Bennettsville, SC

The Marlboro County courthouse

Bennettsville is a city in and the county seat of Marlboro County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,425 at the 2000 census.


History

The city of Bennettsville was founded in 1819 and named in honor of Thomas Bennett, the then governor of South Carolina. The city became one of the richest agricultural areas in the state. Legend says that the land is so rich it once sold by the pound instead of the acre. Because of this importance to its early history, the State of South Carolina gave Bennettsville the designation of its first "G.R.E.A.T. Town" (Governor's Rural Economic Achievement Trophy).


Appin near Bennettsville, South Carolina dates from 1875. The boundaries of the listed property were increased to include more, perhaps outbuildings or secondary structures, dating from 1870, in 2007 It is a two-story farmhouse associated with its second owner, Charles Spencer McCall. He was a veteran of the Civil War, a local business man, mayor of Bennettsville, and member of the South Carolina Senate.It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

In 1865, during the Civil War, the city was occupied by Union troops. During this time, the Jennings-Brown House and the first County Courthouse was used as the headquarters for General William T. Sherman.

Famous Residents:


Marian Wright Edelman

Hugh McColl, former president of the Bank of America and Marian Wright Edelman, founder of the Children's Defense Fund are natives of Bennettsville.

References In Pop Culture

In NBC's Parks and Recreation the character Tom Haverford (played by Aziz Ansari) notes in the pilot episode that he is from Bennettsville, South Carolina.

Established:

Established as the county seat in 1819, Bennettsville continues to serve as a political and economic center for Marlboro County. The historic district includes the central part of town, where the majority of the residential, commercial, religious, and public buildings date from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The courthouse continues to be the focal point of the town, although it is the third on the site (built 1885) and was extensively altered in 1951. Bennettsville has numerous excellent examples of residential architecture dating from the early nineteenth to mid-twentieth century. Styles and types include the upcountry farmhouse, Greek Revival, Queen Anne, Beaux Arts, and bungalows. Listed in the National Register April 20, 1978; Boundary increase June 3, 1993.

Bennettsville In Pictures:



Downtown Bennettsville


Courthouse (Entrance), Bennettsville, Marlboro County, SC


Ruins, Adjoining Golf Club, Bennettsville,


Shiness, residence of Mr. A.J. Mattheson,




McLaurin-Roper-McColl Farmstead



Marlboro County Courthouse


McColl Block Bldg., 110 E. Main St.


Playhouse Theatre, Clyde St.



D. D. McColl House, 304 W. Main St. (Queen Anne Style)


Roper-Powers House, 400 W. Main St.(Style: Beaux Arts)


Sarah Rogers House, 503 W. Main St. (Style: Beaux Arts)


Ellerbe House, 505 W. Main St.



402 E. Main St. (Style: Queen Anne)


403 E. Main St. (Style: Queen Anne)





404 E. Main St. (Style: Beaux Arts)


Everette-Hollis House, 112 N. Everette St. (Style: Queen Anne)


117 Parsonage St.


122 Parsonage St. (Style: Beaux Arts)



Shiness-Powers Apts., 208 Fayetteville St. (Style: Georgian Revival)


214 Fayetteville St. (Style: Victorian)


218 Fayetteville St.


222 Fayetteville St.


Douglas John House, 300 Fayetteville St. (Style: Queen Anne)


Crosland House, 105 Matheson St.



Crosby-Newton House, 205 McColl St. (Style: Queen Anne)


Bennetsville Elementary School






McLaurin House, Facade

The McLaurin House is an excellent example of Italianate architecture. It was constructed ca. 1880 by John B. McLaurin on the site of an earlier structure. A two-story clapboard frame structure, the house features a truncated hip roof with a balustraded deck. The front façade is dominated by a one-story porch with balustrade and decorative brackets. The center bay projects slightly forward and its doorway features rounded sidelights and transom with ruby colored glass. Symmetrical in plan, the house features such embellishments as multi-bracketed gables and eaves, octagonal bays with crowning balustrades, decorative finials, decorative moldings with diamond motif, and a balustraded widow’s walk. The house is surrounded by a picket fence constructed ca. 1880. There are also several outbuildings of undetermined ages located on the property. Listed in the National Register March 24, 1978


