorded meeting of this organization, known as Palmetto Lodge #19, took place Aug. 7, 1794, at the Samuel Saxon home, which stood nearby. Officers present were: Master, Joseph Downs; Deputy Master, Nathaniel McCoy; Senior Warden, Wm. Holiday; Junior Warden, John Wolff; and Secretary, Ezekiel Roland. Still in existence, this is the oldest known masonic lodge in Laurens County; its minutes date from 1794.

In 1792, this local attorney, merchant and Palmetto Lodge member conveyed the present court house land to Laurens County for the sum of two guineas. Saxon also cleared a number of surrounding acres. He served in the S.C. House 1789-91; was elected sheriff of Ninety Six District 1791. His home was located on the south side of present East Main St., about 150 feet east of here.

S.C. Sec. Rd. 30-398, about 2 mi. S of its intersection with S.C. Hwy. 252, W of Laurens

On July 15, 1776, a number of Indians and Tories attacked this frontier fort where area settlers had gathered for protection. Major Jonathan Downs, with a company of men, had arrived the previous evening & helped repulse the attack. This victory gave encouragement to the American cause locally. The site is located about 600 yds. south.

One of the Justices of the Peace to select a courthouse site for Laurens County, Jonathan Downs was a member of the 1st & 2nd Provincial Congresses and served in the South Carolina General Assembly. His Revolutionary War service included the Laurens County battles of Lindley's Fort (1776), where he was commander & Hayes' Station (1781). He died in 1818.

(Front) This church was organized in 1894 by founders Antey Graham, Beney Graham, Samuel Graham, Will Hill, and Ben Wilson, and became a member of the Kingston Lake Association. The first sanctuary, a frame building, was built about 1913 and located near what is now S.C. Hwy. 90; it was later on Burroughs Road.

(Reverse) Rev. Patrick Dewitt, Rev. Solomon Chestnut, Rev. A.T. Graham, and Rev. H.H. Wilson were among the earliest pastors serving True Vine Missionary Baptist Church. In 1943 the old sanctuary was moved to this site by a team of mules. The present brick sanctuary, the second serving this congregation, was built in 1971.

(Front) This church, known as Honey Camp Baptist Church until 1924, was founded in 1807. It is the mother church to several Baptist churches in eastern S.C., including Spring Branch (1830), Pleasant View (1875), Mt. Zion (1887), Mt. Olive (1890), Dogwood (1896), Carolina (1902), and Grassy Bay (1905). It was first located a few miles southwest, near Honey Camp Swamp.

(Reverse) Admitted to the Cape Fear (N.C.) Association in 1822, then to the Waccamaw Association in 1876, this congregation worshipped near Honey Camp Swamp until 1869, when J.H. Derham donated this site. The first sanctuary here, a frame building, was replaced by a larger one in 1886. It burned in 1931 and was replaced by the present brick sanctuary, completed in 1932.
Erected by the Congregation, 2003

(Front) In 1792 Galivants Ferry was named for Richard Gallevan, owner of ferry rights for Elirsee’s Landing on the Little Pee Dee River. The ferry was an important crossing on the road to Conwayborough, the county seat, later renamed Conway. “Evans Store” appears here in Robert Mills’s Atlas of S.C. (1825). In 1869 Joseph William Holliday (1827-1904) opened a general store here.
(Reverse) By 1900 J.W. Holliday was one of the leading tobacco farmers in the region and Galivants Ferry was the center of a large community of tenant farmers who grew tobacco on Holliday’s land. The Galivants Ferry Historic District, including houses, barns, and other agricultural buildings, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

(Front) The Galivants Ferry Stump Meeting, a Democratic Party tradition, has been held here in the spring every two years since 1880. Sponsored by the Holliday family, its origins are associated with Wade Hampton’s 1876 appearance. Hampton, a former Confederate general, was elected governor later that year.

(Reverse) Joseph William Holliday (1827-1904), prominent local merchant and tobacco farmer, invited local Democratic candidates to speak at his store in 1880. The public meeting soon became a statewide event, featuring national candidates as well, and has been carried on my succeeding generations of the Holliday family.

(Front) Socastee is a Native American name referred to as “Sawkastee” in a 1711 land grant to Percival Pawley. A skirmish between small forces of American and British troops occurred near Socastee Creek in 1781. By the 1870s, the Socastee community was a significant center for the production and distribution of naval stores such as turpentine and tar.
(Reverse) This area included a saw mill, turpentine distilleries, cotton gin, grist mill, cooper shop, and general store, and was also a gateway to the coast. The Socastee Historic District, including the S.S. Sarvis House (1881), T.B. Cooper Store (1905), T.B. Cooper House (1908), and the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge (1936), was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

(Front) This church, originating with services held in a brush arbor, was formally organized by 1818. Its first sanctuary, a log building, was built here soon afterwards on land donated by Philip Elkes. The cemetery, dating from the 19^th century, includes the plots of the Clardy, Cooper, Elkes, Hucks, Macklen, Outlaw, Sarvis, Stalvey, and other early church families.

(Reverse) The second sanctuary, a frame building featuring a large portico and square columns, was built in 1875 by W.T. Goldfinch of Conway. Sunday school rooms were added in 1933 and the church was extensively remodeled and enlarged in the 1950s, with work completed in 1957. The present sanctuary was built in 1987.

(Front) St. James Rosenwald School, which stood here from the late 1920s until the early 1970s, was one of several African-American schools in Horry County funded in part by the Julius Rosenwald Foundation. Rev. Smart Small, Sr. (1891-1961), assisted by Eugene Beaty (1889-1958), Dave Carr (1886-1992), Henry Small (1897-1999), and Richard Small, Sr. (1893-1950) led fundraising efforts.

