The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, October 16, 1925, Image 2
WIKKD STORY OF TAVERN
Mill Chaney Hanged For Stealing
Slave ol Dr. Crawford'n Father
Catawba, September 19. ? Standing
alone as it has stood U> r a century
and a half in what is now the triangle
(between the ('harlot t *?-< 'amden-Ool
umbia highway and Seaboard rail
way in the Six Mile Creek community,
1h Milt Chaney's Tavern, house of
horrors where honust men x>f the
early d&ys tarried but never left.
While partly remodeled in recent
years the frame structure . stands
much in the same forbidding stolid- 1
Bess which has defied the lain and
sun, storm and calm of passing years.
Whence cauk> i>nlt Chancy not even
the oldest resident of the ^community
ian volunteer, Where Milt Chaney
went after he was hanged in 1860 is
a matter generally agreed upon.
Hut it is certain that Milt Chaney
-was a man of ill repute. Some said
that he was a foreigner, in the old
. V en days, gossip traveled slowly find
residents of the sparsely settled
country knew little of their neigh
bors. There was > n<> house within
wiles of Charity's Tavern, which was
huilt beside a i trail along whicn
passed many traders driving their
? ' cattle from North Carolina, Virginia
and Tertnesfree to Charleston, There
wore no bridges or railroads and few
cities. "
So ChaAey's Tavern' offered a
haven of rest t(? many footsore trav
elers, wearied from their tramp
through the forests and their buttles
wiih treacherous creeks and riven.
?Chaney came to the tavern with hj*
wife and daughter. He also had a
number of negro slaves to attend the
wishes of guests. The stage coach
from Charlotte to Camden, George
town and Charleston made occasional
stops to exchange a bit of gossip
from the outside world, to n?!ay
horses and givf* patrons an oppor? I
tunity to satisfy their hunger.
Dark are the stories which have
come down through the years con
cerning Milt Chaney and his tavern.
The trader who Jmd reached his desti
nation, disposed of his cattle or furs
or other possessions, stopped at
Chaney;' s Inn, never to leave ? alivo,
if the stories of older residents are
to be relied upon. Lone horse trade) s
tarrying at night often never appear-,
ed to contest Chaixfr^ ? i4r44-m to t.he ?
animal at -daybreak, these stories say.
The people i:i Virginia and Ten- J
ncssee- and North Carolina became!
alarmed when husband^ and father*
and brothers failed to return. Many
traced their providers to C harleston
and back to Milt Chaney's Inn, but
there the trail stopped. Suspicions
became stronger each time another
trader or traveler disappeared, Yet
with $1| eyes turned accusingly upon
Him, Milt Chuney was never called
upon to answer for the crimes of
which he is suspected to this day.'
In those days there were, no tele
phones, detectives, .State police, or
Vvep sheriffs in that section. It was
no easy matter to fasten crime upon
it man living- miles from hit* nearest
neighbor in the heart of a dense
Hut Milt Chancy, made^one false
step. He stole, or at least he waa
Convicted of stealing a ncjfi" slave
from Dr. Mail Crawford, whose son,
Robert Crawford, now lives in I.an
< i t< !?. He wih brought t?> trial,
marked, in those days by severest;
simplicity with the verdict always
conviction or acquittal. The evidence
against him was damning, and he
was publicly hangeij. .John Marcus
iSlagc, 77, one of the oldest resident. -
o.f the community, claims to remem
ber well the day in 1850 when "the
old MurdeVed Milt Chaney" expiated
his crime, He further states that
the willow moved to Monroe and
shortly' remarried.
Many years after Milt Chancy'*
name had become a terror in the
neighborhood, and after he had been
hanged, the first evidence of the sus
pected murders came to light. Work
men excavating for the road which
now runs close to the old tavern un
earthed a human skeleton. Terrified j
negroes fled from the spot. Older i
residents recalled "old Murder Milt
Chaney" and wagged their heads. >Tt
settled his guilt in their minds.
Alexander Griffin, 72, a resident
of the community, and \V. Frank
Harris, proprietor of the Fort Mill
hotel, accompanied this correspondent
on a tour of inspection through the
house, The top has been torn away [
and rebuilt lower than when the !
structure was Chane.v's Tavern. The i
sleepers were squared with hand axes |
and today appear as sold as when
laid a century and a half a gov The j
hoarding' and ceiling is tongued and
grooved. The rooms are small. th<* |
stairs narrow and circuitous.. The
original chimneys have fallen and one;
has been rebuilt'. Hut one of the'
front windows remains intact except
for a shot hole and a broken pane.
