Anderson-Oconee-Pickens County SC Historical Roadside Markers

SC Historical Roadside Markers

Lee to McCormick Counties

Compiled by: Paul M. Kankula NN8NN

Hartsville Hwy. (U.S. Hwy. 15), just W of entrance to Lee State Park at Lee State Park Rd., Bishopville vicinity

This was the site of the last fatal duel fought in S.C., in which Col. E.B.C. Cash of Cash's Depot killed Col. Wm. M. Shannon of Camden on July 5, 1880. This tragedy influenced the S.C. legislature to enact a law in December, 1880, making dueling a crime and requiring public officers, until 1954, to swear they had not been in a duel.

Near corner of N. Main St. (U.S. Hwy. 15) & E. Church St. (S.C. Hwy. 341), Bishopville

On March 6, 1781 General Thomas Sumter with a force of 250 men was attacked by a British detachment commanded by Major Fraser about 3 miles northeast at the head of Stirrup Branch. In a running fight, the Gamecock retreated along a road near here to Ratcliff's Bridge on Lynches River, 3 miles southeast.

S.C. Sec. Rd. 31-154 (Nancy Branch Rd.), about 1.8 mi. S of its intersection with U.S. Hwy. 401,

His home stood on this site. With his wife, Jane Bayard Wilson, he served as a Presbyterian missionary on the western coast of Africa 1833-1852. He advocated ending the slave trade and by 1844 had freed all his own slaves. Foreign Mission Secretary in the Presbyterian Church for 33 years, he served as a chaplain, C.S.A.

Gen. Edward E. Potter commanding 2700 Federal troops left Georgetown on April 5, 1865, to destroy the railroad between Sumter and Camden. On April 16 after a skirmish with militia under Col. James F. Pressley he camped at Spring Hill nearby. The McKinley Barfield home which stood on this site bore scars of the skirmishing on its walls.

A trading center and polling place for Upper Salem in old Claremont County in the early 1800's, Bishopville was laid out on land acquired by Dr. Jacques Bishop. In 1824 a post office was established here. The town was chartered in 1888. When Lee County was organized in 1902, commemorating Gen. Robert E. Lee, it became the county seat.

Sandy Grove Church Rd., .1 mi. W of S.C. Sec. Rd. 31-39 (Cypress Rd.), Cypress Crossroads,

Three miles south of Mount Elon on the night of Feb. 27, 1865, a mounted Union detachment led by Captain William Duncan encountered a superior force of Confederate cavalry commanded by Colonel Hugh K. Aiken. After a sharp hand to hand fight Captain Duncan was forced to fall back across Lynches River. Colonel Aiken was killed.

Intersection of St. Charles Rd. (S.C. Hwy. 154) & English Ln. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 31-228) at English Crossroads, about 7.5 mi. S of Bishopville

One mile east stood the home of T.R. English, Presbyterian minister, statesman, delegate to the Secession Convention. After attending S.C. College, he was admitted to the Bar and served as a legislator, 1830-1832. Ordained in 1833, as the evangelist of Harmony Presbytery he founded many churches in the Pee Dee area.

Intersection of Church St. (S.C. Hwy. 341) & Potts St. (U.S. Hwy. 76), Lynchburg

Known nationally as "Cotton Ed" and active in 1905 in forming the Southern Cotton Association, Ellison DuRant Smith was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1908 and served until his death in 1944, having been Committee Chairman of Agriculture and of Interstate Commerce. His home, Tanglewood, is 3 miles east on Highway 341.

W. Church St. (S.C. Hwy. 34 W), Bishopville, .4 mi. from its intersection with Main St. (U.S. Hwy. 15)

This house is the birthplace of Thomas Gordon McLeod (Dec. 17, 1868-Dec. 11, 1932). He was the first State Senator from Lee County, 1903-1907, then Lieutenant Governor 1907-1911, and Governor of South Carolina from 1923 to 1927. His grave and that of his wife, the former Elizabeth Alford, are in Bethlehem Cemetery, 1 mi. N.W.

N side of Hartsville Hwy. (U.S. Hwy. 15) at Lynches River, 4 mi. NE of Bishopville

After serving in the militia under General Francis Marion during the Revolutionary War, this planter and patriot lived near here and operated a ferry, known as DuBose's Crossing, close by the present bridge over Lynches River. His grave is in the family cemetery 100 yards north.

Lynchburg Hwy. N (S.C. Hwy. 341), .7 mi. NW of its intersection with Darlington Hwy. E
(U.S. Hwy. 401), Elliott vicinity

Near this site stood the house of Henry Durant, soldier in the American Revolution. He served under General Francis Marion against British forces who had overrun this area of South Carolina. Durant later became a substantial landholder from whom many people in this area trace descent.

Erected by Lee County Historical Commission/Sponsored by Henry Durant Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1968 [20 April 1969]

(Front) The Reverend James Jenkins served in the Methodist ministry for 55 years. He was born in Britton's Neck, the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Britton Jenkins. His mother was a Revolutionary War heroine. In 1805 he married Elizabeth Ann Gwyn and from 1814 to 1836 he lived near here. He died and was buried in Camden.

The Reverend James Jenkins was a pioneer circuit-riding Methodist minister. He began his ministry in 1792 among the settlers and Indians of the Cherokee Circuit. In 1801 he was presiding elder of the S.C. District. He organized many churches, including Bethlehem Methodist Church in Bishopville. In later years, he supervised and disciplined younger preachers.

Erected by Dr. Henry Woodward Chapter, S.C. Society, Daughters of the American Colonists, 1972

Rembert Branch Church Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 31-37), Woodrow vicinity, about 1 mi. N of Lee County-Sumter County line

Site of camp meetings where Bishop Francis Asbury preached. First service held about 1786. In 1834 Caleb Rembert deeded eight acres to nine trustees for the use of the Methodist Church. John A. Colclough gave an adjacent tract of 2 ½ acres, and soon after the present church was erected. Successors of the original trustees maintain both church and cemetery.

In 1718, at a site 2.7 miles east, near the place where the Cherokee Path crossed Congaree Creek, the first frontier outpost in central South Carolina was established under the command of Captain Charles Russell. The fort was abandoned in 1722, but the trading factory was soon revived as a private venture by Thomas Brown, an Indian trader.

Erected 1993 by the Saxe Gotha Museum, replacing a marker erected by South Carolina Society Daughters of the American Colonists, 1958

On this site or close by have stood five courthouses of Lexington District or County. In 1820 Barbara Corley deeded land in the present town for a centrally located courthouse. A later ante-bellum building was burned Feb. 17, 1865, by Sherman. Two successive buildings were in use before the present one was dedicated on Jan. 15, 1940.

One mile east on the Saluda River stood a 4-story granite building erected by the Saluda Manufacturing Company, incorporated in 1834. Operated by slave labor, it was, at one time, the largest cotton factory in the State. Burned by Sherman Feb. 17, 1865, it was rebuilt and operated for some time after the war.

Summerland Ave. (S.C. Hwy. 391) N of Leesville, near Lexington County-Saluda County line

On November 17, 1781, in a house near Cloud's Creek one mile east Captain Sterling Turner's Patriot militia were surrounded and massacred by Tory militia under Major William Cunningham. Among the more than twenty dead were Captain James Butler and his son, James, who were buried with the others at the site, and whose graves have been marked there.

Sunset Blvd. (U.S. Hwy. 378), at its intersection with N. Lucas St., West Columbia

Prior to the capture of Columbia by Gen. William T. Sherman, Federal artillery shelled the city on February 16, 1865, from batteries on this hill and in the road at this end of the Congaree River bridge. Shots were fired at the Arsenal (site of the Governor's Mansion) and the State House, which still bears scars of the bombardment.

This route follows an old Indian trail, which became a trading path and later in 1747 a public road from Charleston to Granby and points west. The State Road laid out by the newly established Board of Public Works in 1820 from Charleston to Columbia and on to the mountains perpetuated one of the oldest and most traveled routes in the development of the South Carolina back country.

Intersection of Augusta Rd. (U.S. Hwy 1) & Leaphart Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 32-30), West Columbia

Before the Revolution, two major trading routes came together near here. Branching to the west was the road to New Windsor Township on the Savannah. The Cherokee Path extended north to Ninety Six and south through Saxe Gotha Township on the Congaree. George Washington passed here in 1791 on his way from Augusta to Columbia via Friday's Ferry.