(Reverse) The school, built in 1928 or 1929, was a five-room frame schoolhouse typical of the larger rural schools built by the Rosenwald Foundation between 1917 and 1932. It educated about 150 students a year in grades 1-10, with five or six teachers. St. James Rosenwald School had two principals: Eula G. Owens (d. 1971), succeeded by her husband, Boyd Williams Owens (d. 1981). It closed in 1970 after desegregation.

Erected by the Burgess Organization for the Advancement of Young People, Inc., 2005

ATLANTIC BEACH

(Front) Atlantic Beach, nicknamed "The Black Pearl," was established about 1934 as an oceanfront community for blacks denied access to other area beaches by segregation. Many became year-round residents, but most spent their vacations here. From the 1930s to the 1970s "The Black Pearl" was one of the most popular beach resorts on the East Coast for blacks from Va. to Fla. Its hotels, nightclubs, restaurants, shops, and pavilion were packed every May to September.

(Reverse) George Tyson was the first to develop this area, from 1934 to 1943. In 1943 the Atlantic Beach Co. – J.W. Seabrook, R.K. Gordon, and P.C. Kelly III – bought the tracts and continued to develop them. As other area beaches began desegregating in the 1970s the beach saw fewer visitors. The town of Atlantic Beach, chartered in 1966 with Emery Gore and Millard Rucker as its first two mayors, is one of a few black-owned and governed oceanfront communities in the United States.

(Front) Myrtle Beach Colored School stood here from the early 1930s to 2001. The first public school for African-American students in Myrtle Beach, it was a six-room frame building similar to the schools funded in part by the Julius Rosenwald Foundation 1917-1932. The school opened as early as 1932, with three teachers and 113 students in grades 1-7 for a four-month academic year from October to February.

(Reverse) During the 1930s and 1940s the school’s academic year expanded to eight months, with as many as six teachers and 186 students in grades 1-7 before World War II. It added grades 8-12 after 1945 and reached a peak of eight teachers and 241 students in its last year. The school, replaced by Carver Training School in 1953, was torn down in 2001 but was reconstructed nearby at Dunbar St. and Mr. Joe White Ave. in 2006.

Erected by the City of Myrtle Beach and the Myrtle Beach Colored School Committee, 2006

at the intersection of Main St. & Ocean Blvd. at the Ocean Drive Pavilion, North Myrtle Beach

(Front) The Roberts Pavilion, built in 1936 by William Roberts, was an early open-air oceanfront pavilion on the Grand Strand. The rhythm & blues of the post-World War II era—-later called beach music--was played on jukeboxes here and at other popular pavilions on the beach. At these pavilions dancers perfected the Shag, named the state dance in 1984. Beach music was named the state popular music in 2001.

Roberts Pavilion was one of several local pavilions destroyed by Hurricane Hazel on October 15, 1954. Ocean Drive Pavilion was built here 1955-57 with salvaged timbers and the same foundation. This area is still called Ocean Drive or “O.D.” although it was consolidated into North Myrtle Beach in 1968. O.D. is home to the Shaggers’ Hall of Fame, and the pavilion hosts shag events from April to November.

MYRTLE BEACH ARMY AIR FIELD
U.S. Hwy. 17 & U.S. Hwy. 17 Bypass, Myrtle Beach

(Front) Myrtle Beach Army Air Field operated here 1940-47 and grew out of city plans to expand the municipal airport from two grass landing strips to a more permanent facility. In 1940-41 the U.S. Army Air Corps trained civilian pilots for the Civil Air Service; the War Department acquired the airport in late 1941. Observation squadrons, an aviation squadron, and a fighter squadron trained here during World War II.
(Reverse)

MYRTLE BEACH AIR FORCE BASE
Deactivated in 1947, the field became a municipal airport again but was donated by the city to the U.S. Air Force as an active air base in 1954. The 354th Fighter Day Wing/Tactical Fighter Wing, based here 1956-1993, deployed squadrons in Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, with major service in Lebanon, Germany, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf. The base closed in 1993.

Erected by the Myrtle Beach Air Base Redevelopment Authority and the City of Myrtle Beach, 2008

(Front) Loris Training School, which stood here from 1928 to 1955, was the first school for black students in Loris and other nearby communities. Built at a cost of $4,700, it was one of more than 5000 schools in the South funded in part by the Julius Rosenwald Foundation between 1917 and 1932. William P. Johnson, Sr. (1910-2007), the first principal once it became a public school, led Loris Training School 1931-1941.

The Loris Training School opened in 1928 with grades 1-7 and a six-month term, but William P. Johnson eventually won approval for a nine-month term and for adding grades 8-11. George C. Cooper (1915-1991) was principal here from 1941 until the school closed in 1955. Its students were transferred to the Finklea Consolidated High School, with Cooper as principal there until it closed with desegregation in 1970.

SONNY’S PAVILION
intersection of N. Ocean Blvd. & Sea Mountain Hwy., Cherry Grove, North Myrtle Beach

(Front) Sonny’s Pavilion, built in 1949 by N.F. “Sonny” Nixon, was an open-air pavilion on the Grand Strand. The rhythm & blues of the post-World War II era—later called beach music—was played on jukeboxes at area pavilions where dancers perfected the Shag, named the state dance in 1984. Beach music was named the state popular music in 2001. Nixon bought a small gazebo here and added a jukebox in 1947, then built a large pavilion here in 1949.
(Reverse) Ocean Drive had a strict midnight curfew for its clubs, but Cherry Grove did not, and Sonny’s became a favorite of late-night shaggers from midnight to dawn. Sonny’s was one of several area pavilions destroyed by Hurricane Hazel in 1954, but Nixon rebuilt it the next year. It remained popular with shaggers and other fans of beach music until it became a family arcade in the 1970s. Sonny’s was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

(Front) A succession of four beach pavilions stood here or nearby from 1902 to 2006, all built by the Burroughs & Chapin Co. or the Myrtle Beach Farms Co. The first, built in 1902, was a simple

oceanfront shelter. The second, built in 1907, was a frame building 1 1/2 blocks from the beach. The third pavilion, a two-story frame building, was built here in 1923. An amusement park added in the 1930s grew to more than 11 acres.

