The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, November 12, 1970, Image 37
17—THE CHRONICLE, Clinton, S. C.
Dr. Whitten Pioneered S.C.
Work In Mental Retardation
The Whitten Village Train
ing School for the mentally
retarded was started by Dr.
B. O. Whitten in 1920. In the
early days, Dr. Whitten had
little but his own determination
and an appropriation of only
$87,500 from the state of South
Carolina to build the institu
tion.
Today, some fifty years after
the school was established,
things have changed slightly.
The campus is now ovsr ^800
acres in size, and many new
buildings have been construct
ed for the care of the retarded.
A staff of 1000 highly trained
personnel is employed to care
for the children.
The growth of Whitten Vil
lage has been slow, often agon
izing for those involve I wi.hthe
training and rare of the
retarded. However,
Dr. Whitten's untiring efforts
and the work of some enlight
ened legislators have develop
ed Whitten Villago into the lar
gest if i 1 state’s institutb>ns
for the mentally retarded.
When the Village was started
in 1920, the first patients were
six boys. This first group vas
soon followed by a small
number of girls, one f whom
is still at the village.
There are now some three
thousand rhildren at the Vill
age, and the numter is increas
ing every year. Dr. RoySuber
is the present superintendant >f
the school. He tecame super-
intendant when Dr. Whitten re
tired in 1965.
Tttere are two major div
isions of the children at Whit
ten Village, the Circle area and
the campus area. The children
in the Campus area usually
have an I. Q. of 50 or above
and can be trained. Most of
these children attend a non-
graded academic school andean
go as far as they are able.
There is also some vocational
training available for them.
Many of these students tried
to attend puolic schools but
were unable to remain because
of their problems. Many of them
need a sheltered environment
and the non-competitive atmos
phere of the non-graded
schools. There are many acti
vities open to these children,
including clubs, choirs, all
types of recreation and many
other activities. About 250 of
these students are released
from the Village every year.
There are also many day stu
dents wh i attend the school and
take part in the activities of the
Campus area students but who
do not live at the Village.
The Circle area of Whitten
Village provides care and
training for children that have
an L Q. ofless than 50. The
Circle is composed of six se
parate groups <f patients, and
each group is assigned to a
general area f their own.
There are approximately 230
children in the non-ambulant
(helpless) section of tlie Cir
cle. Ttiese children are com
pletely dependant on others and
confined to a ted at all timos.
S 'me f them have to be tube-
fed while one group d >es get
some physical therapy.
The semi-ambulant com
prise the next group living on
the circle. These children often
wear braces and may be con
fined to a wheelchair. These
children are also in constant
need of care. Their activities
include watching television,
country.
The third group is composed
of the generally trainable child
ren. Most of these children are
between six and fourteen and
are not capable of taking care of
themselves. However, they can
be trained to take care ofbasic
personal needs.
Two dorms house the fourth
group on the Circle. These
children are ifflicted with
cerebal palsy or some other
crippling disease and, through
special training, physical ther
apy, and other means, are
trained to t>e as self-sufficient
as possible. Webb Center, a
therapy hospital is modern and
well-equipped.
Group five is composed of
severely retarded and dis-
turt'ed children who must tie
kept under constant surveil
lance and maximum security.
Most of the.^e range m age from
16 - TO.
The Sixtti croup is composed
of the adults that live at ttie
Village, many if wh m have
iieen there all ■ f their lives.
They spend their time w itch
ing television, working in var
ious arts and crufts, tnlki ic,
helping with the youncer child
ren, and working on the larce
farm >wue1 by Whitten Village.
There is als > a modern, well
equipped hospital available to
take care of the medical needs
J.C. Thomas Is 24th
Mayor Of Clinton
J. C. Thomas, ttie current
Mayor of Clinton, is the 21th
mayor in Clinton’s history, ac
cording to City Council minutes
dating back to 1890.
Clinton was chartered in 1899
and was incorporated in March,
1906, according to the minutes.
From the time Clinton was
chartered until it was incor
porated the chief "fficer of the
town was called “intendant.*
W. B. Owens, father of cur
rent City Clerk Brooks Owens,
was the first intendant or
mayor, serving in 1891. Mr.
Brooks Owens says he doesn’t
know exactly how many months
his father served as intendant
but believes it was one year or
a little over a year.
W. A. Shands was his suc
cessor, serving 1891-1893.
Shands served the mostnum-
ber f years (13) but his terms
were interrupted. He served in
1891-1893 and later served from
1897-1908.
P. S. (Si) Bailey had the
longest continuous term in of
fice, serving a 12-year period
from 1931 to 1916. James R.
Copeland served for nine con
secutive years (1913-1922) and
Terry served for eight
years but his terms were broken
into two periods of service
(1950- 54 and 1956-60).
The mayors or intendants of
Clinton and their terms of ser
vice are as follows:
W. B. Ojvens, 1891, (retired)
W. A. Shands, 1891-1893
W. J. Leake, 1893-1895
A. M. Copeland, 1895-1897
W. A. Shands, 1897-1908
W. M. McMillian, 1908-1913
(resigned)
COLONY OPENED IN DECEMBER, 1922
DR. WHITTEN . . Honored On Retirement
James R. Copeland, 1913-1922
W. H. Simpson, 1922-1924
J. F. Jacobs, Sr., 1924-1926
W. M. McMillian, 1926-1928
F. B. Sloan, 1928 (died after
several m ouths in office)
Jack H. Young, 1928-1932
H. Y. Abrams, 19 3 2-1934(died
during term)
F. M. Boland, mayor pro-
tern served May 1934-July, 1934.