Pegues Place, Right Oblique

Pegues Place is Marlboro County’s only pre-Revolutionary home, built circa 1770 by French Huguenot Claudius Pegues. This two-story Georgian white frame house with lapped siding has a one-story, full façade porch supported by four square columns that stand independent of the porch (a “rain” or “Carolina” porch). Two large exterior gable end chimneys provide fireplaces for 2 rooms on each floor. A late nineteenth century wing was added to provide an additional four rooms on the two floors. The property contains several original outbuildings, including barns, cotton gin, wash house, log smoke house, carriage house, and greenhouse. The house is significant politically and militarily because on May 3, 1781 a cartel for exchanging prisoners of war was signed by Lt. Col. Edward Carrington (for Gen. Nathaniel Greene) and Capt. Frederick Cornwallis (for Gen. Earl Cornwallis) at this house. This is believed to have been the only cartel for the exchange of Revolutionary War prisoners signed and actually carried out during the Revolution. Gen. Greene and Light Horse Harry Lee were said to be frequent guests at the home of Mr. Pegues. Listed in the National Register January 25, 1971.







Appin, Facade



Appin, Outbuilding-Smokehouse


Appin, Outbuilding-Dairy


Appin, Outbuilding-Privy


Appin, Outbuilding-Red Barn


Appin, Outbuilding-Shed

External links:

Official city website

Visit Bennettsville.com

Belton, SC

Belton Depot in 1987

Belton is a city in eastern Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,461 at the 2000 census.

History

In 1845 a group was created to connect the Piedmont region of South Carolina by rail to the existing rail system which then ran from Columbia to Charleston. The expanded rail line ran through what was to become Belton, with a spur line which ran to the nearby town of Anderson. Because of the population explosion that occurred by the time the railroad had been completed in 1853, the state incorporated the town in 1855, with the boundaries being located within a half mile radius from the new railroad depot.

The city was given the name of Belton by Josephine Brown, daughter of the owner of most land surrounding the railroad junction. She chose the name after the first president of the C and G Railroad from Newberry, John Belton O'Neal.


Belton Depot, c. 1915

(Southern Railway Combined Depot) The Belton Depot is significant for its historical association with the railroad’s role in the development of Belton. It is also architecturally significant as an example of the prevailing turn of the century genre for depot design. This one-story brick depot, constructed ca. 1910, remains the focal point in downtown Belton. Situated on the west side of the Belton Public Square, the Belton Depot was built by the Southern Railway to replace earlier station facilities housed in several small buildings. The original plans credit the design to the company’s Office of Chief Engineer in Washington; however, the specific architect remains unknown. The rectangular plan features a prominent tin shingle hip roof with flared eaves supported by massive wooden diagonal brackets. The section housing the freight area is topped by a lower profile hipped roof. Brick walls are laid in common bond with stringcourses and segmented arch window and door openings. The depot was designed for a combination of passenger, office and freight storage uses. The railroad played a principle part in the development of Belton, which was incorporated in December 1855. The land was surveyed for rail use in 1849, and in 1853, the first train passed through Belton. The present railroad depot provided facilities for the textile industries which were located in and near Belton in the early twentieth century. Listed in the National Register August 13, 1979.

The city prospered not only due to the railroad junction, but also because of the areas cotton crop, which lead to the establishment of cotton mills.

In 1908, a municipal water system was established. A 155 feet (47.2 m) reinforced concrete tower with a 165,000 US gallons (625 m3) capacity was built. Known as the Belton Standpipe, the tower is still in use today. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 5, 1987. The standpipe was also the inspiration for the yearly Belton Standpipe Festival, originally held in 1987 as a fund raising event.