The Seminary of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of S.C. and Adjacent States was located here from 1834 to 1859, on a tract of 124 acres. E. L. Hazelius was presiding official and Professor of Theology. The dormitory became the Lexington County Museum in 1969. Two other Seminary associated buildings are nearby.

Mills' Atlas of 1820 shows this site on the Augusta-Columbia road as the location of John W. Lee's Stage Tavern. According to local tradition, this vicinity was the probable site of President George Washington's breakfast stop on May 22, 1791. The Town of Leesville derives its name from the family of John W. Lee, who were early settlers of this area.

This house was built before 1800 for John Pearson Bond, according to local tradition. It later came into the possession of John Bates, of the family from whom Batesburg derives its name, and has been owned for over a century by Lodwick Hartley and his family. It was the first meeting place of the Batesville Masonic Lodge and was a stagecoach mail stop.

This tree was planted from a cutting of the old sycamore tree that stood several hundred feet west of here on the historic Two Notch Road. Local tradition holds that a succession of sycamore trees had been at that site and used as a landmark or point of reference since the road was an Indian path and also that George Washington rested there in 1791.

At this site is the grave of the Reverend Ernest L. Hazelius, 1777-1853, Lutheran clergyman, Doctor of Divinity, teacher, and author of several books on church history and theology. From 1834 to 1853, he was professor of theology in the Lutheran Classical and Theological Seminary, and resided in a house near the campus, ¼ mile north.

Off S.C. Sec. Rd. 378 (Columbia Metropolitan Airport Dr.) near the airport terminal, West Columbia vicinity

(Front) Built during 1941 as the Lexington County Airport, this airfield became the Columbia Army Air Base shortly after the U.S. entered World War II in December, 1941. The base was used to train crews for medium bombardment groups flying B-25s and A-26s. Reaching a military population of 7,800 in February of 1945, the base reverted to a standby status after the war.

In February 1942, twenty-four B-25 bomber crews of the 17th Bombardment Group at Columbia Army Air Base volunteered to take part in a secret project headed by Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle. This group was the nucleus of the Doolittle Raiders who, taking off from the aircraft carrier "Hornet," bombed Tokyo on April 18, 1942.

These four acres were conveyed to St. Andrew's Lutheran Church in 1835, and by November of that year, the congregation had built and dedicated a building. It is believed that the community of St. Andrews derived its name from this church. In 1949, the church moved to its present location on Broad River Road.

(Front) This congregation, organized ca.1800 in the home of Martin Hook, built its first house of worship at the Half Way Ground, near here. In 1837 a new church was erected at this site on land

donated by John and Elizabeth Roof. Another structure was built here in 1907 and was replaced in 1963 by the present sanctuary.

The frame building behind the church was built 1862 by Saludaville Sons of Temperance, a society chartered in 1858 that reflected the nationwide movement to combat intemperate use of alcohol. In 1871 the society was rechartered as Mt. Hebron Sons of Temperance and probably continued until the State Dispensary was established 1893. This building was restored in 1979.

226 Corley Mill Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 32-68), ½ mi. from I-20,Lexington vicinity

(Front) This congregation, the oldest continuing church in Lexington County, originated with pioneers who settled in this area in the 1740s. Organized at Zion in 1787 was the "Corpus Evangelicum," consisting of fifteen congregations to supervise the German churches in the state's interior. The church was located at two previous sites near the river before moving here in 1922.

An early frontier fort was built near here by Godfrey Dreher on land that he received in the 1740s. During the Cherokee War in 1760, the fort provided protection from hostile Indians for 121 men, women, and children. Near the fort on Twelve Mile Creek was the first location of Zion Church. Erected by the Pineview Ruritan Club, 1986

Off S.C. Sec. Rd. 378 (Columbia Metropolitan Airport Dr.) near the airport terminal, West Columbia vicinity

Activated in 1942 and stationed here at Columbia Army Air Base February through April of 1945, the 319th participated in many World War II campaigns in Europe and the Pacific. The group has received numerous honors, including two Presidential Unit Citations and France's Croix de Guerre from General Charles DeGaulle.

A party of Sumter's soldiers, harassing a rear guard of British foragers under Lord Rawdon (en route to relieve besieged Ninety Six), was ambushed several miles north of here on June 18, 1781. The state troops, under Col. Charles S. Myddelton, were dispersed and the British continued unimpeded to Ninety Six.

The Town of Irmo was established in a small farming community when the Columbia, Newberry and Laurens Railroad constructed its line here in February of 1890. The town was incorporated by the

S.C. General Assembly in December of 1890. The original town limits extended ½ mile north, south, east, and west from the depot, which was located near here.

(Reverse) Irmo was incorporated in 1890 and, according to tradition, took its name from the last names of C. J. Iredell and H. C. Moseley, officers of the Columbia, Newberry and Laurens Railroad, who were involved in planning and developing the town. A number of the town's streets were named for early railroad officials.

Lutheran church said est. 1862. Admitted to synod 1866. Present remodeled building, built by 1869, is on land deeded church by Jacob Rauch family.

Off S.C. Sec. Rd. 378 (Columbia Metropolitan Airport Dr.) near the airport terminal, West Columbia vicinity

In 1942 the 310th, 321st, 340th groups trained here at Columbia Army Air Base for World War II. All participated in 9 campaigns, and each received 2 Distinguished Unit Citations.

This church was constituted May 21, 1893, with ten charter members. The original one-room frame building, dedicated 1894 and located on land given by James C. Fort, was across Main Street about 600 feet east of here. The congregation of about 150 with W. C. Wallace as pastor, moved here June 6, 1926, upon completing this house of worship.

I-26 & Charleston Hwy. (U.S. Hwy 21), Silver Lake vicinity, near Lexington County-

One mile east was the original grave of the Reverend Christian Theus. A native of Switzerland, Theus ministered to Reformed and Lutheran groups in Saxe-Gotha Township, 1739-1789, and was teacher of the local school. His grave was moved to Sandy Run Lutheran Church Cemetery in 1932. Erected by S.C. Daughters of American Colonists in 1993, Replacing a Marker Erected by the S.C. Daughters of American Colonists in 1941

This Lutheran Church, founded by 1830, and the earliest church in Lexington, dedicated its first-known house of worship on this site in 1831. In 1865 Union troops under Wm. T. Sherman burned

the structure. The congregation's second building, dedicated 1870, was destroyed by fire in 1898. The third church, built by 1901 on the present site, was replaced by the current edifice, dedicated in 1958.

Fish Hatchery Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 32-73), 100 yds. from its intersection with Pine Ridge Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd.32-103), Pine Ridge, E of South Congaree

The military began this post, also known as Camp Styx, in 1913 as a National Guard training center. The post sent men to a Mexican border disturbance after Pres. Woodrow Wilson mobilized the guard in 1916, and its 1st Infantry Regiment, later the 118th, played a significant role in World War I, breaking the purportedly impregnable Hindenburg line of defense. The camp closed in the early 1920s.

S.C. Gen. Assembly incorp. this Lutheran Church 17 Dec. 1794. Frederick Josephus Wallern served as 1st pastor. Today's church, dedicated 1936, is the 3rd building.

(Front) On February 15, 1865 Gen. Henry W. Slocum's Army of Georgia, the left wing of the Federal advance toward Columbia, marched along this route toward Lexington. The Federals, led by skirmishers of the 28th Pennsylvania at the head of the 1st Brig., 2nd Div., XX Corps, were delayed by elements of Gen. Joseph Wheeler's Confederate cavalry, which clashed with them briefly at Congaree Creek and then here along Red Bank Creek.

After the Confederates withdrew toward Lexington, two miles north, elements of the XX Corps occupied the town. The XIV and XX Corps camped ½ mi. N. at the junction of Old Orangeburg and Old Barnwell Rds. on the night of Feb. 15th. Elements of Gen. Judson Kilpatrick's cavalry division burned much of Lexington before the left wing advanced to Winnsboro; one observer described the town as "a blackened ruin."

(Front) This log house was built ca. 1771 by Laurance Corley (1742-1815), whose plantation of over 1700 acres occupied much of present-day Lexington. Corley later served in Capt. Gabriel Friday's militia company during the Revolution. The house stood on two previous locations near Twelve Mile Creek, approximately 1 mile east, and was moved here on part of the original tract in 1974, then restored by the Lexington Co. Museum.

