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HBWBBH???1B?B???ai The Lexington Dispatch. Wednesday, July 2,1902. g :i' ? LEAVES FROM HISTORY, j A Brief But interesting History of Lexington County. BY EDWIN J. DREHER. The public records in the Clerk's office for Lexington county, from its firet formation as Lexington, or SaxeGotha district, down to the year 1840, were destroyed when the public | buildings, together with the greater part of the town, were burned by Sherman's army during the Uivii war. The rest of the records, having been removed snd carried off in time, j were saved, and among them some i valuable old papers, throwing light on ; the earlier history of the county. The records thus lost covered a period of some fifty years, as this section of South Carolina was laid off into political and judicial divisions soon after the close of the Revolutionary war and the establishment of constitutional government in the State. It will be seen, therefore, that in order to give a brief account of the principal historical events and facts of this period, I will bave to depend mainly upon such information as I have been able to obtain from older and well informed citizens, as well as from contemporary history, bearing on the subject. Tradition is not often reliable in its details, and seldom correct in its statements. History is a plain and accurate record of facts. I have a good supply of materials of the one, but a very scant supply of the other. On page 77 of Chapman's School History of South Carolina, there is what is claimed to be * correct and accurate map of the State, as it ap. peared just prior to the Bevolulion* ary war. According to this map there were then seven principal divi eion?, namely, Charleston Precinct, Beaafort, Georgetown, Cheraw, Camden, Orangeburg and Ninety-Six Precinc9t. These precincts were all large districts, containing for the most part a Dumber of parishes or townships each. Orangeburg District contained Saxe Goths, Amelia and Orangeburg townships. The first of these towships lay in the northern.part of the District, and subsequently became Saxe-Gotha and then LexiDgton District. It seems to have embraced pretty much the same territory then as it does now. Judge James says in his Digest of the Laws of South Carolina, an old book, that in the first opportionment pf members of the Legislature, Saxe-Gotba District, including the fork of Broad and ? ? ^ ii Saiuaa rivers, was given mree members. Just when this apportionment was made, I am unable to say. The precise date is immeterial, however. Judge James is good authority. The State was divided into twentyfour districts, counties and parishes. This was during Gov. Charles Pmckney's administration in 1796-8. There were four more districts added three years later, making twent-yeight; and subsequently Pendleton and Sumter Districts were divided into two districts each, making thirty in all, which was the number in the State until 1868. The Constitution of the United States was adopted in 1787, and ratified by South Carolina, in 1788. Washington was inaugurated President of the United States in April 1789 in the city of New York and - the general government went into > operation that year. Columbia was B chosen as the capital of South CaroI lina in 1785, and the State records were removed from Charleston to ;? that place in 1789. The first i? session of the Legislature was held ft? in Columbia in 1790 and lasted six H? months. It ratified the Constitution of South Carolina which remained in force until 1868. During this time, and perhaps antedating some of these events, Saxe-^i n .i. t J u~ ? T .... vjroma l^isinui uau ucuuujc jjcaington District, a court house bad been built in the town of Granby, then a place of considerable trade, on the west bank of the Congaree river, a short distance below the old fort of that name. When it is remembered at that iime in the history of this section of South Carolina, the population wa3 confined almost entirely to the fertile lands along the rivers and their large tributaries, it j I?roOTOMB?IWI >?M? tm is not strange that the new and growing town of Granby, at the head of boat navagation on the Congaree, and with 9 the State road from the up country to Charleston running through it, should have been selected as a suitable place j for the location of the first judicial i district. But so it happened that the old fort town and Saxe-Gctha had their day. But Columbia, the beautiful new capital town of the State, clustered around Taylor's Spring on the green | hills of Richland, was growing apace, 1 " ? - 1 i li /> /In on/1 | ana graauaiiy ausuiuiug iLouaucauu I interest of the surrounding countryi The thrifty German and Swiss seti tiers of Lexington District, with | other new comers, were pushing out I their