The 1923 pavilion burned in 1944 and was replaced by a two-story concrete pavilion in 1949. Dancing at these and other pavilions evolved into the Shag, named the state dance in 1984. The 1949 pavilion’s “Magic Attic” hosted bands and other acts; its jukebox, on the promenade’s dance floor, played the rhythm & blues of the post-World War II era, later called Beach Music. The pavilion closed and was demolished in 2006.

COASTAL CAROLINA UNIVERSITY
at the Edward M. Singleton Building, Coastal Carolina University, Conway

(Front) Coastal Carolina University was founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, holding evening classes in Conway High School 1954-1963. Its first enrollment numbered 53 students. Originally sponsored by the College of Charleston 1954-1958, the junior college became a branch of the University of S.C. in 1960.
(Reverse) Coastal Carolina Junior College moved here in 1963 on the completion of its first building, later named for Edward M. Singleton, chancellor 1963-1983. As Coastal Carolina College, it began offering four-year degrees in 1974. In 1993 Coastal Carolina University became an independent state university.
Erected by Coastal Carolina University, 2009

Conway High School was located here from 1929 to 1979. A two-story brick Classical Revival building, its cornerstone was laid in 1928 and the building was completed in 1929. Classes began that fall. Coastal Carolina Junior College (now Coastal Carolina University), founded in 1954, held evening classes in Conway High School from 1954 to 1963. The Conway High Class of 1979 was the last to graduate from the 1929 building, which was demolished in 1988.

(Front) This school, built in 1953, was one of many African-American schools built by the equalization program of Gov. James F. Byrnes, intended to preserve school segregation by building new schools for black children. Students in grades 1-7, who had previously attended the Allen, Cool Springs, Pleasant Hill, and Union Chapel schools, began the 1953-54 school year here. The last graduating class was the Class of 1969.
(Reverse) This school became the Aynor Elementary School Annex in 1973; it closed in 1997. It was named for Nellie Burke Levister (1884-1968), the first Jeanes teacher in Horry County, who held that post from 1922 until 1958. The Jeanes Fund, established in 1908, was also called the Negro Rural School Fund. Its supervising teachers were consultants for the rural teachers and schools in their counties.

(Front) Whittemore School, one of the first African-American schools in Horry County, educated elementary and high school students on this site from 1936 to 1970. Founded in 1870, it was named for Benjamin F. Whittemore (1824-1894), former Union Army chaplain, Freedmen’s Bureau educator 1865-67, and later a state senator and U.S. Congressman. The first school was just E on Race Path Ave. After it burned, classes moved to the Conwayborough Academy on 5th Ave.
(Reverse)

A new Whittemore Training School was built at Race Path Ave. and Thompson St. in 1911, with students in grades 1-9 until 1929, 1-10 until 1933, and 1-11 afterwards. A new school built here in 1936 burned in 1944 and occupied temporary buildings until separate new elementary and high schools were completed in 1954. Grade 12 was added in 1949. The schools closed when Horry County schools desegregated in 1970.

CHESTNUT CONSOLIDATED SCHOOL
at North Myrtle Beach Middle School, 11240 Hwy. 90, Little River

(Front) Chestnut Consolidated School, which was located here 1954-1970, was built under the equalization program of Gov. James F. Byrnes, intended to preserve segregation by building new schools for blacks. Named to honor Horry County educator J.T. Chestnut (1885-1967), it educated African-American students in grades 1-12.
(Reverse)

This school, consolidating schools in several northeastern Horry County communities, was a one-story brick building with two wings. After county schools desegregated in 1970, it became North Myrtle Beach High School and was later North Myrtle Beach Middle School. The 1954 building was demolished in 1995.

Jasper County

GREAT SWAMP BAPTIST CHURCH
Intersection of S.C. Sec. Rd. 27-22 and S.C. Sec. Rd. 27-39, Ridgeland

(Front) This church, organized October 12, 1845, was the result of a clash in doctrines at nearby Sardis Baptist Church. Some in the congregation favored the primitive Baptist movement, but others, including Rev. John N. Youmans, favored a ministry based on missions. Seventeen members then left Sardis to form a new, more missionary church, with Rev. Youmans as their minister.

(Reverse) A brush arbor served as the first meeting place until a small one room frame sanctuary was built. A larger sanctuary was completed in 1909, and Sunday school rooms were added in 1925. Baptisms took place at "Old Dam" on the nearby stream until the 1950s. Great Swamp Baptist Church called its first full-time minister in 1956. Church membership in 1998 exceeds 600.

(Front) This church, organized on January 6, 1872 with Rev. M.H. Shuman as its first minister, held services in members' homes until a sanctuary was built on this site between 1876 and 1881. A second sanctuary, built in 1906, served the congregation until a new sanctuary was built .4 mi. N. in 1995. Revs. J.J. Nix (1900-1929) and Frank Fisher (1945-1966) were the longest-serving ministers here.