(Reverse) Laurance Corley was the father of sixteen children, founding a prominent and well-known Lexington County family. His first wife Christena died in 1806, and he later married a widow, Barbara Derrick Drafts (1770-1858), later known as "Granny Corley." In 1820, five years after Corley's death, Mrs. Corley deeded two acres to the state for the establishment of a new county seat, which became the town of Lexington.

Intersection of Savannah River Scenic Byway (S.C. Hwy. 81) & S.C. Sec. Rd. 33-91, Mt. Carmel

Six and six tenths miles southwest are the ruins of Fort Charlotte, built of local stone, 1765-1767, to protect the French, British, and German settlements near Long Canes. Major James Mayson's seizure of it, defended by Capt. George Whitefield and Lieut. St. Pierre, July 12, 1775, in the name of the Council of Safety, was the first overt act of the Revolutionary War in South Carolina.

Two miles southwest is the site of this famous classical academy which was established in 1804 by Rev. Moses Waddel, D.D., one of the greatest educators of his day. Here from 1804 to 1819 he taught hundreds of ambitious boys of great potentiality who became some of the South's most notable men. Their record is his greatest monument.

The first Bethany Meeting House was erected by 1809 on the old Edgefield-Abbeville Stagecoach Road midway between Hard Labor and Cuffey Town Creeks. Bethany Baptist Church was constituted in December 1809, with Amos Dubose as pastor. The present church is said to have been built in 1850 at Shinburg Muster Grounds, about two miles south of the original site.

Intersection of Savannah River Scenic Byway (S.C. Hwy. 81) & S.C. Sec. Rd. 33-196,

(Front) One half mile west is the pioneer home of Andre Guillebeau, a member of the original Huguenot group, which settled in New Bordeaux in 1764, having fled from persecution in France under the leadership of the Reverend Jean Louis Gibert. The house is constructed of logs and according to family tradition was built sometime before 1800.

(Reverse) Among eighteen members of the Guillebeau family buried in the cemetery one half mile west are Andre Guillebeau, French Huguenot and soldier of the American Revolution, his wife, Mary Jane Roquemore, their son Pierre Guillebeau, who was for many years a ruling elder of Willington Presbyterian Church, and his wife, Mary Jane Bellot.

Erected by The Huguenot Society of South Carolina, McCormick County Historical Society, and Long Cane Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, 1972

Intersection of Savannah River Scenic Byway (S.C. Hwy. 28) & Barksdale Ferry Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 33-61), about 1½ mi. NW of McCormick

(Front) Three miles west is the site of "Badwell," home of James Louis Petigru (1789-1863), leader of opposition to secession in South Carolina, outstanding Charleston lawyer, and S.C. Attorney General. He studied at Willington Academy under Moses Waddel and at South Carolina College. The Petigru Law School at the University of South Carolina is named in his honor.

Located four miles west is Badwell Cemetery. Among the graves are those of Rev. Jean Louis Gibert (1722-1773), leader of the the 1764 French Huguenot settlement at New Bordeaux and grandfather of James L. Petigru, his son John Joseph Gibert, William and Louise Petigru, parents of James L. Petigru, and Louise Gibert Allston, daughter of Governor R.F.W. Allston.

Intersection of S.C. Hwy. 28 & S.C. Sec. Rd. 33-38, near McCormick County-Abbeville County line,

About four miles southeast is the site of the American Revolutionary Battle of Long Cane. On December 12, 1780, Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Allen and a British force of 400-500 men defeated Colonel Elijah Clarke and 100 Americans, an advance detachment of a Patriot force commanded by Colonel Benjamin Few.

Mt. Carmel Rd. (S.C. Hwy. 823) near McCormickCounty-Abbeville County line, NE of Mt. Carmel

Driven from the area at the start of the Cherokee War, settlers from Long Canes returned in the fall of 1760 and, under the protection of a party of Chickasaw Indians, reclaimed the land by building Fort Boone near here.

(Front) Built ca. 1899, this steam-powered mill employed a milling process pioneered earlier by inventor Oliver Evans which virtually eliminated manual labor. First known as the McCormick Enterprise Ginnery, the mill became Dorn-Finley Co. in 1917, its purpose "to operate, conduct and carry on an oil mill, cotton gin and grist mill." Dorn's Mill closed in the 1940s.

Area resident William B. Dorn discovered gold here and developed this mine which produced a yield of $72,000 from 1857 to 1859. The mine was later owned by Cyrus Hall McCormick, inventor of the reaper, for whom the town of McCormick is named. The mine operated at intervals until as late as the 1930s.

Intersection of S.C. Hwy. 823 & S.C. Sec. Rd. 33-40, Calhoun Mills, NE of Mt. Carmel

Built ca. 1854 on a mill site in use since the 1770s, this large brick building on Little River was used for grinding corn, wheat, and other grains. A post office and various commercial enterprises operated near the mill during the 1800s. The mill yard was a popular place for political rallies and social gatherings well into the 20th century.

Erected by McCormick County Historical Society and McCormick County Historical Commission, 1986

Three miles southwest is "Cherry Hill," site of the home of George McDuffie (1790-1851), orator of nullification, member of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, Major General of the State Militia, and Governor of South Carolina. He studied at Willington Academy under Moses Waddel. "Cherry Hill" was his home during most of his adult life.

Five miles southwest is the Noble Cemetery. Among the members of the Noble family buried there is Patrick Noble (1787-1840). He was a member of the S.C. House of Representatives and Senate and was Governor of South Carolina from 1838 until his death. The cemetery is located on a high knoll overlooking the Savannah River.

at the entrance to the John De La Howe School campus, Savannah River Scenic Byway

(Front) Dr. John De La Howe, a French physician, came to South Carolina in 1764 and settled in the New Bordeaux community by the 1780s. His will left most of his estate, including Lethe Plantation, to the Agricultural Society of South Carolina to establish a home and school for underprivileged children. The Lethe Agricultural Seminary was founded here after De La Howe's death in 1797. Initially restricted

to 24 boys and girls from what was then Abbeville County, with preference given to orphans, the school emphasized manual training, or instruction in operating a self-sufficient farm. In 1918 it was turned over to the State of South Carolina, opened to children from every county in the state, and renamed John De La Howe School; it is now a group child care agency serving over 200 students a year.

U.S. Hwy. 501, .6 mi. SE of its intersection with S.C. Hwy. 41, near the Little Pee Dee River, SE of Marion

One fourth mile south of this site General Francis Marion defeated a band of Tories under Captain Barfield on August 13, 1780, by feigning retreat and drawing them into a trap.

Erected by Blue Savannah Chapter, D.A.R., Mullins, South Carolina, 1967, replacing a marker erected by Blue Savannah Chapter, D.A.R., 1955

U.S. Hwy. 76/301, about 8 mi. W of Marion at the Pee Dee River, Pee Dee vicinity

The Confederacy established a navy yard ¼ mile NW about 1863 on the banks of the Great Pee Dee River. Here, under the command of Lt. Van Renssalaer Morgan, a wooden gunboat, the C.S.S. Pee Dee, was built. Launched by November 1864, it was burned to prevent its capture by Federal Forces in March 1865.

U.S. Hwy. 378, .3 mi. SE of its intersection with S.C. Hwy. 908, at Britton's Neck

(Front) One of the oldest settlements in Marion County, Britton's Neck lay between Great and Little Pee Dee Rivers extending northward from the mouth of the Little Pee Dee. It was named for Francis, Timothy, Daniel, Moses, Joseph and Philip Britton, who settled in the neck about 1735-36. They were the sons of Francis Britton, who was in Carolina by 1697.

Six miles south of here was the site of Britton's Ferry, on Great Pee Dee River at the junction of Williamsburg, Georgetown, and Marion County lines. The ferry was established by Francis Britton and two other commissioners under an Act of 1747. Britton's Neck was the center of patriot sympathy during the American Revolution, making the ferry important to both sides.

Erected by Dr. Henry Woodward Chapter, S.C. Society Daughters of the American Colonists, 1971

U.S. Hwy. 378 at its intersection with Dunham's Bluff Rd., Britton's Neck vicinity

During the winter of 1780-1781, General Francis Marion established his camp 1 ½ miles south of here on Snow's Island. Named for early settlers James and William Snow, the island forms the southeast corner of present Florence County and is bounded by Pee Dee River, Lynch's River, and Clark's Creek. Snow's Island was the site of a battle fought in March 1781.