settlements along the large creeks flowing into the Congaree and Saluda rivers; and in a. few years there were many farms and mills, and many pioneer settlers along both I sides of th Saluda, as well as on the Edisto rivers and their many large tributaries, for a distance of more than twenty-five miles from Granby. The country was slowly but surely developing, and a change in the location of the court house would soon have to be made. Early in the Nineteenth century the agitation of the question had convinced a large majority of the citizens of Lexington that Oxranby was situated too much on one side of their district for the transaction there of public business: that it was a sickly place, being on the low grounds on the river, and that it was fast declining in trade and importance as a town from the fact that it was already, and would soon be entirely, overshadowed in these respects by the fast growing town of. Columbia. The matter having been decided, preliminary steps were taken for the removal by the appointment of commissioners to select a more central, suitable and healthful site for the location of the court house and jail and new county town of Lexington District. Whether several places competed for the honor of haviDg the new town or not I am unable to say, but a place then known in the locality as the "Three Pines/' because it was a famous deer stand at that day, on the north side of Twelve Mile creek, twelve miles west of Columbia, on lands belonging to Lawrence Charles, was chosen as the site of the present town of Lexington. The public square for the new court house and jail was purchased from Charles by the commissioners; and the public buildings were so far completed by the years 1819-20 that the records of the different offices of the District were removed from Old riranhv tn Lexington Court House and the latter was fomerly opened as the new county seat. At that time, that is, eighty-two years ago, this part of the country was very thinly settled. The pub lie square of Lexington was laid off across the Augusta road, and the public buildings erected in the woods among the pines and oaks. At first there were but two dwellings in or near the place, that of Charlep, between the court house and creek, and that of a Mr. Derrick, who lived more than a half a mile up the creek. By degrees lots were sold off on the ? i ? ii it* t east ana west siaes 01 tne pumic | square along the Augusta road on I which stores and dwellings were | built, until in the course cf some ! twenty years or more, Lexington be' came a considerable village. Thirteen years after its birth, that ! is, on the 25th of October, 1833, in a small two story house, which is still standing on the lot on the north east side of the court house square, a ! chubby babe, with fair skin, blue eyes ! and ,dark hair, was born. That babe ; now an old man, was the writer of | this brief history. His father died I before he was yet a year old and he was taken to his grandfather's, two ; miles out in the country, where his childhood and youth were spent, j The territory of Lexington District in 1840 down, to which year the ! records of the Clerk's office that were | saved now extend, was bounded on | the east and north by the Congaree and Broad rivers for a distance of i more than fifty miles. From Broad i river on the north east to South Edisto river on the south west, the distance 1 was equally as great. All of this territory is now in Lexington county except the fork of North and South I Edisto river?, which was cut off and placed in Aiken county since the close of the Civil wsr. The Saluda river runs across the north west section of Lexington county, and is forms what known as the Dutch Fork. Richland lies on the east, Orangeburg on the south, Aiken and Saluda counties on | the west and Newberry on the north. Three fourths of this large terri tory is south cf the Saluda river ly- | ing in the great saod hill belt, which | begins in south eastern Virginia and \ runs across the South Atlantic States of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia and ends in South eastern Alabama, marking with its upper edge the falLs aod shoals of the large rivers that travers it from north to south, and skirting the lower j edge of the Piedmont belt throughout its whole extent. This entire sand hill region of the South, when we take into consideration its favorable geographical location, ite equable and salubrious climate, its abundance of bold and swift streams of pure and sparkling water, its great variety of soil and agricultural products and resource?, its immense supplies of timber of many kinds, mineral?, beds of granite, sand stone and flint, its many waterpowers and facilities for manufacturing of every variety offering inducements to capitalists for