(Reverse) Charter members of Pine Level Baptist Church were Mary Cleland, Rebecca Dewitt, Oscar Ellis, J.J. Gooding, Deborah Gooding, Rosa C. Grimes, Rachel Mew, Mary Phillips, Alexander Smith, Cecelia R. Smith, Deliah W. Smith, George H. Smith, James R. Smith, Lucretia Smith, Mary Smith, Harriet Tindal, W.F. Wheeler, and Sarah J. Wheeler.
Erected by Members and Friends of Pine Level Baptist Church, 1998

(Front) This church, formally established in 1883 as Savin Grove Baptist Church, had its origins in a congregation active before the Civil War just south of present-day Tillman. When Revs. J.F. Morrall and Jonas Trowell reestablished the church it took the old name of Savin Grove. Rev. W.H. Dowling served as its first minister and Rev. J.M. Bostick as its second minister.

(Reverse) This church moved to Tillman in 1897 after the congregation acquired property for a new sanctuary; work began that year and was completed in 1901. Renamed Edon Baptist Church (also spelled Eden), it was known by that name until the 1930s, when it was renamed Tillman Baptist Church. The congregation has been a member of the Savannah River Assn. of Baptist Churches since 1883.

(Front) This summer village, established about 1800 by the rice planters of St. Luke's Parish, was a thriving settlement in what was Beaufort District until the creation of Jasper County in 1912. Named for Capt. John Graham (1784-1833), its prominent residents included members of the Bull, Fripp, Glover, Hasell, Hazzard, Heyward, Jenkins, Screven, and Seabrook families, among others.
(Reverse) The village boasted several stores, three churches, a post office, a tavern, and the Grahamville Academy. When the Charleston & Savannah RR was constructed in 1860, villagers objected to locating a station here so one was built 1 mi. W and Ridgeland grew around it. Grahamville was burned by Union troops in 1864, and Holy Trinity Church is all that survives of the old village.

(Front) This church was organized February 28, 1892, by Revs. W.H. Dowling and J.T. Morrison with nine charter members. It was admitted to the Savannah River Baptist Association with Rev. Dowling as its first minister. The congregation held services in the Masonic hall until 1894, when it built its first sanctuary, a frame building, on Main St. in Ridgeland.
(Reverse) Ridgeland Baptist Church, originally on Main St. in Ridgeland, moved to a brick sanctuary on the corner of Third Ave. and U.S. Hwy. 17 in 1925. A third sanctuary, built there in 1950, was enlarged and remodeled in 1963 and 1992. The church and all buildings except the fellowship hall burned in 1995. The congregation then moved to this site, dedicating this new sanctuary in 1998.
Erected by the Congregation, 2001

(Front) Coosawhatchie, dating to the 1740s, was named for the Coosaw tribe. At first it was little more than a store and inn built on the King's Highway by Henry DeSaussure, a Huguenot settler from Purrysburg. By the 1760s, it was a regional trading post and crossroads. During the Revolution British troops burned most of the buildings and the nearby bridge in a 1779 raid.

(Reverse) Coosawhatchie served as the capital of Beaufort District from 1789 to 1836, when a new courthouse was built in Gillisonville. In 1861-62 Gen. Robert E. Lee, commanding the Confederate Dept. of S.C. and Ga., had his headquarters here. In 1864, during the last months of the Civil War, several skirmishes were fought nearby. This has been a village of farmers and merchants ever since.

Frampton House, Lowcountry & Resort Islands Visitors Center, I-95 Exit 33 and U.S. Hwy. 17,

(Front) Remnants of a large earthwork originally more than 100 yards long are still visible south, west, and northwest of the Frampton House. This battery, constructed in 1861-62 by Confederate troops in the Department of S.C. and Ga., was part of an extensive system of lines intended to defend the Charleston & Savannah Railroad, a vital route through the Lowcountry.

This was the site of “The Hill” Plantation, owned by John Edward Frampton (1810-1896), cotton planter, state senator 1842-45, and delegate from Prince William Parish to the Secession Convention. The main houses here and at Frampton’s other plantations in what was then Beaufort District were burned by Federal troops in early 1865. This house was built in 1868.

This church was founded in 1870 with Rev. Plenty Pinckney as its first minister and worshipped in a “bush tent” nearby until a log church was built a few years later. A new frame church was built on this site in the 1890s during the pastorate of Rev. C.L. Lawton. The present sanctuary was built in 1960 during the tenure of Rev. R.M. Youmans, who served here for more than 35 years.

(Front) This church was organized in 1870 by Revs. John D. Nix, W.H. Shuman, and Jonas Trowell. F.J. Bryan and A.W. Crosby were its first deacons; Rev. Trowell became its first minister. This sanctuary, dedicated in 1871, was built on land later donated by John D. Rivers. The congregation, which grew to as many as 66 members by 1913, held services the second Sunday of each month.
(Reverse) Oak Grove, long affiliated with the Savannah River Baptist Association, saw its membership decline over the years and eventually discontinued regular services in 1942. In 1989 descendants of charter members and other former members began restoring the original frame sanctuary. Oak Grove Baptist Church was formally reorganized and resumed services once more in 2000.

Erected by the Congregation in Memory of George and Elise Malphrus Roberts, 2003

(Front) The Battle of Pocotaligo, the largest action of a three-day expedition intended to disrupt the Charleston & Savannah Railroad, took place nearby on October 22, 1862. With 2000 Confederates under Col. W.S. Walker defending the area between Charleston and Savannah, 4500 Federals under Brig. Gens. J.M. Brannan and A.M. Terry landed at Mackays Point, seven miles south.

(Reverse) The Confederates, with only 475 men in the immediate vicinity when the day began, delayed the Federals in engagements at Caston’s Plantation and Frampton’s Plantation until 200 reinforcements arrived by train. Most of the fighting centered around Pocotaligo Bridge, and by dusk the Federals withdrew toward Port Royal having done only minimal damage to the Charleston & Savannah Railroad.