Erected by Snow's Island Chapter, Children of the American Revolution, Mullins, S.C., 1972

(Front) Originally part of colonial Craven County and Georgetown District of 1769, Marion was created as Liberty County by an Act of the General Assembly in 1785. The name was changed to

Marion District in 1798 and to Marion County in 1868. The present lines were established by the withdrawal of Florence County in 1888 and Dillon County in 1910. The area is 480 square miles.

MARION COURTHOUSE

Erected in 1853 at a cost of twelve thousand five hundred dollars, this is the third structure built on this site to house the court. Restored in 1970, the original ironwork remains and each step bears the name and address of the metal worker, "Hayward Bartlett, Baltimore."

U.S. Hwy. 501, just N of Spring Branch and S. of E. Pines Rd., Spring Branch vicinity N of Marion

(Front) Named for the Moody family, members of whom were buried here 1883 to 1903. Among others interred here are John Smith Sr., Revolutionary War veteran who owned an adjacent plantation, and Enos Tart Jr., who served Marion District as Sheriff, S.C. Representative and Senator, Clerk of Court, and contractor for the district's 1823 courthouse.

(Front) David E. Frierson of Harmony Presbytery first preached here at Marion Courthouse in 1841. The church was organized in Feb. 1852 with six charter members: Archibald and Margaret Carmichael of Little Pee Dee Church, Rebecca E. Frierson of Great Pee Dee Church, Sophia E. McIntyre of Hopewell Church, Duncan J. McDonald from Smyrna, N.C., and David Gibson from Dalry, Scotland.

(Reverse) This house of worship, dedicated in February 1852, stands on land given by Archibald McIntyre. In 1913 Sunday School rooms were added on the west end of the original structure and new pews were purchased. The bell dates from 1911 and the organ from 1919. During the early 1970s, the church was renovated to include an enlarged sanctuary, new choir room and rear entrance. It was rededicated in April 1975.

U.S. Hwy. 501, just N. of Bowling Green Rd., Spring Branch vicinity, N of Marion

On this site, located about ½ mile northeast, at least 500 Loyalists under the command of Major Micajah Ganey laid down their arms in accordance with a previous agreement made between Francis Marion and Ganey. This treaty signed June 8, 1782 at Burch's Mill on the Pee Dee River, ended the partisan warfare in the area.

(Front) The town of Mullins, first known as Mullins Depot, grew up as a result of the opening of the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad in 1854. Land for the railroad's buildings and for right-of-way

was given here by Wm. S. Mullins (1824-1878) who was elected Wilmington and Manchester president in 1857. A frame railroad depot, constructed here in 1901, was remodeled in 1931 as it is today.

The town of Mullins was incorporated March 4, 1872 by an act of the S.C. General Assembly which set town limits "half a mile north, one-quarter of a mile east and west, and one-third of a mile south" from a stake near here. Dr. Rudolph Vampill was elected first intendant and A. E. Gilchrist, D. W. Ketchum, James Norton, and Stephen Smith, wardens. Smith was also the community's first postmaster, appointed in 1855.

(Front) This brick building is a fine vernacular interpretation of the Classic Revival style. Completed in 1892, the construction was financed through a $10,000 bond issue; this included an artesian well nearby. The lower floor contained a council room, market, guard rooms and, after 1910, sleeping rooms for the fire department. The council room also provided the setting for many social occasions.

(Reverse) The second floor of this building contained a 525-seat auditorium that was used for traveling road shows, graduations, and other Marion events for many years. In 1920 the property was sold and converted to commercial use. The city of Marion purchased the historic building in 1980, and with guidance from Mayor T. C. Atkinson, Jr., renovated it for civic use.

Intersection of Old Ebenezer Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 34-197) & Dudley Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 34-22), Temperance Hill vicinity, near Marion County-Dillon County line

According to local tradition three Methodist meeting houses of this area united c. 1835 to form Ebenezer. An early church building burned in 1855 and was replaced in 1856 by this present building, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. William Haselden Ellerbe, Governor of S.C. from 1897-1899, was once a member of Ebenezer.

This building, the first public school in Marion County, was built in 1886 by the Marion Academy Society, chartered in 1811. The Society, which had operated a private school here for almost seventy-five years, then turned the school over to the Marion School District as the new public school. The Marion Graded School, which closed in 1976 after ninety years' continuous service to the community, now houses the Museum of Marion County.

Erected by the Marion County Historical Society and the Pee Dee Committee, Colonial Dames of America, South Carolina, 1996

Marlboro County Courthouse and Bennettsville City Hall, 105 Main St., Bennettsville

In 1819 the court house of Marlborough District was transferred from Carlisle, a village on the Pee Dee River, to this more central location. Bennettsville developed around the new court house in the heart of a rich farm land area. On March 6, 1863, it was occupied by the 17th Army Corps, United States Army, commanded by Gen. W.T. Sherman.

Erected by the Marlboro County Historic Preservation Commission, 1980, replacing a marker erected by the Bennettsville Jaycees, 1962

Four court houses for Marlborough District or County have stood on this square since Apr. 4, 1820, when it was deeded by John S. Thomas for that purpose. The first court house, completed before 1824, was replaced by a new building in 1852. It was occupied by Union troops in 1865. A third building was finished in 1885. The present court house was built in 1951-1952.

This marks the oldest house in Bennettsville, built in 1800 by Edward Crosland, who was born in England and later married Ann Snead. He died in Bennettsville in 1821. He was a Patriot, American Revolutionary Soldier and Plantation Owner. His youngest son, William Crosland, was born in this house on April 23, 1800.

The oldest part of this building served as Bennettsville Female Academy 1833-1881. It originally stood opposite First Methodist Church on East Main Street, was purchased in 1967 by Marlborough Historical Society, moved to its present location, and restored by public donations. Bennettsville Academical Society, organized about 1828, built the Academy.

NW side of U.S. Hwy. 15-401, on the Marlboro County-Darlington County line at the Pee Dee River, Society Hill vicinity

Welsh Baptists from Pennsylvania and Delaware settled on the east bank of the Pee Dee as early as 1737. Most of the lands in the Welsh Neck, from Crooked Creek to Hunt's Bluff, had been granted by 1746. A Baptist congregation was organized in 1738. The first church, predecessor of the Welsh Neck Baptist Church in Society Hill, stood one mile upstream.

[Needs repainting as of Spring 2005; marker temporarily at Marlboro County Shop of the

In Gillespie Cemetery, west of here, is buried Albert M. Shipp, Methodist minister, Professor of History at the University of North Carolina 1849-59, second President of Wofford College 1859-75, Vanderbilt University Professor and Dean 1875-85, and author of "Methodism in South Carolina." Dr. Shipp's last home, "Rose Hill" Plantation, is two miles NE.

Erected by Wofford College Alumni Association of Chesterfield-Dillon-Marlboro Counties, 1970

The first Methodist house of worship in Marlboro County was at Beauty Spot, two miles north of here, where, in 1788, Bishop Asbury attended a meeting. By 1834, the first church in town had been built here on 1 ½ acres of land donated by W. J. Cook. A second building was erected about 1871. The present church dates from 1900 and was extensively renovated and improved during 1955 and 1956. Erected by the Congregation, 1971

Intersection of S.C. Hwy. 9 & Old Wire Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-165), Wallace vicinity

Near this site stood Stony Hill, boyhood home of John Lyde Wilson, State Senator and Representative, Governor of South Carolina from 1822 to 1824, and author of The Code of Honor (1838), widely used by ante-bellum duellists. His parents, John Wilson and Mary Lide, are buried in nearby Wilson family cemetery. In 1957, a tornado destroyed the home.

Erected by the Marlboro County Historic Preservation Commission, 1980, replacing a marker erected by the same commission in 1971

GENERAL JOHN McQUEEN

On the side of the McColl Building, corner of S. Marlboro & E. Main Sts., Bennettsville

This U.S. congressman was born on February 9, 1804, at Queensdale, N.C. After being admitted to the bar in 1828, he established a law office on this corner in Bennettsville. McQueen served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1849 to 1860, resigning on South Carolina's secession from the Union. He was a General of S.C. Militia, a prominent secessionist, and a member of the First Confederate Congress.