(Belton Waterworks Tower) The Belton Standpipe is a 155-foot high concrete water tower located one block east of the central business district of Belton. While it is commonly known as the “Belton Standpipe,” the structure is actually a water tower, as a standpipe normally stores water its entire length. The “standpipe,” which was constructed in 1908-09, is still used as a water storage source. The standpipe is significant as one of the state’s earliest extant examples of water storage facilities in concrete construction, which gained popularity in the United States in the early twentieth century. In 1908, Belton voters gave the Belton Town Council approval to issue bonds in the amount of $12,500 to finance a plant for the municipal waterworks systems. It is also significant as a town landmark and as an intact remnant of and symbol of an important period of growth and development in the town’s history. The tower is freestanding and of concrete construction in segmented rings. The rings were created by the pouring of concrete in stages, giving the effect of stone construction. The structure extends thirty feet into the ground, widening out in a funnel shape. The cap is crowned by crenellations. There are no stairs on the interior, as with some other towers of this type. Listed in the National Register November 5, 1987.

Belton In Pictures:






Downtown Belton Historic District


Belton's Oldest House

(Charles C. Chamberlain House) The Chamberlain-Kay House was built ca. 1854 as a residence for Charles C. Chamberlain. Chamberlain served as the first supervisor of the rail line from Belton to Greenville and after Belton was incorporated, he was chosen as the first intendant. The Chamberlain-Kay House is considered to be the oldest surviving residence in Belton. Architecturally, the Chamberlain-Kay House exemplifies the effect of the changing architectural tastes and fashions on a vernacular house form in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The house is an adaptation of the Piedmont Farmhouse, or I-House, type, with period elaborations and additions. The original board and beveled batten siding, as well as the bargeboards and brackets, represent the Carpenter Gothic fashion, while the doorway, with its transom and sidelights and anthemion ornament, represents the Greek Revival. The metal shingles on the roof, as well as the cedar shingles on the second story represent the variegated textures of the Queen Anne style. Each successive style was imposed upon the basic form, creating the amalgamative building surviving today. The house was repositioned to its present northwest orientation between 1911 and 1922. Several alterations or additions have also since occurred. Listed in the National Register November 25, 1980.


Belton's Standpipe

(Belton Waterworks Tower) The Belton Standpipe is a 155-foot high concrete water tower located one block east of the central business district of Belton. While it is commonly known as the “Belton Standpipe,” the structure is actually a water tower, as a standpipe normally stores water its entire length. The “standpipe,” which was constructed in 1908-09, is still used as a water storage source. The standpipe is significant as one of the state’s earliest extant examples of water storage facilities in concrete construction, which gained popularity in the United States in the early twentieth century. In 1908, Belton voters gave the Belton Town Council approval to issue bonds in the amount of $12,500 to finance a plant for the municipal waterworks systems. It is also significant as a town landmark and as an intact remnant of and symbol of an important period of growth and development in the town’s history. The tower is freestanding and of concrete construction in segmented rings. The rings were created by the pouring of concrete in stages, giving the effect of stone construction. The structure extends thirty feet into the ground, widening out in a funnel shape. The cap is crowned by crenellations. There are no stairs on the interior, as with some other towers of this type. Listed in the National Register November 5, 1987.


Farmers Bank

The Farmer's Bank (established about 1902) is currently located 2 doors down from Horton's Pharmacy.  The building has lost its crenelated top and the doorways are different.  At one time the building was occupied by Horton's Electric.  Belton was one of the few southern towns during the Great Depression (1929-1935) to have no banks failures.

Photo taken in 1909 and processed by Belton Drug Co. in Belton, S.C.









Belton's Greer Hotel

This photo provides a view of Geer Hotel and a Trolley Car on G. S. & A. in Belton.  The Trolley Car is traveling on South Main Street and is seen adjacent to the present day location of Horton's Pharmacy.  The pharmacy is the only portion of the Geer Hotel that remains.