investments, as well as superior attractions and advantages held out to persons in search of pleasant and healthful homes, is unsurpassed by any other part of our widely extended country. As I have already stated the first settlers of Lexington county were for the most part of German origin, except perhaps aloEg the Edisto rivers where many persons of other nationalities may have been found at an early period. These pioneer settlers as a whole nossesEed in an eminent - ? ------ Adegree the sturdy virtues of industry, thrift and economy. Their means aDd facilities for religious training and educational progress and improvement were very limited until a few years before the Civil war, and as a consequence they were very conservative in all civil, political and religious matters. They were, however, I am pained to say, at that time, more loyal to duty and more law abiding in many respects than are their descendants at the present day. When South Carolina, in a spasm of political excitement, committed the fatal blunder of Secession, I will venture the assertion that there were more sincere Union men in Lexington countv than in Qny other county in the State. Notwithstanding this fact Lexington county furnished her full quota of troops for the deplorable and disastrous war that followed: and her soldiers were as gallant and brave, and her people as zealous and ct-lf cQPrifl/>inrr in thpir devntinn fr> the "Lost Cause" as Ibose of any other county of South Carolina. In the year of 18G1, the beginning of the Civil war, Lexington county was in a fairly prosperous condition, though still without railroad facilities or other modern improvements to any considerable pxtent. The Columbia and Greenville road ran through a small portion of the Fork of the county next to Broad river. The Columbia and Augusta road had been surveyed and begun, but was not finished until some years after the war. The village of Lexington county seat, then forty-one years old, had grown to be a town of several hundred inhabitants. The court house and iail were both substantial and commodious buildings, built of native granite. There were three hotels in the towD, some half a dozen stores, blacksmith, wood and other sbop3, two churches and one good school bouse. There was also a printing office in which a newspaper called | the Lexington Flag was published. I Two other papers, the Lexington ! Telegraph and Temperance Standi ard had been published in the town i | before that time. It is not my purpose in this brief sketch to.trace the history of Lexington county, in any circumstantial detail, from the close of the Civil war down to the present time I can only j follow the course of events in a gen- j I eral way. As Sherman's army cut a wide | swath through the eastern and mid| die portions of the country, robbing, | burning, devastating and destroying J towns, dwellings, farms and property j of every kind with a ruthless vandal| ism and savage barbarism, hitherto j unknown in civilized warfare, it was 1 not surprising that when the white i robed angel of peace once more ' brooded over the land, and the war worn soldiers returned to their desolated homes, they fo ind the condi| tion of things there deplorable and ! unpromising in the extreme. [To be Continued. | AN OLD : SORE ; months of diligent and faithful use remains as defiant, angry and off ens matter on what part of the body it ec constitutional or organic trouble, an remain in the system; or, it may be th Cancer?has come to the surface ant The blood must be purified before and the skin regains its natural through the circulation that the aei fluids are carried to the sore or ulec irritated and inflamed. S. S. S. wi invigorate the stagnant blood when a other hurtful materials are washed o diseased pails, new tissues form, and healthy and natural look ; the discha Several years agro, my wife had a severo sore leg- and wes treated by the beet physicians but received no benefit. Our drugrgriPt advised her to try S. S. S., which she did. Fourteen bottles cured her and she has been well ever since. J. It. HAROLD, 22 Canal St., Cohoes, N. Y. skilled physicians for which no charg Diseases free. THE SWIFT 5 Five Hundred Bales Go Up in Flames from a Lightning Bolt. Columbia Evening Eecord 27th June. Daring the brilliant elefctrical display last night the old Congaree mill was struck by lightning. It has been used as a warehouse for the storage of cotton and in the two compartments into which the mill j divided there were about 4.000 bales of cotton, 3,500 in one and 500 in the other. The compartment struck by the bolt contained the 500 bales and these ard thai. portion of the building were totally destroyed. Is is supposed that the building was struck about midnight, as the watchman soon after that detected the smell of