Intersection of S. Main St. (S.C. Hwy. 38) & E. High St. (S.C. Hwy. 381), Blenheim

(Front) This U.S. Congressman and diplomat was born at Woodstock (Argyle) Plantation, 3 ½ miles southwest. He was a Brigadier General in the State Militia and served in the S.C. Senate 1822-23, 1830-34. He represented this district in the U.S. Congress 1823-25, 1834-37. He was U.S. Consul to Cuba 1842-50 and to England 1854-61. In 1862 he died and was buried in London.

This U.S. congressman, the younger brother of Robert Blair Campbell, was born 3 ½ miles southwest of here. He graduated from the South Carolina College in 1819 and practiced law in Brownsville and Parnassus. He served in Congress as a States Rights Whig 1829-31 and as a States Rights Democrat 1837-45. He died in 1845 and was buried in the family cemetery.

Intersection of U.S. Hwy. 15-401 & S. Stanton St. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-22), Tatum

This cabinet member and diplomat was born two miles south of here. He graduated from Trinity College in 1888 and later became head of Marlboro High School, near here. He was Franklin D. Roosevelt's first secretary of commerce from 1933 to 1938 and U.S. minister to Canada, 1939. He was author of Fifty Years of Public Life.

One mile west is the last home of John Lowndes McLaurin, Marlboro County native, U.S. Congressman and Senator. He served as S.C. Representative 1890-91, S.C. Attorney General 1891-92, U.S. Congressman 1892-97, U.S. Senator 1897-1903, and State Warehouse Commissioner 1915-17. The mill pond west of here bears his name.

130 Broad St., corner of Broad St. (S.C. Hwy. 38) and McColl St., Bennettsville

(Front) This church was founded in 1855 by nine members of the Great Pee Dee Presbyterian Church, 5 mi. SE. Rev. Pierpont E. Bishop was its first permanent minister. The first church, a frame building, was dedicated in 1855. Elder J. Beatty Jennings was a delegate to the First General Assembly of the Confederate States, in 1861. The second church here, a brick building, was completed in 1907.
(Reverse) The second church burned Aug. 24, 1907, before any worship service could be held in it. The present church, described as “almost a duplicate of the burned church,” was dedicated in 1911. The chapel and educational building were constructed in 1946. The sanctuary, chapel, and educational building were completely renovated in 2003-05 in honor of the church’s 150th anniversary.

W side of Hunts Bluff Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-57) near the Great Pee Dee River, SW of Blenheim

(Front) On July 25, 1780, a convoy of British boats en route from Cheraw to Georgetown was captured here by local Patriots. Wooden logs resembling cannon were mounted on this bluff. When boats appeared, Captain Tristram Thomas demanded unconditional surrender. At this signal, the Loyalist escort joined forces with the Patriots, making prisoners of the British troops.

This "River Road" was in existence before the Revolution and was a principal trading route from the upper Pee Dee basin and N. C. Piedmont to Georgetown and Charleston on the coast. The road follows the course of the Great Pee Dee River and was traveled extensively by Patriot forces during the Revolution. Early plantations lay along the road.

W side of U.S. Hwy. 1, less than 1 mi. S of South Carolina-North Carolina state line, NW of Wallace

(Front) About 1760, French Huguenot immigrant Claudius Pegues settled in this area. His home, Pegues Place, is located one mile west of here. A founder and early officer of St. David's Episcopal Church in Cheraw, he was elected in 1768 as parish representative to the Commons House of Assembly and in 1785 was named a justice of the county. He died in 1790.

On May 3, 1781, a cartel for the exchange of prisoners of war taken during the American Revolution was signed one mile west of here at the home of Claudius Pegues. Lt. Col. Edward Carrington acted for Maj. Gen. Nathanael Greene of the Continental Army. Capt. Frederick Cornwallis, acting for his cousin, Lieut. Gen. Earl Cornwallis, signed for the British.

Intersection of S. Main St. (S.C. Hwy. 38) & E. High St. (S.C. Hwy. 381), Blenheim

This community was named for Blenheim Palace in England, home of the Duke of Marlborough, for whom Marlboro County is said to have been named. Formerly called Mineral Spring or Spring Hill for the mineral springs ½ mile east, Blenheim traces its origin to wealthy planters who built summer homes in this healthy locality during the ante-bellum period.

Intersection of U.S. Hwy. 15-401 & S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-167 just E of the Great Pee Dee River near the Marlboro County-Chesterfield County line, Welsh Neck

(Front) Colonel Abel Kolb was a prominent Revolutionary War Patriot of this area. A band of Tory raiders, on the night of April 27-28, 1781, surrounded the home of Colonel Kolb and his family. He was shot while surrendering himself as a prisoner of war and his home was burned. His grave is in old Welsh Neck cemetery, one mile north, a short distance from his home site.

One mile north on the east bank of Pee Dee River is the site of Old Welsh Neck Baptist Church and its cemetery, where early Welsh settlers and their descendants are buried. Two stone monuments and several river rocks mark the few remaining graves of members of the Marshall, Kolb, and Wilds families. When the church moved to Society Hill, the cemetery was abandoned.

[Needs repainting as of Spring 2005; marker temporarily at Marlboro County Shop of the

S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-209 at its junction with Willamette Rd (S.C. Hwy. 912), W of Bennettsville

(Front) In Saw Mill Church cemetery is the grave of Tristram Thomas, major of militia during the Revolution. At Hunt's Bluff, ten miles south, a band of Patriots under his command seized a British flotilla in 1780. He served as legislator, as first Brigadier General of the Cheraw Militia, and as commissioner for locating the county seat.

In 1785 Philip Pledger donated to the Cheraw Hill Baptist Church a tract of land here adjoining his saw mill. Pledger's Saw Mill Church was eventually constituted in 1820 as a separate church. The original congregation relocated in 1832 as Bennettsville Church. Sawmill Church today is a member of the S. C. Baptist Educational and Missionary Convention.

100 yds. S of intersection of S.C. Hwy. 38 & Screw Pin Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-18), Bristow

Governor Henagan (1798-1855), son of Drusilla and Darby Henagan, planter and physician, lived about one mile northwest of this site. Senator, Marlboro District 1834-38; Lieut. Governor of S.C. 1838-40; Governor of South Carolina 1840; moved to Marion District 1843; Senator, Marion District 1844-46; S.C. Secretary of State 1846-50.

Intersection of Beauty Spot Rd. E. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-47) & Wallace Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-17),

Here stood the first Methodist church of Marlboro County, a single log cabin built in 1783. Here Bishop Francis Asbury presided over and preached at an early Quarterly Conference, held on February 23, 1788. Camp meetings were held here 1810-1842. In 1883, the church was moved to another site, also called Beauty Spot, two miles eastward.

200 yds. S of intersection of S.C. Hwy. 38 & Gray Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-465), Bristow

(Front) Mason Lee (1770-1821), a wealthy Pee Dee planter known for his eccentricities, is buried in old Brownsville graveyard two miles south of here. He believed all women were witches and that his kinsmen wished him dead to inherit his property. He felt they used supernatural agents to bewitch him and went to great extremes to avoid these supposed powers.

This will, which named S.C. and Tenn. as heirs, was the subject of suits in the 1820's charging Lee was of unsound mind when making his will. An 1827 appellate verdict exonerated Lee and established Heirs at Law of Mason Lee vs. Executor of Mason Lee as the leading case in South Carolina regarding mental capacity in the execution of a will.

near the intersection of S.C. Hwy. 38 & Screw Pin Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-18), Bristow vicinity

(Front) Born 1754 [1734] in Gotha, Germany, this former chamberlain to King Frederick the Great of Prussia came to America in 1782. Known as Baron Poellnitz, he lived in New York City nearly 8 years before moving 4 mi. W of here on the Pee Dee River. He and George Washington exchanged ideas about farming projects and equipment.

Located four miles west, this plantation of 2,991 acres was acquired by Baron Poellnitz in 1790 in exchange for some 22 acres in Manhattan, N.Y. Tradition says that deeds for the transaction were drawn in Alexander Hamilton’s law office. Poellnitz continued his agricultural experiments at Ragtown. He died in 1801 and was buried on the plantation.

Erected by the Marlboro County Historic Preservation Commission, 2004, replacing a marker erected in 1976

In 1826 Dr. Edward W. Jones bought a lot at S. Marlboro and present E. Main and built this house thereon shortly after. Owned by Dr. J. Beatty Jennings when Union forces occupied Bennettsville 1865, the house is said to have served as their headquarters. Moved here c. 1905, purchased by Lura G. Brown 1930, and opened by Marlboro County Preservation Commission as a house museum 1976.