Downtown Belton 1900's







Belton's  Downtown and City Square





Conakka House

"Conakka" was built ca. 1903 by John B. Adger, a Charleston fellow who came to Belton to assist with the Belton Power Company.  The home was once surrounded by a formal garden.  It is said that photos of this home were once featured on post cards of this period.  Although not verified, it is said that some of the bricks produced from one of two Belton brick mills were used in its construction.  The Lewis Blake Family also lived in this home until it was purchased by Allen and Molly Cheshire.  



External links:

City of Belton

Belton Area Partnership

Barnwell, SC

Barnwell is a city in Barnwell County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 5,035 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Barnwell County.

History

The county was originally part of Orangeburg District, and in 1785 it was named Winton County. It was given its current name in 1798 when the County and its seat were named for Revolutionary War leader John Barnwell (1748-1800), who headed a militia in South Carolina. Barnwell County originally stretched from the Savannah River on the west almost to the Atlantic Ocean.


Savannah River

Built in 1832, the South Carolina Railroad connected Charleston to Hamburg on the Savannah River. Hamburg was near Augusta, Georgia. This was the first steam railroad in the world. The railroad went through the middle of the county. Two stops on the railroad created the towns of Blackville, South Carolina and Williston, South Carolina in the mid-nineteenth century.

Built in 1858, the sundial in Barnwell is often thought to be the only remaining vertical freestanding sundial in the USA. It was surrounded by a parking lot in the 1960’s but in the 1990s the Town of Barnwell removed the parking lot, built a park, and made the sundial a focal point. Another, of more recent construction, exists in front of the Wise County Courthouse in Texas, and there may be more.

Civil War

Barnwell gave generously to the Confederate cause; the most distinguished person was General Johnson Hagood, who was later governor of South Carolina. Soon after Hagood's election, one of his constituents asked him if he wished to be called "General" or "Governor". "Call me General," Hagood said, with a twinkle in his eye, "I fought for that and begged for the other."

Barnwell was hated by General Sherman; he felt that the town should be burnt to the ground since it carried the name of one of the most prominent politicians who had demanded South Carolina’s withdrawal from the Union. When Major Kilpatrick’s cavalry marched through Barnwell, they used the Church of the Holy Apostles, erected in 1856, as a stable for his horses. The hoof prints are still visible in the floors. The medieval font in the church was used to water the horses.

Built of cypress wood from the local swamps, the Church of the Holy Apostles was constructed in 17xx and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Barnwell County has decreased in size over the years as new counties were created within its boundaries (Aiken in 1871, Bamberg in 1897 and Allendale in 1919).

Savannah River Site

In 1950 the federal government asked DuPont to build and operate a plutonium production plant near the Savannah River in South Carolina. The company had unmatched expertise in atomic energy, having designed and built the plutonium production complex at the Hanford site, for the Manhattan Project during World War II. A large portion of farmland was bought under eminent domain and converted to the Savannah River Site (formerly known as the Savannah River Plant - SRP) managed by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.

Several towns and over 100 cemeteries were relocated during this time. Dunbarton and Ellenton are but two. Dunbarton was the town in which Duncannon was located; it was once a sprawling wildlife preserve and early 19th century plantation. Former President George H. W. Bush, with his brothers, used to visit their grandfather George Herbert Walker at the plantation. He and his family spent many Christmases there. Union General William T. Sherman allegedly spared the plantation, built in 1835, because a woman and sick child were resting in a bedroom upstairs

US Army soldiers were brought into the county and were used as guards at this new facility. A camp was constructed for the soldiers off of Clinton Street in an area of the Little Salkehatchie swamp called O’Bannon Point. Most locals call this road “Barracks Road”. After discharge, many of these troops stayed on at SRP as civilian guards.

DuPont ran the Savannah River Site until 1989, when Westinghouse began the management of the facilities for the Department of Energy. The Savannah River Plant changed its name to the Savannah River Site. It was once one of the largest employers in the county.