It has a small front porch. A gian?
' sufclii maple, older than the memory
of living man, .still provides inviting
shade as in the dim pant it lured
tired travelers to atop and rest. It,
with the house, stands us a towering
substantial link between the past and
the present.
Many are the stories which cen
tered about the place since Milt
Chaney went the way of mortal matt.
Humor says that on the stroke of
midnight, music- distinct and plain
tive- begins; that shuffling of feet
is to be heard; that weird, ethereal
forms pass silently about; that moans
and pleading voices are heard. For
many years the place was the brief
abode of many negro families who re
fused to live in a "haunted house."
At negro family now lives ' in the
house. Its members wore unaware >
that it has a history. Hut they say
moving day may not be long now. ? j
V ?
Sumter Hoy Dies From injuries
Sumter, Oct. l.'J.r? Claude Hurst, Jr.,
15-year-old high school boy, died on
?the operating table of a local hospital
when a physician operated In an ef
fort to save the life of the boy who
was injured yesterday when a bicycle
on which he was riding was in col
lision with an automobile. Youpg
Hurst, the son of Mr. and Mrs, Claude
Hurst, of Sumter, and Clraham Hill,
a friend of the same age, were riding
a bicycle on Marion avenue and on
turning into HaynesWorth street, they
collided with the automobile driven
by Miss Lucile Ross, a trained nurse.
Hurst suffered a ruptured kidney but
his companion escaped with minor
injuries. .
Nelson Home Destroyed
Sumter, Oct. 13. ? K, Kdgar Nelson,
of the Salem section of Clarendon
County, sustained a serious los?s Sun
day morning about 1 o'clock, when his
home, with all its contents, and r
near-by cotton house, with between
three and four bales of cotton, were
burned. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson, their
three children, his mother and grand
mother, a sister and two school teach
ers, and a brother-in-law, his wife
and one child, were in the house at
the time. None of them saved any
clothing at all and had to go two
miles to a neighbor's in the frosty j
night to get shelter and clothing. The
house was a large building, the fam
ily home for years, and there was no
insurance on building or contents.
The proportion of sons who read
and write in India is seven times as
high as thyi.t of t-he daughters.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT ^
AND ESTIMATE OF AMOUNT NEEDED TO TAKE CARE O F TEACHERS' SALARIES
ONE MONTH, AND PAY URGENT CLAIMS, INSURANCE, ETC.
"? TT '?""??'? i* ' ' ''' 1 ?' ' '? i;!
The Board of County Directors of Kei'shaw County authorizes the publication of the
statement below which has been :'iled with it by the Superintendent of Kducation, that
the public may realize the com! it ion that the Schools of the County are in:
So
3CU
'A
?n h
8 ?
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
S-hoo
Schoo'
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
Schoo
County
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No,
District No!
District No,
District No.
District No.
District No.
Dist net No.
Dist rict No.
District No.
District No.
District N?.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
District No.
Board
hv
2. .
3. .
?1. .
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. ,
10. .
11. .
12. .
is. .
15. .
16. .
18. .
20. .
22. .
23. .
2r>. .
27..
28. i
29. .
30. .
31 . .
33 . .
37. .
38. .
39. . .
40. .
41. .
42. .
46 . .
47. .
1,080 140,979.00
326
203
230;
7 05
157'
77
71
102
89
91
185
51
23
230j
126
27!
338|
36 1
54]
41
41
163
56
53)
59
36 i
32
58
124
56 1
19
48
21
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ft o ^
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w . 2
to
c
/;
6
'3
sH
o
'O
A
P'
w :
6,2 10.00
1,000.60'
1,491.87.
921.63)
100.00)
050.00
268.00 1
?IKO.OOf
?J55.00i
250.00S
(505.00i
1,766.80)
280.00|
120.00!
1,240.00,
515.00)
120.00!
2,151.66!
190.001
243, 00
222.00;
121.75;
512.00
^288.00)
2t0.OO
223.50
110.50
244.00
355.00!
232.00
228.50
225.50>
100. OOj
015.00!
110.001
321.00;
1 ,068. -.10
2,080.51)
254.00;
850.84|
360.00
1 72.20'
270.20!
276.45!
280. OOJ
1,775.00!
43.00
50.00|
409.65!