(Front) During December 1780, Major General Nathanael Greene, commander of the Southern Army,

brought a number of troops to a "camp of repose" near this spot. Here he hoped for abundant food and improvement of strength, discipline, and spirit of his men. Greene departed camp on January 28, 1781 to resume active campaigning against the British.

Units of the Union Army under Maj. Gen. Wm. T. Sherman crossed the Pee Dee River near here during March, 1865, leaving Cheraw for N.C. The 17th Corps advanced to and occupied Bennettsville; the 15th Corps marched about 4 miles and camped at Harrington's Plantation; the 14th and 20th Corps crossed the river several miles north of here at Pegues' Crossing.

Constructed in 1853, this house was the home of William D. Johnson, a Bennettsville attorney and one of three Marlboro County signers of South Carolina's Ordinance of Secession. He served in the state Senate 1862-1865 and was elected chancellor of the Equity Court in 1865. According to tradition, Magnolia was occupied by Union troops on March 6, 1865. The house is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

U.S. Hwy. 401/15 at its intersection with Willamette Rd. (S.C. Hwy. 912), Welsh Neck

(Front) Located about one mile N. of here was the original county seat of Marlborough County, established in 1785. Tristram Thomas conveyed two acres of land to the county for the erection of

public buildings in 1787, and the court house and jail were built there shortly afterward. The county seat was removed to a more central location in 1819. No trace of the original town remains.

This river road follows the course of the Great Pee Dee River and crosses U.S. 15 here. It was in existence before the Revolution and was a principal trade route from North Carolina and the Upper Pee Dee to Georgetown and Charleston. Early plantations lay along the road and it was traveled extensively by Patriot forces during the American Revolution.

S.C. Hwy. 385 at its intersection with Burnt Factory Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-372), Breeden vicinity

About 1836 William T. Ellerbe, John McQueen, and John N. Williams built a cotton mill approximately one mile northwest. Power for operation of the mill came from the waters of nearby Crooked Creek. Ellerbe and Williams sold their stock in the mill to Meekin Townsend in 1844. The mill was destroyed by fire in 1851, but Burnt Factory Pond remains today.

McLaurin's Muster Ground, located at this crossroads, became a polling place in 1825. According to local tradition, the community was later called Ivy's Crossroads. A post office named Clio was established here in 1836 and the town was incorporated in 1882. The Florence Railroad Company extended its Latta branch line into Clio in 1895.

Screw Pin Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-18), about 2.1 mi. NW of S.C. Hwy. 38, at the intersection of Screw Pin Rd. with River Rd. (S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-44), Bristow vicinity

In 1788, this Baptist congregation, while still a branch of Cashaway Church (1756), purchased this land from the Rev. John Brown. The branch became an independently constituted church in 1789 named Muddy Creek and by 1829 was known as Brownsville. Welsh Neck Baptist Association was organized here in 1832. The church moved 2 miles NE in 1860.

100 yds. S of intersection of Old S.C. Hwy. 38 & S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-99, 5 mi. SE of Blenheim

(Front) In 1788, this Baptist congregation, a branch of Cashaway Church (1756) founded by Welsh Neck Church (1738), purchased land 2 miles SW of here from the Rev. John Brown. The congregation was independently constituted in 1789 and named Muddy Creek. The church, which was known as Brownsville by 1829, moved here in 1860.

(Reverse) Completed in 1979 to resemble the 1860 church which burned in 1977, this building contains the original pine pews & pulpit furniture from the 1860 building. Both the Welsh Neck & Pee Dee Baptist Associations were organized in Brownsville Church in 1832 and 1876, respectively. Prior to 1832, Brownsville belonged to the Charleston Association.

(Front) According to a plaque placed on its western wall at time of construction, Shiness was built in 1903 by Alexander James Matheson and named for his paternal grandmother's home in Sutherlandshire, Scotland. Matheson was born in Marlboro County in 1848, became a successful businessman and large landowner, married Sarah Ellen Jarnigan in 1870 and became the father of nine

(Reverse) children. He died in 1918 and is buried in McCall Cemetery in Bennettsville. Shiness was sold in 1939 to J. L. Powers, who converted it into apartments. A key structure in Bennettsville's 1978 National Register District, Shiness was purchased by William Light Kinney, Jr., in 1984 for adaptive use as business offices and retail shops.

Lee County

(Front) William Apollos James (1857-1930), prominent local businessman and public servant, lived here from 1904 until his death. James founded the Farmers Loan and Trust Company and was its president for more than 20 years. When Lee County was created in 1902 James was one of the commissioners who laid out county boundaries and built a new courthouse. He later represented the county in the S.C. House in 1913-14.
(Reverse) This house, built as a one-story cottage in 1903, became a large Classical Revival house in 1911 with the addition of a large second story and wraparound porch. The garden here, laid out by a daughter, Sara B. “Tallie” James, is also notable for its 136 varieties of camellias. The house, donated to the Lee County Historical Society in 1995, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

S.C. Sec. Rd. 31-21 at Scape Ore Creek, 1.1 mi. W of its intersection with S.C. Sec. Rd. 31-41, Lucknow

(Front) A water-powered grist mill stood here as early as 1824, on land owned by William W. Hall, who had acquired the property from John Hall in 1809. William Hall operated the mill until he sold it to Harrison Hall shortly before the Civil War. Hall's Mill, which appears in Robert Mills's 1824 Atlas of South Carolina, was destroyed by a flood in 1928. The present mill was built by C.M. Stokes in 1929.

(Reverse) This mill, built in 1929, was operated by Hall descendant Archie Hopkins when it closed in 1965. The first floor included a general store which served as the center of the Lucknow community for many years, while the second floor was reserved for the Masonic lodge. Hall's Mill, with its original equipment intact, is an excellent early twentieth-century grist mill.

MT. ZION PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
S.C. Hwy. 154, approximately 2 mi. N of St. Charles

(Front) This church was established in 1809. Its first building, a frame church, was built 1.5 mi. N on Broad Branch. The congregation moved to this site in 1829 and built a second church, also a frame building, in the 1830s. Mt. Zion's longest serving minister, Rev. William M. Reid, was the pastor here from 1833 to 1872.

(Reverse) The cemetery here dates from 1830, and the session house was built in 1851. A third frame church, built in 1855, burned in 1910. The present Neo-Classical Revival brick church, designed by the firm of Wilson & Sompayrac, was built in 1911. Mt. Zion was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

(Front) This church was organized in 1855 by 21 charter members who met in the nearby Methodist church. This Greek Revival church, built of hand-hewn pine and featuring galleries on either side, was built that year with the help of their neighbors. Rev. W.W. Wilson, a native of Ireland, served as its first pastor.

(Reverse) This church is one of the few buildings still standing from the original town of Lynchburg. When the railroad was built one mile north in 1854 and that area was renamed Lynchburg, this community became South Lynchburg. The church and cemetery were listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

(Front) Dennis High School, built in 1936, was the first high school for African-American students in Lee County. Built on land donated by philanthropist Rebecca Dennis, it was named in her honor. This school was originally intended as an elementary school, but when the old elementary school burned shortly before this school opened it became both an elementary school and high school. It was the only black high school in Lee County for several years.
(Reverse) The auditorium here was a significant social center for blacks throughout Lee County. In 1948, when a new Dennis High School opened, this became Dennis Elementary School. In 1954, a state program to equalize funding for black and white schools built a new Dennis High and Elementary School. The original Dennis High School was renovated and served as Dennis Primary School until it closed in 1970. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

(Front) This high school, built in 1936, is an excellent example of a Colonial Revival school built by the Public Works Administration (PWA), a New Deal program of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration. Designed by architect Henry Dudley Harrall (1878-1959) of Bennettsville, it was built and furnished for $71,000 and was described as “one of the most modern school plants in the state” when it was completed.
(Reverse) The high school featured sixteen large classrooms and a combination gymnasium and auditorium. Its first graduating class was in 1937. The school included grades 8-11 until 1947, when it added grade 12. It was expanded in 1956, 1965, and 1986 before closing in 2000 when a new high school was built south of town. This school was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.
Erected by Alumni, Former Employees, and Friends of Bishopville High School, 2009

Lexington County

This church, organized in 1780, held services in German and English until 1874. In 1835 it aligned with the Tennessee Synod and remained in it until 1922, when St. Peter's reunited with the South Carolina Synod. This 1953 sanctuary is the fourth house of worship. Among St. Peter's most prominent ministers were Revs. John Yost Meetze, who served 1810-33, and J.A. Cromer, who served 1883-1921.