Notable people:

Legendary entertainer James Brown was born in Elko area of Barnwell in 1933. He moved to Augusta to live with his aunt at the age of 6.

The county was the home of several powerful state politicians, known collectively as the "Barnwell Ring." Included were state Senator Edgar A. Brown (1888–1975), state Speaker of the House Solomon Blatt, Sr. (1895–1986), and Governor Joseph E. Harley (1880–1942).

The South Carolina poet and novelist, William Gilmore Simms, lived most of his life in the county. The county was also home Louis M. Shook, the first Baptist missionary sent to China. Mr. Shook is buried in the Baptist churchyard in Barnwell.

Troy Brown, New England Patriots wide receiver(NFL).

Henry Louis Wallace, serial killer.

James O'H. Patterson (1857–1911), United States Representative from South Carolina.

R. Winston Morris, professional tuba player and teacher.

Charley B. Flint, author and President of the NJAC Board of Trustees

Bobby Rouse, Professional Basketball Player (GERMANY-Ulm, FRANCE-Bordeaux, Luxembourg City-Luxembourg)

Transportation:

Barnwell Regional Airport

Local Motion - Barnwell County's Public Transportation System (803) 541-1197

Barnwell In Pictures:


Salkehatchie Bridge, State Route No. 64 spanning Salkehatchie River,


The Williston Cotton Gin rises over the rural landscape of Williston as a reminder of our state's cotton farming industry.


City Of Barnwell


Barnwell County Courthouse


The Historic Sundial



Exterior Links:

City of Barnwell

City Of Barnwell Historic Website

South Carolina Information Highway

Barnwell's History

Older Than Dirt

This is great !!!See if you are older than dirt !!! I am !!!!

Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?'

'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him.

'All the food was slow.'

'C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat?'

'It was a place called 'at home,'' I explained. !

'Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.'

By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table.

But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it :

Some parents NEVER owned their own house, wore Levis , set foot on a golf course, traveled out of the country or had a credit card.

In their later years they had something called a revolving charge card The card was good only at Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears & Roebuck.

Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died.

My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly because we never had heard of soccer. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow).

We didn't have a television in our house until I was 11.

It was, of course, black and white, and the station went off the air at midnight, after playing the national anthem and a poem about God; it came back on the air at about 6 a.m. And there was usually a locally produced news and farm show on, featuring local people.

I was 13 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called 'pizza pie..'

When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that, too. It's still the best pizza I ever had.

We didn't have a car until I was 4. It was an old black Dodge.

I never had a telephone in my room.

The only phone in the house was in the living room and it was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line.

Pizzas were not delivered to our home.. But milk was.

All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers --my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which he got to keep 2 cents. He had to get up at 6AM every morning. On Saturday, he had to collect the 42 cents from his customers. His favorite customers were the one s who gave him 50 cents and told him to keep the change. His least favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day.

Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies.. There were no movie ratings because all movies were responsibly produced for everyone to enjoy viewing, without profanity or violence or most anything offensive.

If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing.

Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it?

MEMORIES from a friend:

My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December) and he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn't have steam irons Man, I am old.

How many do you remember?

Head lights dimmer switches on the floor.
Ignition switches on the dashboard.
Heaters mounted on the inside of the fire wall.
Real ice boxes.
Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.
Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.
Using hand signals for cars without turn signals.

Older Than Dirt Quiz:

Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about

Ratings at the bottom.

1. Blackjack chewing gum
2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water
3. Candy cigarettes
4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles
5. Coffee shops or diners with tableside juke boxes
6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
7. Party lines on the telephone
8. Newsreels before the movie
9. P.F. Flyers
10.Butch wax
11.TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were only 3 channels, if you were fortunate)
12. Peashooters
13. Howdy Doody
14. 45 RPM records
15. S and H greenstamps
16. 20 Hi-fi's
17. Metal ice trays with lever
18. Mimeograph paper
19. Blue flashbulb (Camera)
20. Packards (An Automobile)
21. Roller skate keys
22. Cork popguns
23. Drive-ins
24. Studebakers
25. Wash tub wringers

If you remembered 0-5 = You're still young
If you remembered 6-10 = You are getting older
If you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 16-25 = You're older than dirt!