P. S. Bailey, 1934-1946
Dr. L. E. Bishop, 1946-1950
Joe Terry, 1950-1954
Hugh L. Eichelberger, 1954-
1956
Joe Terry, 1956-1960
J. J. Cornwall, 1961-1966
B. Noland Suddeth, 1966-1968
Harry C. Layton, 1968-1969
(died during term)
B. Noland Suddeth, March,
1970-August, 1970
J. C. Thomas, 1970
CITY CLERKS
W. Brooks Owens is the 15th
of the children at Whitten Vil
lage. TIk- ti 'Updal is stiffed by
six phv 2 11 : v : . v i-k full
time at the Village. Docotors
from the surrounding area in
private pr ictice also offer their
services when needed.
Ttie Parent’s Club atWhitten
has d ine a meat deal to im-
pr ve ttie quality "f cure, and
ttie facilities available for the
children. A Parents’Clubhouse
was built in 1957 and provides
a pi i"" fir visiting parents to
have picnics and visit together
who i they are visiting Whitten
Villaire.
In '>rder Li pi ivide some of
ttie tremendous amou it of food
ind dairy products needed to
supply ttie children, Whitten
Villa re iwns and maintains a
iuirv farm aid a poultry farm
that provides ale up 90b of all
eggs used in the Village.There
is als" a hog farm that provides
additional money. These farms
are w rked by Whitten Village
children wh i receive compen
sation f T their work.
City Clerk to serve Clinton.
Janios W. Wright is listed
as the first city clerk, serving
one year, in 1891.
Others listed:
1891-93, C. K Hale
1891-98, M. T. Vance
1898- 99, M. C. Nash
1899- 1903, H. D. Henry
1904 (Jan. i Feb.), W. S.
Riser
1904-1935, G. W. Moore
1906-1908, W. L. Ferguson
1908 (April-Aug.), T. D.
Leake
1908-1910, H. D. Henry
1910-1919, S. W. Sumeral
1919-1924, Dorcas Mason
(Mrs. Dorcas Nance)
1924-1928, Mary Chalmers
(Mrs. David Holland)
1928-1945, D. C. Houstess
1945-present, W B. Owens
The operating budget for 1971
will be over $6,300,000, a
slight improvement over the
$87,000 originally appr ipriit-
ed for the establishment of a
state training school for the
mentally retarded. There are
currently 3000 children en
rolled at the Village and a
constant waiting list of approxi
mately 1200. Parents provide
some help i i caring for their
children at Whitten Village.
However, the maximum cost of
maintaining a child at the Vil
lage is only $100.
The mentally retarded were
once considered outcasts of
society. They were viewed with
fear, superstition, and some
times contempt. However, the
administration and staff at
Whitten Village realize that
the mentally retarded can lie
helped, and some can become
productive members of society
with proper training and work.
P is to this purpose and ideal
that the employees of Whitten
Village are dedicated.
DINING HALL—The new dining hall and cafe
teria was completed in 1964.
FIRST BOARD—First Board of Trustees shown
above, seated, left to right: Superintendent Whit
ten ; Chairman R. L. Plaxico; Dr. Edwin Wallace;
standing: W. B. Perrin, Dr. J. P. Price and Dr.
William H. Lacey.
AERIAL VIEW — Shown above is
only part of the Whitten Village
campus. Cerebral Palsy and Pre-Vo
cation area Ls in center; at right,
dorms for C.P. children; left, dorms
for mixed groups in ages and handi
caps ; toward rear, center, is the
modern hospital. Shop and new laun
dry are to right.
Mf. Moriah Baptist Church Started
On Robert Adair Plantation
CLINTON COUNCIL (1896-97)—Shown above
are members of Clinton’s Town Council in 1896-
97. Seated, left to right, are: J. A. Bailey, A.
M. Copeland (Intendent), and D. E. Tribble;
standing are: Clerk R. G. Wallace, C. C. Bailey,
A. B. Blakely and Marshall G. O. Smith.
A very small group of active
Christians living on Mr. Ro
bert Adair’s plantation started
a choir under the leadership
of Davie Johnson. Each Sunday
afternoon the choir would sing
from house to house. One Sun
day Mr. Adair rode hy to hear
the choir sing. He was so well
pleased with the singing that
he told the group he would
give them one half acre of
land provided they promised to
build a Baptist church on it.
The following Monday they
began cutting brush and dragg
ing brush from the arbor for a
place to worship.
Messers Essix Byrd. Evans
Martin, David Johnson, Austin
Hill, Bennie Gist, lola Gary,
Robert Marshall, and their
families became members and
grew up in Mt. Moriah Baptist
Church-these families be
longing to the Adairs, Pitts
and Copelands.
By 1911, they had a church
building in which to worship.
The first minister was the
Rev. Wash Boyd Followed by
the Rev. C. H. Worthy, and
deacons from Bethlehem Grove
Baptist Church who helped them
until they had some deacons of
their own. The members of
the Mt. Moriah Baptist Church
appreciate and are grateful for
the past help given them by
Bethlehem Grove Baptist
Church.
The first church building was
located on land which now be
longs to Whitten Village. Dur
ing the summer of 1920, the
Mt. Moriah Baptist Church was
moved to land belonging to Mr.
G. A. Copeland.
This brief history was given
by Mrs. lolaSpencer, formerly,
lola Gary, one of the charter
members still living.
The present minister is the
Rev. Alex Jones with eighty
four active members, which
shows over fifty percent growth
since the early days of the
church.