(Front) On February 15, 1865, as Gen. W.T. Sherman's Federal army advanced to Columbia, Gen. O.O. Howard's Army of the Tennessee found its way blocked by Confederates entrenched behind Congaree Creek and defending the Old State Rd. bridge. Gen. George G. Dibrell's dismounted cavalry brigade, supported by infantry and artillery, manned the nearby earthworks, portions of which survive.

(Reverse) Gen. Charles R. Woods' 1st Div. of Gen. John A. Logan's XV Corps pushed Federal skirmishers ahead while one of Woods' brigades crossed upstream and turned the Confederate right flank. Dibrell's force withdrew from Congaree Creek and then from its earthworks, retreating to Columbia. Though the Confederates set fire to the bridge the Federals saved it and made their camp nearby that night.

(Front) Lewie Chapel, a Methodist church founded on this site in the 1870s by Solomon R. Lewie (1835-1878) and others, was later known as Lewiedale Methodist Church and after 1910 as Gilbert Methodist Church. The original sanctuary, replaced in 1960 by a new sanctuary about 1 mi. W, burned in the early 1970s.

The town of Gilbert, also known as Gilbert Hollow, was called Lewiedale from 1886 to 1899 after the family of Samuel (1802-1865) and Nancy Hendrix Lewie (1807-1865). Four of six Lewie sons saw Confederate service in the 15^th S.C. Infantry, with Frederick S. (1831-1873) as its lieutenant colonel and James H. (1838-1889) as a captain. Several family members are buried here.

This cemetery, thought to contain graves of supervisors and workers in the post-Civil War community of Saludaville, includes 31 marked graves and between 525 and 900 total burials. The Saluda Factory was a modest success before the war and was burned by Union troops in 1865. Rebuilt as the Saluda Manufacturing Company in 1974, it employed about 100 workers before it burned in 1884.

Erected by the South Carolina Electric & Gas Company and the Mungo Company, 2004

(Front) Pinarea, the plantation owned by soldier, statesman, and manufacturer Paul Quattlebaum (1812-1890), was a mile E. Quattlebaum was a captain in the Seminole War and a brig. gen. in the S.C. militia by 1843. He was a state representative 1840-43, state senator 1848-52, and delegate to the Secession Convention and signer of the Ordinance of Secession. He is buried in the cemetery at Pinarea.
(Reverse)

The Quattlebaums operated a sawmill, flour mill, and rifle factory near here. The mills were both powered by Lightwood Knot Creek. The sawmill had a turbine wheel and circular saw. The rifle factory, founded by Paul’s father John (1774-1853), was leased to the Confederate government to make percussion rifles.

Erected by the Lexington County Camps (# 22, 51, and 412), Sons of Confederate Veterans, 2006

(Front) A concrete highway bridge, built in 1928-29 when U.S. Highway 1 was paved through Batesburg, stood here until 2003. The 111-foot-long bridge, featuring graceful arches, spanned the track of the Sievern & Knoxville Railroad. It was built at a cost of $13,000 by Cohen Dick Fulmer (1890-1972) a contractor who built many bridges for the S.C. Highway Department from the 1920s until World War II.

The Sievern & Knoxville RR was completed from Perry to Batesburg in 1898. The S&K train, known as “The Swamp Rabbit,” ran until 1933 on a passenger and freight line that linked to the Southern Railway at Batesburg. For 35 years “The Swamp Rabbit” shipped lumber, turpentine, produce, and kaolin to Batesburg and to points beyond via the Southern Railway.

This community, which was incorporated as Springdale in 1955, was known as Long Branch for many years and named for a nearby branch of the Congaree River. At the turn of the twentieth century it was a farming community along both sides of Platt Springs Road. In 1955 residents who opposed plans to annex Long Branch into West Columbia voted to incorporate as a town, named for the many springs in the area. Job B. Roof was elected the town’s first intendant, or mayor.

WORLD WAR II BOMBING RANGES
S.C. Hwy. 6, on the N (Irmo) side of the Lake Murray Dam, Irmo vicinity

(Front) Lake Murray islands, most notably Lunch Island (since 1945 also called Bomb Island or Doolittle Island), Shull Island, and Dreher Island, were used as bombing ranges during World War II. B-25 crews from the Columbia Army Air Base (now Columbia Metropolitan Airport) flew thousands of training missions here 1942-45.
(Reverse) These islands were used for many types of practice runs, in which crews dropped flare, incendiary, and demolition bombs. Five B-25s ditched or crashed into Lake Murray while training here. Four were salvaged during the war, and the last aircraft, a rare B-25C, was salvaged from the lake in 2005.

(Front) The Batesburg Institute opened here in 1893. Also called the Batesburg Collegiate Institute, it was created by the merger of the town’s Methodist and Baptist schools, founded in the 1880s. The Institute moved into the Baptist school, a one-story frame building later enlarged with a second story. W.J. Helms, its first principal, served here from 1893 to 1896, when the institute had more than 100 students.
(Reverse) Principals of the Institute from 1896 to 1911 inclueed D.W. Daniel, L.C. Perry, J.R.T. Major, and W.C. Martin. John Broadus Watson (1878-1958), who taught at the Batesburg Institute 1899-1900, was later a renowned psychologist and a pioneer in the field of behaviorism. The Batesburg Institute burned in 1911 and was replaced by the Batesburg Graded and High School, a new brick school on U.S. Highway 1, in 1912.
Erected by the Batesburg-Leesville Community Committee, 2008

(Front) The Lutheran Classical and Theological Seminary was located here from 1834 to 1855. The Synod of S.C. established a new seminary in 1831 in an effort to promote the education of Lutheran ministers in the Southeast. It opened in Pomaria, Newberry County, but plans were soon made to move to this site, then 1/2 mi. from the town of Lexington Court House.
(Reverse) The seminary opened here in 1834, with Dr. Ernest L. Hazelius (1777-1853), a native of Prussia who had come to America in 1800, as headmaster until 1851. The seminary, headmaster’s house (1833), and academic building (1838) are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The seminary moved to Newberry in 1855 and became Newberry College in 1856.

Erected by the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary and the Lexington County Historical Society, 2010

345th BOMBARDMENT GROUP
Columbia Metropolitan Airport, Airport Blvd., West Columbia

(Front) The 345th Bombardment Group of the 5th Air Force, “the Air Apaches,” served in the Southwest Pacific during World War II. Four squadrons (the 498th, 499th, 500th, and 501st) trained here at Columbia Army Air Base November 1942-April 1943, with bombing runs over Lake Murray, aerial gunnery practice at Myrtle Beach, and maneuvers at Aiken before transferring to Walterboro.
(Reverse) The 345th left Walterboro in April 1943 for California, Australia, and the front, flying its first combat missions over New Guinea in June. The group flew B-25 Mitchell bombers in 8 campaigns from New Guinea to Japan June 1943-August 1945, sinking 260 vessels and shooting down 107 planes. It won 4 Distinguished Unit Citations and a Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.

McCormick County

(Front) The town of New Bordeaux, the last of seven French Huguenot colonies founded in colonial S.C. and the only one in the upcountry, was established 1 mi. E in 1764. After Protestants fleeing religious persecution in France petitioned the British crown for land to create a permanent settlement in S.C., they received a 28,000-acre grant in the newly-formed Hillsborough Township.
(Reverse) Almost 200 French Huguenots led by Rev. Jean Louis Gibert (1721-1773) landed at Charleston in April 1764 and began settling here in August. Others followed, including a group led by Jean Louis Dumesnil De St. Pierre (d. 1776), which arrived in 1768. The colony, which produced silk and wine on a modest scale, later furnished a militia company during the American Revolution.