Author Unknown

Aiken, SC

Aiken County Courthouse

Aiken, South Carolina is a city in the United States state of South Carolina. It is the county seat of Aiken County, and with Augusta, Georgia is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. It is also part of the Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area. Aiken is home to the University of South Carolina at Aiken. The population was 25,337 at the 2000 census. Aiken was recognized with the All-America City Award in 1997 by the National Civic League.

Historical events in Aiken

The history of Aiken dates to its incorporation on December 19, 1835. It was named for William Aiken, a banker in Charleston.

In the late 1800's, Aiken gained fame as a wintering spot for wealthy folk from the Northeast. Over the years Aiken has hosted many famous and notable people.

In the spring of 1931, the nation's attention was riveted on Aiken when Nicholas Longworth, Republican Speaker of the House, came down unexpectedly with pneumonia and died there on April 9, 1931. He had been visiting family friends – all long-time Republicans and fellow poker players – who had a winter home in town. Longworth was married to US President Theodore Roosevelt's daughter, Alice Roosevelt Longworth, who rushed to his side from Cincinnati, Ohio, arriving prior to his death.

1950 - Announcement of Savannah River Plant

The selection of a site near Aiken by the US Atomic Energy Commission to build a plant to produce fuel for thermonuclear weapons was announced on November 30, 1950. The site was named the Savannah River Plant (subsequently renamed Savannah River Site (SRS) in 1989). The facility contained 5 production reactors, fuel fabrication facilities, a research laboratory, heavy water production facilities, two fuel reprocessing facilities and tritium recovery facilities.

Education

Colleges and Universities

University of South Carolina at Aiken.

Aiken Technical College

The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL)is a research unit of The University of Georgia, located at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, S.C. - Since the laboratory's founding in 1951 by Dr. Eugene Odum of the University of Georgia, a pioneer of modern ecology, SREL scientists have studied the long-term ecological impacts of the SRS nuclear facility. SREL is supported by federal, state, industry, and foundation funding.

Steeplechase racing

The Aiken Steeplechase Association, founded in 1930, hosts the Imperial Cup each March and the Holiday Cup in October, both of which are steeplechase races sanctioned by the National Steeplechase Association. This event shows large attendances of more than 30,000 spectators.

The Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1977 as a tribute to the famous flat racing and steeplechase Thoroughbred horses that trained at the The Aiken Training Track.

Other Events Held In Aiken

Aiken also hosts many polo matches at the numerous polo fields located in the city. There are also many other events held in Aiken such as:

The Lobster Races
Aiken's Makin'
Western Carolina State Fair
Battle of Aiken Reenactment
The Whiskey Road Race
Aiken Triple Crown
Fall Steeplechase

Notable residents:

In the late 1800's and the first part of the 1900's, Aiken served as a winter playground for many of the country's wealthiest families such the Vanderbilts, Bostwicks, and the Whitneys.

George H. Bostwick (1909-1982) court tennis player, a steeplechase jockey and horse trainer, and an eight-goal polo player.

Dwight Filley Davis, 1879 - 1945, an American tennis player and politician who is best remembered as the founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition, had a summer home in Aiken.

Robert C. De Large, (1842-1874), born in Aiken, United States Congressman from South Carolina in a contested election

Thomas Hitchcock and his wife Louise spent a great deal of time at their 3,000-acre (12 km2) estate near Aiken where in 1892 he founded the Palmetto Golf Club. In 1916, Louise Hitchcock founded the Aiken Preparatory School. The Hitchcocks built a steeplechase training center on their property and trained weanlings imported from England. In 1930, Thomas Hitchcock was one of the founders of the Aiken Steeplechase Association. Fond of fox hunting, they also established the Aiken Hounds and in 1916 received official recognition from the Masters of Foxhounds Association of North America.