(Front) This church, organized in 1890, is the oldest in Ridgeland, with its origins in several area Methodist congregations before the Civil War. When Julius G. Sipple of Grahamville encouraged Methodists in Ridgeland to organize a separate congregation, Rev. J.R. Buchanan led the formal organization of the new church. Its first sanctuary, a frame building, was built nearby in 1891.

(Reverse) In 1927 the Gillisonville Methodist Church, organized in 1886, merged with St. Paul’s. This sanctuary, across the street from the original church site, was built in 1949 as a gift from Mr. and Mrs. William J. Ellis and was renovated in 1990. Six members of St. Paul’s later became Methodist ministers: Revs. Robert Drew, Leroy Dyches, Elton Hendricks, Carolyn Malphrus, James Thompson, and Robert Way.

(Front) Ridgeland, named for its location on the ridge between Charleston and Savannah, has been the seat of Jasper County since the county was created in 1912. It was first named Gopher Hill and grew up around a depot built on the Charleston & Savannah RR in 1860. The tracks were the boundary line between Beaufort and Hampton counties, and Ridgeland belonged to two counties until 1912.

(Reverse) Chartered and incorporated in 1894, Ridgeland had a population of about 500 when it became the new seat of Jasper County in 1912. The Georgian Revival courthouse was designed by William Augustus Edwards and built in 1915. U.S. Hwy. 17, constructed through Ridgeland in the 1920s, has long brought many visitors through the town on their trips to and through the lowcountry.

(Front) This school, built in 1927 and rebuilt in 1931, was one of many constructed in the late 1920s, as small rural one- or two-room schools were consolidated into elementary or high schools in towns and cities. Built on land donated by Robert L. Robinson, it included grades 1-11 until grade 12 was added in 1948-49.
(Reverse) This school, designed by Columbia architect James Hagood Sams (1872-1935), was burned by an arsonist in 1929. It was rebuilt according to Sams’s plans in 1931, at a cost of $14,000. The Grays Consolidated High School closed in the early 1970s. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

Erected by the Grays School Preservation Committee, Alumni, and Friends of the School, 2008

Kershaw County

(Front) Midway School, established on this site in 1923 with grades 1-11, served Cassatt and other rural areas in Kershaw County near U.S. Hwy. 1 from Little Lynches River to the Shepard community. The high school later added grade 12, then closed in 1966, after forty-three years of service to the area. Midway Elementary School continues to operate at this site.

(Reverse) The original Midway School building, constructed in 1923, was demolished in 1976 to make way for a new building at Midway Elementary; only its cornerstone survives. A separate gymnasium, built after World War II, still stands.

Cleveland School Rd., just S of I-20, Camden vicinity
This farm was the boyhood home of John Carl West (b. 1922), governor of South Carolina 1971-75. West, a graduate of the Citadel and the University of S.C., served as an intelligence officer in World War II, as state senator 1955-66, and as lieutenant governor 1967-71 before his term as governor. He was later U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia 1977-81.

(Front) Mather Academy was founded in 1887 by the New England Southern Conference of the Women's Home Missionary Society of the Methodist Church. It succeeded a freedmen's school opened during Reconstruction by Sarah Babcock, who returned to Massachusetts, married Rev. James Mather, and became the corresponding secretary of the Southern Conference when it organized in 1883. The Methodists opened a "Model Home and Industrial School" on this site in 1887.

(Reverse) Mather Academy educated girls, and later boys, in grades 1-11 until grade 12 was added in 1928. The Southern Assn. of Secondary Schools and Colleges gave it an "A" rating in 1937. A new main building, library, chapel, dormitories, and gym were all built between 1900 and 1964. In 1959 Mather merged with the Boylan-Haven School of Jacksonville, Fla., to become Boylan-Haven-Mather Academy. It closed here in 1983; the last building was demolished in 1995.

(Front) This crossroads, long owned by the West family, is the junction of the Georgetown and Porter Bridge Roads, both of which appear on Robert Mills's 1825 Atlas of S.C. In early 1865 opposing forces camped nearby as Gen. M.C. Butler's Confederates attempted to slow the advance of Gen. W.T. Sherman's Federals toward N.C., and fought a brief skirmish here on February 25th.

The boyhood home of Donald H. Holland (b. 1928), Kershaw County lawyer and legislator, once stood 300 yds. E. Holland, a graduate of the University of South Carolina law school, served as a state representative 1951-54 and 1957-64, as a state highway commissioner 1964-68, and as a state senator 1969-present, serving as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee 1995-present.

(Front) This store, constructed in 1891 on what was then the corner of 6th Avenue (now Broad Street) and DeKalb Streets, was the second home of E.H. Dibble and Brothers Grocery, which sold "general merchandise" as well as "heavy and fancy groceries" and operated in downtown Camden for more than fifty years. "The family is known all over the state," historian Asa Gordon wrote in 1929, "and its achievement in the mercantile business is of historic importance."

Eugene Heriot Dibble (1855-1934), prominent Camden merchant, was the son of Andrew H. and Ellie Naudin Dibble. He also served in the S.C. House 1876-78. The first Dibble store in Camden, founded by Eugene's brothers John Moreau Dibble (1848-1877), was on lower Main Street; after his death Ellie Naudin Dibble and her sons operated it. After E.H. Dibble's death in 1934 an obituary recalled, "he always lent his influence for the good of the community."

WARRENTON MUSTER GROUND

S.C. Hwy. 522, about .02 mi. S of the Lancaster County-Kershaw County line, between Stoneboro and Liberty Hill

(Front) The Warrenton Muster Ground, originally known as Gardner's Old Field, was a nineteenth and early-twentieth century meeting place for local militia companies. The area was named Warrenton after thirty families from Warrenton, N.C. settled here shortly after the American Revolution. The Beaver Creek Militia and Liberty Hill Rifles met here for many years.