Erected by the McCormick County Historical Commission and the Huguenot Society of South Carolina, 2000

Marion County

This church was founded in 1882 by 16 charter members, all former slaves or the children of former slaves. It held services in a brush arbor and a cotton gin before building its first sanctuary in 1886 at Main and Marion Streets. The present sanctuary, designed by Negro architect Wade Alston Ford and built by members of the congregation in 1922-26, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

(Front) “Bluefields,” named for the Blue family, was built by 1870. Annie Evans Blue (d. 1912) was given this land in 1872 by her father William Evans (1804-1876), Marion District planter, militia general, and state representative. Annie Blue and her husband, John Gilchrist Blue (1829-1889) raised their family here. John Gilchrist Blue, born in N.C., was an attorney and Confederate officer who served as a S.C. state representative 1876-80 and 1884-85.
(Reverse) Two of the Blues’s sons were nationally prominent. Victor (1865-1928), a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, was promoted for heroism during the Spanish-American War and commanded a battleship during World War I; he retired as a rear-admiral. Rupert (1867-1948), a graduate of the University of Maryland medical school, was surgeon general of the U.S. Public Health Service; he led in eradicating the bubonic plague in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

This one-story brick passenger depot, typical of the period, was built in 1908 for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The first railroad through Marion was the Wilmington & Manchester Railroad, completed here in 1854 and later incorporated into the Atlantic Coast Line when that railroad was created in 1900. This depot replaced an earlier frame passenger station and closed in 1966. The City of Marion renovated the building in 2004-05.

MARION’S CAMP AT SNOW’S ISLAND
U.S. Hwy. 378, just SE of Dunham Bluff Rd., Britton’s Neck vicinity

(Front) During the American Revolution Gen. Francis Marion (ca. 1732-1795), the most successful of the Patriot partisan leaders, made his camp and headquarters about 1.8 mi. SSW on Snow’s Island. The island, named for settlers James and William Snow, is bounded by the Pee Dee River, Lynch’s River, and Clark’s Creek.
(Reverse) Marion, called “the Swamp Fox,” led a S.C. militia brigade that camped on the island in the winter of 1780-81. In March 1781, with Marion and his men absent, Loyalists under Col. Welborn Doyle raided and destroyed the camp. Marion continued to frustrate British and Loyalist commanders until the end of the war.

Sponsored by the Blue Savannah-Swamp Fox Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, 2012, replacing a marker erected by the Snow’s Island Chapter, Children of the American Revolution, 1972

Marlboro County

Bennettsville Visitors Center and Chamber of Commerce, 304 West Main St., Bennettsville

(Front) This house, built in 1826 on Darlington St. (now Main St.), was first owned by H.H. Covington. It was sold in 1871 to Duncan Donald McColl (1842‑1911), prominent Marlboro County lawyer and businessman; the McColls lived in this house until 1884. Later moved to S. Liberty St., then McColl St., and finally to its present location by Hugh L. McColl, Jr., the house was donated to the county by McColl in 1991.

This Queen Anne house, built in 1884 for D.D. McColl, features local brick made from yellow clay and stained to simulate red brick. McColl organized the S.C. & Pacific Railway in 1884, served as its first president, and brought the railroad to Bennettsville and nearby areas. He also helped organize the Bank of Marlboro in 1886 and the Bennettsville Cotton Mill in 1897, and the town of McColl was named after him.

Erected by Pee Dee Committee of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of South Carolina, 1998

(Front) This depot was built in 1915 by the Atlantic Coast Line Railway. The first railroad line in Clio was a branch of the Florence Railroad, extended here from Latta in 1895, with a freight depot on S. Main St. After the Atlantic Coast Line Railway absorbed the Florence Railroad it built this depot. A cotton boom spurred the dramatic growth of Clio between 1900 and 1920 but did not survive the Depression.

(Reverse) The Atlantic Coast Line Railway ended rail service to Clio in 1941 and removed the tracks along Calhoun Street. The Clio Woman’s Club persuaded the town to buy the depot, which has been a community center and has also housed the Woman’s Club, Clio Library, and Clio Fire Department. The depot, renovated in 2002, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 as part of the Clio Historic District.

(Front) This house was built as a one-story residence in 1902 for Dr. John Frank Kinney (1870-1928) and his wife Florence McLeod Kinney (1874-1936). They added a second story and wraparound porch in 1907 and raised their five children here. Kinney was educated at Wofford College and the Medical College of S.C. He was county physician for 28 years, served on the Bennettsville Board of Health, and was also president of the Pee Dee Medical Association.
(Reverse)

In 1929 J.F. Kinney’s son, Dr. Prentiss McLeod Kinney (1899-1977), bought this house; he lived here with his wife Adelaide Smith Kinney (1899-1984). Kinney, educated at Wofford, the U. of Ga., and the Medical College of S.C., practiced medicine in Marlboro County for more than 50 years. During World War II he commanded a company and a battalion in the U.S. Army in Europe. He willed this house to the county, and it became the Marlboro County Historical Museum in 1997.

(Front) The Murchison School, built in 1902, was named for John D. Murchison (1826-1892), a merchant and the first mayor of Bennettsville. It was given to the city in his memory by his widow, former teacher Harriet Murchison Beckwith (1855-1927). This Romanesque Revival school features a central bell tower with a terra cotta tablet over its ornate arched entrance. It was designed by Denver architect John J. Huddart and built by contractor W.T. Wilkins of Florence.
(Reverse) Murchison School was an elementary and high school from 1902 to 1918, when Bennettsville High School was built next to it, and an elementary school from 1918 until it closed in 1989. The auditorium has hosted many civic events, club meetings, and theater productions. During World War II its balcony was renovated to house a dual library for this school and Bennettsville High after the high school burned. The balcony was later restored to its original appearance.

AMMONS FAMILY CEMETERY
U.S. Hwy. 15-401E, between Bennettsville & Tatum, Bennettsville vicinity

(Front) The family cemetery of Joshua Ammons (1756-1833), veteran of the American Revolution, is all that remains of his 500-acre plantation near the Three Creeks. Ammons, a native of Virginia, moved to S.C. by 1775, when he enlisted in the 3rd S.C. Militia. Ammons reenlisted in 1777, and was in the battles of Savannah and Stono Ferry and the Siege of Savannah in 1777-1779.
(Reverse) Ammons, captured by the British at the fall of Charleston in 1780, was exchanged in time for the siege of Yorktown and the British surrender there in 1781. An early history of Marlboro County praised him for his “great firmness of character and solid worth.” Ammons, a longtime member of Beauty Spot Baptist Church, received a veteran’s pension shortly before his death in 1833.

S.C. Hwy. 9 West near its intersection with Beauty Spot Rd. West (S.C. Sec. Rd. 35-47, Bennettsville
(Front) Palmer Field, originally Marlboro Aviation School, operated here from Oct. 1941 to Nov. 1944 as a primary training facility for the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. Civilian flight instructors led cadets through a 9-week course in PT-17 Stearman biplanes. The 55th Army Air Corps Flying Training Detachment trained 6,410 pilots here; 4,769, or 73%, graduated.
(Reverse)

CAPT. WILLIAM WHITE PALMER
Flight training ended here in late 1944, but the field briefly housed German POWs in 1945. In 1943 the field had been renamed for Capt. William White Palmer (1895-1934), Bennettsville native and World War I pilot. Palmer, in Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker’s 94th Aero Squadron, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and Croix de Guerre for gallantry in aerial combat.

(Front) This area has been the center of the African-American business district and a popular gathering place since the late 19th century. It has been called “the Gulf” since about 1925. Its most prominent early figure was E.J. Sawyer, Jr. (1854-1929), who was born a slave in N.C. and came here about 1869. Sawyer, postmaster 1883-85 and 1892-93, was also principal of the Colored Graded School 1878-1893, and editor of the Pee Dee Educator 1890-1900.

(Reverse) The block of Market St. going W from Liberty St. to Cheraw St. got its name from the large Gulf Oil Company sign at Everybody’s Service Station. That station, on the corner of N. Liberty and W. Market Sts., was long owned by J.D. “Bud” McLeod. Heber E. Covington (1887-1952) ran a popular cafe next door for many years, as well as a taxi service. The street was often blocked off at night on the weekends for dancers enjoying the latest recorded or live music.

(Front) This school, built in 1928 and founded by the Marlboro Educational Society, was the first high school for black students in the county. It was accredited by the state as a four-year high school by 1939. An elementary and high school 1928-1956, it included students in grades 1-11 until 1948 and added grade 12 in 1949. It was an elementary school 1956-1972, then was a child development center for the school district until 1987.
(Reverse) The Colonial Revival school was designed by Bennettsville architect Henry Dudley Harrall (1878-1959). It was also called Marlboro County Training High School. Charles D. Wright, Sr., principal here from 1929 to his death in 1949, was its longest-serving principal, responsible for many advances in its curriculum. This building has housed a local non-profit community center since 1988.