Tommy Hitchcock, Jr. (1900-1944), son of Thomas and Louise Hitchcock, was born in Aiken. He is considered one of the greatest polo players of all-time. A veteran of the Lafayette Escadrille in World War I, he was killed in the service of his country in World War II.

Rufus Holley (1952- ), trailer park designer.

Dr. Eugene Odum In 1951 he founded the SREL lab in Aiken South Carolina to study the long-term ecological impacts of the Savannah River Site nuclear facility.

Strom Thurmond, (1902-2003), former US Senator who owned several residences in Aiken.

Lee Atwater, (1951-1991), Republican political consultant and former Chairman of Republican National Committee

William Refrigerator Perry, former NFL defensive lineman and 3-time NCAA All-American (1982-1984).

Michael Dean Perry, former NFL defensive lineman, 6-time pro bowler (89-91, 93-94, 96), NCAA first-team All-American (1987).

Birthplace of Marly Youmans, novelist and poet.

Paul Williams, current WBO Welterweight Champion.

Paul Wight, professional wrestler

Troy Williamson, professional football player.

John Shipman, noted artist

James Walter "Jimmy" Carter, champion boxer

Grace Taylor, Gymnast

Abrar Mohiuddin, Chemical Engineer/professional arm wrestler

The Southside

The Southside is the southern area of the city of Aiken, which strongly increased in development after the construction of the Savannah River Site. It now serves as the premiere shopping district in Aiken County, being the location of the Aiken Mall, multiple retail stores, and several restaurants. A large residential community, Woodside, includes some of the most prestigious homes in Aiken and has multiple golf courses within the gated community.

Aiken Municipal Airport

Although no scheduled commercial flights run through the airport, it is a very busy airport with multiple executive partners from nearby businesses. It has two newly paved runways, a newly renovated terminal, and is in close proximity with Interstate 20.

Aiken In Pictures:




Stony Point, Northeast corner of SC 246 and SC 39,


77 Taylor Street (House), Graniteville,


Palmetto golf links, Aiken, S.C.


Park in the Pines Hotel, Aiken, S.C


The Devil's backbone, Aiken, S.C.


Park in the Pines, Aiken, S.C.


W.C. Whitney's residence, Aiken, S.C.


Lover's [sic] Lane, Aiken, S.C.


Scene in Magnolia (Africian-American) cemetery, Aiken, S.C.


Wilcox's [i.e. Willcox's] hotel and cafe, Aiken, S.C.

External links:

The official website of the City of Aiken

The Aiken Chamber of Commerce

Aiken South Carolina Explorer

Aiken High School

Savannah River Site

Hitchcock Woods

Abbeville, SC

Abbeville Opera House

Abbeville is a city in Abbeville County, South Carolina, United States, 86 miles (138km) west of Columbia. Its population was 5,840 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Abbeville County. Settled by French immigrants, it was named along with the county for the French town of the same name.

Abbeville and the American Civil War


The Rock at Secession Hill

Abbeville has the unique distinction of being both the birthplace and the deathbed of the Confederacy. On November 22, 1860, a meeting was held at Abbeville, at a site since dubbed "Secession Hill", to launch South Carolina's secession from the Union; one month later, the state of South Carolina became the first state to secede.

It was also the birthplace of noted states rights advocate John C. Calhoun.

At the end of the Civil War, with the Confederacy in shambles, Confederate President Jefferson Davis fled Richmond, Virginia and headed south, stopping for a night in Abbeville at the home of his friend Armistead Burt. It was on May 2, 1865, in the front parlor of what is now known as the Burt-Stark Mansion that Jefferson Davis officially acknowledged the dissolution of the Confederate government.