(Reverse) The Beaver Creek Militia, made up of men from southern Lancaster and northern Kershaw counties, met here between the Revolution and the Civil War. The Liberty Hill Rifles, made up of men from the same area and Fairfield County as well, met here between the Civil War and about 1910. Both companies mustered for inspections, drills, mock battles, picnics, and political speeches.

PEAY'S FERRY
S.C. Hwy. 97 near its intersection with Peay’s Ferry Rd., Liberty Hill

(Front) A ferry was operated on the Wateree Point, at a point about 4 mi. W, as early as 1775. In 1808 ferry rights were granted to Thomas Starke, Jr. and Austin Ford Peay (d. 1841), planters with property in Fairfield and Kershaw Districts. Peay received ferry rights for another 7 years in 1825. Peay served in the S.C. House between 1812 and 1831 and in the S.C. Senate between 1832 and 1839.
(Reverse)

The road from the Wateree River E to Liberty Hill was known as Peay's Ferry Road by 1820. In 1865, elements of Gen. W.T. Sherman's Federal army crossed the ferry on their way to Camden and Cheraw. In 1919, when the Wateree Power Co. completed a dam across the Wateree River, the ferry site and most of the road were flooded. This is the only extant portion of the old road.

(Front) In 1760 Joseph Tiller received a grant for 100 acres on Lynches River, including this crossroads. James Tiller operated a ferry across the river 1 mi. N before 1806. He operated a toll bridge near the ferry, on the Stagecoach or Camden Road, beginning in 1830. A post office opened at Tiller’s Ferry in 1838, with James Tiller as its first postmaster; it closed in 1903.
(Reverse) In 1865, as Gen. W.T. Sherman’s Federal army advanced NE, Gen. John A. Logan’s XV Corps found its way blocked by a flooded Lynches River. Logan camped and foraged nearby February 25-March 2 before crossing into Darlington County. A skirmish on the other side of the river on February 26 cost Logan’s infantry and Gen. M.C. Butler’s Confederate cavalry a few minor casualties each.
Erected by the Kershaw County Historical Society, 2011

(Front) In the 1798 city plan, this five-acre park was laid out as a public square. In 1900 the Seaboard Air Line Railway built a passenger depot next to it, on the SW corner of Chesnut & Gordon Sts. The city beautified the square to welcome visitors and named it Seaboard Park. After the depot moved in 1937, the area near it was named Seaboard Park. The present name, first given to an African-American suburb absorbed into Kirkwood, honors Rev. Monroe Boykin.

(Reverse) Rev. Monroe Boykin (d. 1904), born into slavery, became a community leader after the Civil War. After emancipation he was given two tracts of land nearby by the heirs of his former owner. In 1866 Boykin and other freedmen withdrew from Camden (First) Baptist Church to form Mount Moriah Baptist Church on Broad St. Boykin, its first pastor, served there for 34 years. He helped found many churches in Kershaw, Clarendon, Sumter, and Lancaster Counties.

Lancaster County

4721 Great Falls Hwy., Lancaster vicinity
(Front) This church, organized in 1798 by Bishop Francis Asbury, held its first services in a log meeting house. On July 10, 1798, Middleton McDonald donated the meeting house and ten acres to church trustees Gideon Glaze, John Graham, George Hicklin, Thomas Howze, and William Marlowe.
(Reverse) Rev. William Capers was one of the first and most renowned ministers of Camp Creek. In 1809 he was assigned to the Wateree Circuit, including this and 23 other churches. This sanctuary, the third here, was built of hand-hewn timbers about 1834-35. It was moved about 140 feet closer to the road and renovated in 1952.

(Front) More than 300 members of Lancaster's black community are buried here, with the first grave dating to 1864. Originally the Clinton family cemetery, it was donated to Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church in 1960 by Dr. John J. Clinton (1889-1974). Prominent citizens buried here include clergymen, educators, businessmen, and politicians, and many veterans of American wars from World War I through Vietnam.
(Reverse)

This cemetery is named for Isom Caleb Clinton (1830-1904), buried here with his family. Born a slave, Clinton organized Mt. Carmel A.M.E. Zion Church in 1866 and served as an elder for many years until he became a bishop in the A.M.E. Zion Church in 1892. He also founded one of the first black public schools in Lancaster County and served as county treasurer both during and after Reconstruction. An obituary called Clinton's influence "manifest in this community and throughout the county."

Intersection of N. Hampton St. (U.S. Hwy. 521) and E. Hilton St. (U.S. Hwy. 601), Kershaw

(Front) Kershaw, originally Welsh’s Station, was founded in 1888 when Capt. James V. Welsh (1845-1906) persuaded the Charleston, Cincinnati, & Chicago Railroad to build a depot halfway between Camden and Lancaster, on what was then the county line between Kershaw and Lancaster Counties. The town was incorporated later that year and renamed in honor of Maj. Gen. Joseph B. Kershaw (1822-1894), prominent Confederate general and state senator from Camden.

(Reverse) Kershaw, with a population of 500 by 1890, grew even more dramatically after an 1897 fire which destroyed most of the downtown. By 1900 a guide to Lancaster County called it “a pretty and prosperous town of about fifteen hundred inhabitants.” Among the most significant early businesses here were the Kershaw Oil Mill (1902) and the Kershaw Cotton Mill (1912). The Benton Hotel on S. Cleveland St. was well known and frequently hosted tourists visiting the nearby Haile Gold Mine.

Erected by the King Alfred Garden Club and the Kershaw Centennial Commission, 2002

This building, originally just south of Kershaw on what is now U.S. Hwy. 521, was built in 1900 for Capt. James V. Welsh (1845-1906) as the office for J.V. Welsh & Sons, a lumber mill. It later housed Kershaw’s first circulating library, founded by the McDowell Music Club, from its creation in 1934 until a new library was built in 1949. The building, moved to this site in 2001, serves as the office for the Stevens Foundation.