1 00.00 1
250.00!
5,568.95]
430.00'
208.00!
180.001
21 2.75 i
480.00!
313.50!
528.38!
180.25!
50.50!
9.00;
156.00!
)
273.00
104.50!
25.50
100.00'
711.76:
jg P O JO
S+w <2 B
Ci? 2
?? P ?
% | "
W
ITS
0,500
1 ,300
1 ,500
025
440
055
265
052
734
300
075,
1 ,800,
307,
125,
1,800,
015,
120,
2,200,
300,
243.
225,
1 25,
515.
300.
.220.
225,
115.
250
300
00 $00,000.00|
00 12,500.00)
o.ioo.ooj
7,000.00]
1,550.001
5,500.00
l.odo.oo
2,800.00
3,100.00
? 1,400.00
3,500.00
8,500.00
1 ,000.00
750.00
12,250.00
3,500,00
050.00
17,500.00,
1,350.00
1.500.00
1,300.00,
850,00
4,500.00:
1.800.001
1,500.00!
1,500.00]
050,00!
1,100.00;
; 2,250.00'
.00
,ooi
.00
.oof
.00!
,20!
,20;
,00
,00|
,00!
,00
,00
00
,00
oo;
00;
ooj
00[
OOi
oo!
00;
00
OOi
00 1
00'
oo;
oo!
250.00
230.00;
230.00!
100.001
1,700.00
1,800.00'
1,500.00
2,510.00
$52,340.00;$
14,186.89
14,337.90;
12,604.61,
1 ,429.00
9,785.84 1
1,985.00
2,602.20
2,909.00
1,946.45
4,040.00
12,288.01
2,228.00
816.50
12,269.65
3,455.00
040.00
26,328.95
1,455.00
1,793.00
1,595.00
1,127.75
4,890.00
1,948.50
2,212.38
1,750.25
985.00
1,289.00
2,261.00
1,833.00
1 ,809.50
1 ,825.50
1,444.25
1,636.89
5,237.90!
5,504.51!
4, 285.84 1
385,001
"546.45!
540.00!
3,788.01
328.00
6(5.50
19.65
290.00
8,828.95
106.00
293.00
295.00
277.76
390.00
148.50
712.38
250.25
35.00
189.00
33.00
309.50
Iw ?
ft 3 C
ft.
?1
o ^
w.2 c
AUCTION
Of Home Sites and Si
.1
Truck
ON TUESDAY
OCTOBER 27
i
AT 10:30 A. M.
, c
Mrs. R. W. White's Property on the Jefferson Davis Highway, one mile
north of Camden, S. C., formerly known as the Bellshaw Dairy Farm.
A beautiful subdivision to be known as Pine Haven and White's Garden.
Just beyond the City Limits, where it will be cool, plenty of fresh air, still you will be close to the Schools,
Churches, Stores, etc. This property consists of about 75 choice lots and several small tracts, suitable for
country homes, truck farms, dairy and chicken farms, each tract faces on good wide street. Buy you a home
in this new high class development, where you will escape City Taxes and the noise of the City, have your own
garden, fruit trees, etc., enjoy the pure country air.
This Property will be sold at Auction, the last bidder will be the new owner. This will
be a great day for the home-seeker, the speculator and the investor.
FREE ! $100 IN CASH
EASY TERMS
MUSIC BY BRASS BAND
Crossland -Tyson Realty & Auction Company
BENNETTSVILLE, S. C,
~ v , A ic.. --. , ,.**xrx -tz* ?**?
Total est.r-pf amt. needed for 1 nio., $26,991.40; interest, costs, etc., est*, $300.00; Grand Total: $27,491.40.
On the above statement the Board of Education requested the Board of County Direct
ors to assist in borrowing $27,500.00 as needed for the first school month. The Board of
Directors noted that certain districts could not borrow the amounts asked for as they ex
ceeded 75 per cent of the local taxes for school purposes by small amounts, and revised
the statement and have made the County note for $27,250.00.
NOTICE
? ! N #
A meeting of the County Legislative Delegation; of the. Board of Directors of Kershaw
County, of the Trustees of the several School Districts of the County, and of those interest
ed in the Schools of the- County with the Board of Education of Kershaw County, is here
by called for 11 o'clock on Friday, October 30th, at the Court House, Camdep, S. C., to
canvass the school situation and to devise means to keep the schools in operation.
J. TEAM GETTYS,
County Superintendent of Education.