Burt-Stark Mansion

Construction

The house is a white Greek Revival style two story house with a frame structure and lap siding. A front pedimented portico, also two stories high, is supported by four square columns. Underneath this is a small wooden latticework second-story balcony. It has a brick foundation, with wooden walls. The roof is made of aluminum and tin, with both asphalt and cedar shingles. The shutters on all the windows are original. There were several exterior buildings, but the only one still standing is the kitchen; the other building once on the property were a carriage house, cow barn, milk house, smokehouse, and well house. Spacious rooms and high ceilings mark the interior. A central great hall with an Adam fanlight is the main entrance to the domicile, with a drawing room on each side. The left drawing room would be where Jefferson Davis would hold his final war council with John C. Breckinridge, his Secretary of War, and senior military officials. Before the War, the wide double doors would open to create a ballroom from the entire front area. The only additions to the house after the War was a bathroom and a northwest corner wing, which provided extra kitchen space. Most of the furnishings are from the 1850's and 1860's.

It was built in the 1830s by David Lesley, a local attorney, judge, planter, and Presbyterian Church elder. Lesley had seen a house in the north that he liked, and chose that house as the prototype for his own. He sent a man named Cubic, a slave that was also a master carpenter, to look at the prototype house, and he then oversaw construction of Lesley's.


2003 Right-of-Way Standoff


On December 8, 2003, in a 14-hour standoff that stemmed from a land-survey dispute, two Abbeville lawmen were gunned down by West Abbeville resident Steven Bixby. This siege has been compared by both sympathizers of the Bixbys and law enforcement agents to the events of Waco and Ruby Ridge. In February 2007, Steven Bixby was convicted on 17 counts including the two murders, as well as lesser charges of kidnapping and conspiracy. He was given two death sentences for the murders plus 125 years in prison on the other charges.

Notable residents:

James S. Cothan, (1830-1897), born near Abbeville, United States Congressman from South Carolina

John Henry Logan, (1822-1885), born in Abbeville, physician, served as a surgeon in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, professor at Atlanta Medical College, and editor of the Atlanta Medical Journal.

Benjamin Glover Shields, (1808-1850), born in Abbeville, was a United States Congressman from Alabama.

John C. Calhoun, 7th American Vice President under Andrew Jackson, notable States Rights Activist, and later the 16th Secretary of State of the United States

Robert Reid Hemphill,(1840-1908), Another important resident of Abbeville was General Robert Reid Hemphill, who fought in the Civil War, and was a member of the House of Representatives from 1876 to 1880 and from 1884 to 1886. He was also a Senator from 1886 to 1894 from Abbeville County, and later Clerk (1894-1908) of the South Carolina Senate. He was also Editor of the "Abbeville Medium". Robert died in Abbeville.

Abbeville In Pictures:


The Young Place



Frazier-Pressley House, Privy, intersection County Roads 33,112 and 47, Abbeville vicinity,



Frazier-Pressley House, Intersection County Roads 33,112 and  47, Abbeville vicinity,


Featherstone Tenant Farm, County Road 81, Lowndesville vicinity,



Abbeville Hydroelectric Power Plant, State Highway 284 and County Road 72, Rocky River (historical),


Long-Hutchison Farm, House, County Road 123, Lowndesville vicinity,


Harper-Featherstone Tenant Farm, County Road 81, Lowndesville vicinity,




Abbeville County Court House





Caldwell-Hutchison Farm, County Road 93, Lowndesville vicinity, Abbeville County, SC


Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Bridge, Spanning Savannah River, Savannah River,

Harbison College Presidents Home

Modern history

In 2011, Abbeville High School won its sixth South Carolina high school football state championship. It was the second title in a row in the 1A division.

In 2011, Abbeville High School (South Carolina) also won their 1st South Carolina high school softball championship. It was the first female team to win a state championship in Abbeville High School history. Pitcher Gennifer Durham had a fantastic year, striking out many batters with her ankle-breaking knuckle ball. She currently plays softball for the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA.

Architectural mention

Abbeville is the location of the tallest building in South Carolina, the Prysmian Copper Wire Tower. Built in 2009, the tower is 373 feet (114 m) tall and has 30 floors.

Source: Internet