(Front) Welsh’s Station, a depot on the Charleston, Cincinnati, & Chicago Railroad built in 1888, stood at or near this site. The town of Kershaw was first named for Capt. James V. Welsh, who donated 63 acres on which to establish a town and promised the railroad title to every other lot laid out in it. When it was incorporated in 1888 the town limits of Kershaw extended one-half mile in every direction from the depot.
(Reverse)

This depot, built in 1926 by the Southern Railway, replaced a late 19^th-early 20^th century passenger and freight depot/cotton platform which burned that year. It is typical of 20^th-century depots built throughout the Southeast. Primarily a passenger station, it also handled cotton and textile products from nearby farms and textile or cotton oil mills. The Kershaw Depot was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

(Front) Lancaster, founded in 1798, was first called Lancaster Court House and later known as Lancasterville. The seat of Lancaster District from 1800 to 1868, it has been the seat of Lancaster County since then. The town and county were named for Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the home of the Scots-Irish families who moved to this part of the South Carolina backcountry by the 1750s. Lancaster was the only incorporated town in the county until after the Civil War.

(Reverse) The town grew rapidly as upcountry cotton production increased between 1800 and 1830, but grew more slowly for the next fifty years. Lancaster, revitalized by the arrival of the railroad in the 1880s and the rise of the textile industry in the 1890s, was described as “delightful and flourishing” in 1900. The Lancaster Downtown Historic District, a collection of significant public and commercial buildings, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

(Front) In 1827 Benjamin Haile (1768-1842) found gold here while panning in the streams on his plantation. After he found gold ore as well, Haile set up a mining operation. By 1837 the Haile Gold Mine included a 5-stamp mill, with steel stamps or pestles that crushed ore into dust from which gold was extracted. Haile leased small plots to entrepreneurs who used slave labor to mine gold.

(Reverse) The mine was not successful until the 1880s, when its owners hired Adolf Thies (1832-1917), a German mining engineer who perfected a new extraction process. A 60-stamp mill processed 100 tons a day, producing more gold than any mine east of the Mississippi. After a deadly boiler explosion in 1908, the mine closed in 1912. It operated briefly during World Wars I and II and the 1990s.

Harrisburg Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 64), between Hancock and Fort Mill
(Front) After British forces took Charleston in May 1780, they set up outposts in the backcountry and attempted to control the state by encouraging Loyalists. Backcountry Patriots organized a resistance in response, with an important camp ½ mi. E at Clems Branch of Sugar Creek, on the wagon road from Camden to Charlotte.
(Reverse)

SUMTER’S CAMP AT CLEMS BRANCH
In June 1780 Col. Thomas Sumter’s troops were among the few organized Patriot units in S.C. The camp at Clems Branch gave him a strategic location, water, and forage while reinforcements joined him in late June and early July. Sumter’s troops would play a major role in several Patriot victories in 1780 and 1781.

(Front) The Lancaster & Chester Railway, founded in 1896, was originally the Cheraw & Chester Railroad, chartered in 1873. The C&C, which never finished its route, was sold to Col. Leroy Springs (1861-1931) for $25,000 and renamed the Lancaster & Chester Railway. A narrow gauge line, running only 29 miles from Chester to Lancaster, it was later converted to standard gauge track in 1902 at a cost of $125,000.
(Reverse) The L&C carried freight and passengers 1896-1913 but only freight after a 1913 accident. Springs’s son Elliott White Springs (1896-1959) succeeded him as President. He named 29 Vice Presidents, one for each mile of the road. This depot, built in 1951 and designed by Joe Croxton, included the L&C offices. From 1902 to 1994 Springs Mills was the L&C’s largest customer, hauling coal and cotton to its plants.
Erected by the Lancaster County Historical Commission, 2008

(Front) Thomas Lorenzo Clyburn (1809-1869), prominent planter of Lancaster District and the first postmaster of Butler, 1853-56, lived here and is buried in the family cemetery nearby. He and his first wife Katherine Blue Clyburn had two sons, Benjamin Rutledge (1840-1877) and Thomas Franklin (1843-1896), who were Confederate officers and in the S.C. General Assembly after the war.
(Reverse) Benjamin, major of the 2nd S.C. Infantry, was wounded and captured, then served in the S.C. House 1865-66. Frank, lieutenant colonel of the 12th S.C. Infantry, was also wounded, then served in the S.C. House 1868-70 and the S.C. Senate 1882-85. William Uriah (1857-1917), son of T.L. Clyburn and his second wife Martha Williams Clyburn, served in the S.C. House 1884-85.

(Front) The Watts-Todd-Dunklin House, built about 1818, is an excellent example of a Federal-era upcountry farmhouse. According to family tradition, it was built for Washington Williams (1777-1829), who gave it to his daughter Nancy (1799-1845) when she married James Watts, Jr. (1795-1833). In 1845 Nancy Watts sold the house and 30 acres to Samuel R. Todd (1809-1891). It remained in the Todd family until 1938.

(Reverse) The Todd family owned this house from 1845 to 1938. It then passed through a succession of owners until 1950, when James Gray Dunklin (1911-1973), an antiques collector and historic preservationist, acquired it. Dunklin, who restored the house, donated it to the Laurens County Landmarks Foundation as a house museum upon his death in 1973. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

(Front) The Laurens County Training School, located here 1924-1954, had its origins in Gray Court School, a one-room school founded ca. 1890 on the grounds of Pleasant View Baptist Church. The training school, opened in 1924 in a building constructed with assistance from the Rosenwald Fund, taught grades 8-11 until 1948.
(Reverse) This school, at first emphasizing farming and homemaking skills, later expanded its curriculcum to include more academic courses and became an accredited high school in 1948-49 with the addition of grade 12. The school closed and was later demolished when Laurens County schools were consolidated in 1954.