smoke. He mand an investigation, but failed to find any fire. About 1 o'clock it was discovered that the cotton was on fire, and an alarm was sounded by locomotive whistles and a short time after by the regular alarm bell. The firemen succeeded in saving all of the cotton in the compartment containing 3,500 bales, which was a great piece of the work. When the roof fell in it produced a beautiful pyrotechnic display with the millions of sparks flying in the air. The loss an the 500 bales amounts to $25,000 and which is covered by insurance. This is the same build ing that one Eli Perkins, a Northern writer said he saw in full operation as a mill owned and operated by negroes, the cotton was owned by the Columbia duck mill. The building is in charge of W. D. Melton for the owners. It was insured for $10,000 and about a fourth of the building was destroyed. There were an oil boiler or two in the mill, which were insured for $1,000. Beware of Ointment for Catarrh that Contain Mercury as mercury will surely destroy the sense of smell and completely derange the whole system when enter ing it tnrougn tne mucous suriaces. Such articles should never be used except on prescriptions from reputable physicians, as the damage they will do is tenfold to the good you can possibly derive from them. Hall's Catarrh Cure, manufactured by F. J. Cheney & Co , Toledo, 0 , contains no mercury, and is taken internally? acting directly on the blood and mucous surfaces of the system. In buying Hall's Catarrah Cure be sure you get the genuine. It is taken internally, and is made in Toledo, Ohio, by F. J. Cheney & Co. Testimonials free. Sold by druggistp, price 75c. Hall's Family Pills are the best. Bait for Suckers. Now that the cherry tree cases are disposed of, it is fair to ask the question: How many of you sympathized with the people who were defrauded? Through newspapers, and by the experience of other people they had been warned against such schemes. They wished to get something for nothing?or practically no effort?and they placed blind faith in an absurd proposition. So they lost. Another cherry tree concern, under a different name, can start business in this country tomorrow and make quick money until the law intervenes. Vill sour the sweetest disposition and -ansform the most even tempered, lovble nature into a cross-grained and rritable individual. C If impatience or fault-finding are ver excusable it is when the body is Drtured by an eating and painful-sore, t is truly discouraging to find after of external remedies that the place ive as ever. Every chronic sore, no >mes, is an evidence of some previous d that the dregs of these diseases at some long hidden poison?perhaps I begun its destructive work, the sore will fill up with health}* flesh color. It is .11 sediment or ut, fresn rich blood is carried to the the decaying flesh begins to have a rge ceases and the sore heals. S. S. S. is the only blood purifier that is guaranteed entirely vegetable. It builds up the blood and tones up the general system as no other medicine does. If you have a .sore of any kind, write us and get the advice of experienced and e is made. Book on Blood and Skin FHCIFIC CO., Atlanta, Ga. | There i9 always a surplus amount of : wealth that folks are anxious to get i rid of. Everybody in a community may be complaining of hard times, but Buffilo Bill can come along, pick up 810,000 and the amount isn'c missed. Such restless money is always ready to feed the tricksteis, too. Last year at the square a man declared that the soap he onered tor sale would cure anything from ingrowing nails to leprosy, and was worth twenty times the price he named. That night, when his pockets were full cf money, he laughed and admitted that his marvelous cure-all was made by pouring cheap German extract on large bars of soap, which were sliced into smaller bars and covered with tinfoil. He and half the world play the cherry tree game while the other half gladly purchases ?just foolish experience?Charlotte Observer. Saves a Woman's Life. To have given up would have meant death for Mrs. Lois Cragg, of Dorchester, Mass. For years she J J f ^ ^ ^ ? LIaU fc-LlUUICU ULIIUIU LUltt!!^ HULLI tt severe lung trouble and obstinate cough. "Often," she writes, "I could scarcely breathe and sometimes could not speak. All doctors and remedies failed till I used Dr. King's New Discovery for Consumption and was completely cured." Sufferers from coughs, colds, throat and lung trouble need this grand remedy, for it never disappoints. Cure guaranteed by J. E. Kaufmann. Price 50c and $1 00. Trial bottles free. "Uncle Sam" Timmerman Has dropped from running on his good looks and is comparing his official record with that of some other people most pointedly and aggressively.?Columbia Ev. Record. ? ? ? Don't Fail to Try Tliis. Whenever an honest trial is given to Electric Bitters for any trouble it is recommended lor a permanent cure will surely be affected. It never fails to tone the stomach, regulate the kidneys and bowels, stimu'ate the liver, invigorate the nerves and purify the blood. It's a wonderful tonic for run-down systems. Electric Bitters positively cures kidney and liver troubles, stomach disorders nervousness, sleeplessness, rheumatism, neuralgia and expels malaria. Satisfaction guaranteed by J. E. j Kaufmann. Only'50 cents. ? 