Indian Mound Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 30-6), Mt. Gallagher community, Ware Shoals vicinity

(Front) This store, first known as Daniel’s store or the “Beehive,” was built before the Civil War by James Wright Daniel (1814-1904) and several business partners. In 1878 James Martin (1815-1879) bought the store from the other partners and became sole owner until his death early the next year. Martin’s son J.C. Martin (1861-1949) and his grandsons ran this general store for the next 119 years.
(Reverse) The grandsons, J.Y. Martin (1906-1969) and J.H. Martin (1907-2000) continued to operate the store until it closed in 1997. It sold groceries, dry goods, automotive and farm supplies; was a polling place; housed a doctor’s office and was the site of many community gatherings. The Masons, the Grange, and the Woodmen of the World held meetings on the second floor for many years.

(Front) This African-American neighborhood, roughly bounded by N. Caroline St., E. Hampton St., Laurel St., and E. Laurens St., was an uncleared forest owned by James H. Irby and then N.B. Dial before the Civil War. After 1865 so many freedmen and women bought lots and built homes here that by the 1880s the area was called “Rich Hill.” The historic houses here, most from the first half of the 20th century, reflect such architectural styles as Queen Anne and Craftsman.
(Reverse) Bethel A.M.E. Church, founded in 1868, and St. Paul First Baptist Church, founded in 1877, anchor this neighborhood. The present Bethel A.M.E. Church was built in 1910 and the present St. Paul First Baptist Church was built in 1912. Both are brick Romanesque Revival churches designed and built by local contractor Columbus White. St. Paul First Baptist Church also housed the first black public school in Laurens County until 1937.

(Front) Owings is named for Francis Rapley Owings (1840-1920), who lived in this house after the Civil War. His ancestor Richard Owings III had settled 2 mi. W in 1757. Francis R. Owings, a farmer and merchant, built the general store across the road in 1873. It also housed the town’s first post office.
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The town was originally named Rapley since there was already one in S.C. named Owings. After Francis Rapley Owings donated the land and lumber for a depot here, it was renamed Owings Station. Owings also helped found the Bank of Owings and served as its vice president. The bank, built in 1914, is one of several commercial buildings here built with locally-made bricks.

FRIENDSHIP A.M.E. CHURCH & CEMETERY
at Friendship Cemetery, N. Bell St. at Friendship Dr., Clinton

(Front) This church held its first services in a nearby brush arbor shortly after the Civil War and was formally organized in 1880. Trustees purchased this 3-acre lot, and members and friends built a frame church here, naming their congregation Friendship A.M.E. Church. The present brick church on South Bell Street was built in 1937. The cemetery here includes graves of veterans of American wars from World War I to Vietnam.
(Reverse)

Friendship School, founded in 1883 by Friendship A.M.E. Church, eventually grew to include grades 1-11. In 1926 it became a public school, moved into a new building, and was renamed Bell Street School. It was the first accredited black high school in the county. The 1950 school nearby became an elementary school in 1956, renamed Martha Dendy School in 1960. Later a middle school, it closed in 2008.

(Front) This is one of the oldest Methodist congregations in Laurens County. Its earliest records have been lost, but tradition holds that Martin Dial (1744-1843), a veteran of the Revolution, organized a “Methodist Society” about 1808. It met for years in his log cabin nearby. After a camp meeting in 1835 his family donated an acre here for the first permanent church, a log building.
(Reverse) The present frame sanctuary was built about 1860. Dials Male and Female Academy, later Dials School, opened nearby before the Civil War and closed in the1930s. The church cemetery, dating from 1832, includes graves of veterans of American wars since the War of 1812. Dials Methodist Church is the mother of Gray Court Methodist Church (1890) and Owings Methodist Church (1920).
Erected by the Congregation, 2010

(Front) This Federal plantation house was built between 1786 and 1815 for John Simpson (1751-1815), merchant and planter. Simpson came to S.C. from England in 1786 and named Belfast after his birthplace in Ireland. A post office here was called Belfast by 1804. Simpson was the first of four generations representing Laurens County in the S.C. House of Representatives from 1797 to 1886.
(Reverse) John Simpson’s grandson William Dunlap Simpson (1823-1890), born here, was a state representative and senator 1854-1863, and a Confederate officer and Congressman 1861-65. Simpson was lt. governor 1878-79, then governor 1879-1880, and was chief justice of the S.C. Supreme Court at his death. Belfast was acquired by the S.C. Department of Natural Resources in 2008.

Erected by the Kenelm Winslow Chapter, S.C. Society of the Colonial Dames XVII Century, 2011

(Front) This school, built in 1950, was the third African-American school on Bell Street. Friendship School, founded in 1883 by nearby Friendship A.M.E. Church, was a combined elementary and high school. The frame school was replaced in 1926 by a brick school, named Bell Street School, with students in grades 1-11 until grade 12 was added in 1948-49. In 1937 it became the first black high school in Laurens County to be fully accredited by the state.
(Reverse)
MARTHA DENDY SCHOOL
Bell Street School burned in 1949, and this school opened in 1950. It became Bell Street Elementary in 1956 when a new high school was built. In 1960 it was renamed Martha Dendy Elementary School in memory of principal David Dendy’s mother. It became a junior high school when county schools desegregated in 1970, then a middle school in 1972, and a 6th grade center in 1997. The school closed in 2008.

Sponsored by the City of Clinton and Concerned Citizens for the Preservation of Bell Street / Martha Dendy School, 2012