4^ BBiiniB fnn>itir,iT.u/ujcvv Pi^ilE9$f? mwwhhh*""WIIWH a U 1 fl Habits Cured at my SanntorM ^ " * " iura, In 80 'lay*. Hundreds c. references. 2f; years a specialty. Book on Heme Treatment sen: FKEE. Address t>. M. WOOLLEY, M. D.f Atlanta, Ca. j July 25?ly. DR. E, J. ETHEREBGE, j SURGEON DEINTIST, LEESYILLE, S. C. j Office next door below post office. Always onhand. I February 12. ! Money to Loan. : TT/rE are prepared to xegoti YY ate loans promptly on improved I real estate in Lexington county at 7 per j cent, interest. No commissions. Borrowj er pays actual expenses of preparation of l papers. THOMAS & GIBBES. Attorneys at Law, Columbia, S. C. i November 13. 9mos. j i Money to Loan ON FARMING LANDS. LONG TIME. Easy payment. No commission. Bori rower pays actual cost of periecting Loan. E. K. PALMER, Central National Bank Building. COLUMBIA, S, C COL. G. T. GRAHAM, J Lexington, S. C. July 18? ly. i>r. G. E. Leaphart, 1 I REAL ESTATE BROKER, ] AND ! fire onfl i Inns mat, J LEXINGTON, S. C. 1 RESIDENT AGENT FOR THE I NEW YORK LI2PJE THE STRONGEST INSURANCE COMPANY ON EARTH. 'm Persons desiring a policy written in the 1 above strong insurance company should notify me and I will call upon them at their homes it preferred. DR. C E LEAPHART. Real As'ate and Insurance Agent. I GEORGE BRUITS MAIN ST., COLUMBIA, S. C., JEWELER and REFAIRER Has a splendid stock of Jewelry, Watches, < Clocks and Silverware. A fine line of d Spectacles and Eyeglasses to fit every one, < ail for sale at lowest prices. 7S3~ Repairs on Watches first class quickly done and guaranteed, at moderate i | prices. 60?tf tai'ii SUH_I.^ Tv in maKH Affidavit ^ New Lease of Life for an Iowa Postmaster. ^ Postmaster R. H. Randall, Dunlap, la., says: I suffered from indigestion and resulting evils for years. Finally I tried Kodol. I soon knew I had found what a I had long looked for. I am better today ? than in years. Kodol gave me a new 1 lease of life. Anyone can have my affidavit to the truth of this statement." i Kodol digests your food. This enables the j system to assimilate supplies, strengthen- ? ing every organ and restoring health. Kodol Makes You Strong. Prepared only bv E. C. DeWitt & Oo., Chicago, Tlie SI. bottle contains^ times the5Gc. size. ? J. E. KAUFMANN. f When writing: mention the Dispatch. j ill ilSill 1 THE ONLY NATIONAL BANK IN | COLUMBIA. \ UNITED STATES. STATE, CITY AND COUNTY DEPOSITOR!. Saving's Department. Paid up Capital - - - $200,000 " Surplus Profits . - . 70.000 Liability of Stockholders - 200,000 $470,000 Interest a'lowed at the rate of 4 per cent, oer annum, payable May 1st and November 1st W. A. CLARK. President. Wilis Jonks, Vice President and Cashier. December 4?ly. Ill IB IK. DEPOSITS RECEIVED SUBJECT TO CHECK. W. P. ROOF, Cashier. DIRECTORS: J Allen Jones, W. P. Roof, 0. M. Efird, R. Hilton James E. Hendriz. ak EXCHANGE BOUGHT AND SOLD. Deposits of $1 and upwards received and V interest at 5 per cent, per annum allowed, V payable April and October. September 21?tt * CHICHESTER'S ENGLISH PENNYROYAL PILLS 4 s'^" 1 00 tr Safe. Always reliable. Ladles, ask Druggist for eiSKHRSTEKS K>'<<LM1I i:> Red and <?old inttailic boxes, sealed with blue ribbon. 9 Take bo other. Refuse dangerous substitution*, amt imitation*. Buy of your Druggist, fl or send 4e. in stumps for Partieular*. Teati- M :uoai?l* and "Relief for Ladies.** in Wtrr, 9 by return .Hail. 10.000 Testimonials, bold by ^ all Drueeisia. CHICHESTER CHEMICAL CO. J I ?i00 7!udi?on Skjuare, PHILA., PA. | Mention this r>oj>er. , i if J ii 1 rffl I * II ! DR. BAKER'S 1 I FEMALE i HEGULATOB. Miii i I New Discovery for the Prevention and Cure of I '111 K-nnie Diseases. 1 11 ?= ' 1 ft is c pcrmcnent cure for o!l J : Womb. Bladder and Urinary Dis, I : eases and Fennale WeaKnesscs. . ||j| Leucorrhocc or Whites. Irregular j ::;Sj!| ond Painful Menstruation. &c Ladies will find * of special . ji| valuai? tol^en with regularitydu- fl " ''I r'n9 Pregnancy or the Change jj of L ?e if ? N J Price. Sl-25. ? ! m mm 1.8 '! PRFPARCD BY - r. DR W. C. BAKER. I] THE LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN MED CO.. I a uNncmiii *?? joii rtoriizrsu. | GREENE V1LLZ. TENN. I I COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO j ** \l vmm&Bwwdi, i