The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, March 03, 1933, Page PAGE EIGHT, Image 8
MRj&v '
r I THE CHRONICLE OF '1HE.HEEK
L?
"The Chronicler" i? in receipt of
the following much-appreciated contribution
arid we are only too glad to'
give apace to this merited tribute'
to these lads. Thanks, aend In some1
more:
"Please call attention to Camden's ;
wmni^ telegraph boys?they are among her
aa?ets along *. ith the sunshine, sweet
flowers and mocking birds, as sure
as preachin'.
"Entirely a?ide from the fact that
they are always on tap, legging it j
along at a great rate here and there
and everywhere, carrying condolence
and congratulation through calm and '
storm and heat and cold?because'that
is the part of all telegraph boys, 1
Where these lads stand out, is in their j
good manners. An.d they add to the)
outward show of courtesy the most'
genu.ne smiles ?een outride of a
tooth pa s te ad ve rt i s e men t.
. .. I
, Any nice 'boy will .smiie at another
boy. or a', a pretty girl. Hut
when, a young fellow has big business
in his pocket, when speed is his
watchword, and he is dashir.g into a
bevy of cars and trucks and such at
the :&te of ninety miles an hour, all
leg power, and take-- the time to turn
his head all the way 'round and give
a genuine, sweet, friendly smile to a
middle-aged lady with a worried face
and a h.-tl ail askew, who is lugging
a market b^ag full of cabbage and
corrimeal?such a smile as makes her
feel beauty-parlored all at once?
why, he deserves a big 'hand.'
"True chivalry means risking your
neck and your mission to be kind.
And these good looking young fel'
lows are just as surely knights as
though their uniforms were glitte,rmg
armor, and their bicycle* charging
steeds."
* * * *
In the year 1 T.'h'i A. I>. Joseph Ker*
haw laid the foundations of Camden,
by opening a trading po-t. "around
which grew a little settlement known
; as Pine Tree Hill, which name a generation
or so later was changed to
Camden, to honor Ix>rd Camden, a
friend of the colonists and a friend of
an unhampered press.
During the t*wo centuries of its
xi-tence Camde.n has seen this
touutry grow from straggling Kr.glish.
French ar.d Spanish settlements
nlong its seaboards to a mighty nation.
recognized by some of the widest
men. as the hope of the world.
Camden has seen within its gates
-on e of the greatest figures that this
nation has produced or welcomed to
its shore:. Washington. I>oKalb. I.afayetle
Andrew Jackson was
horn but .1 short distance away.
* * * *
In Ker-haw Squnre on the Pantheon
gleam like six star.- the name- of
t'.mtey. Kennedy. Che = nut. Villopigue.
Dea- ar.d Kershaw,?names
forever immortal or. that roster of
men who have bravely followed the
line of their duty a- they saw it.
And that the same breed of men is
still nurtured +n this historic town of
Camden, the records of the Great
War amply attest.
In the lesser but also noble realm'
of true sportsmanship, where the,
same qualities of.courage, endurance!
and loyalty are nourished and tested,'
?on the football playing fold. th?
polo field, the steeplechase courae and
the fields and woods, where the Cam!
den Hunt ridea to hounds -in thia
realm too, of "manly sport and horaa
exercise," in this world of the open
air. the traditions of Camden are upheld
to their old high standard.
m
Is it not fitting, therefore, that a
City such as this should be revered
and honored on the Two Hundredth
id^iversary of its founding?
The Chronicler.
e *
The Steeplechase in Camden Wedne*
afternoon was a colorful picture
indeed with its lines and double hnes
of automobiles around the field; women
iA gay-colored sport clothes;
men in tweeds and in riding togs,
many with bright mufflers; children
with nursemaids, elderly women
leaning on canes; youngsters perched
on tops of cais; grooms leading
horses from the paddock; course
clerks and paired judges or. horsehark;
spotted coach dogs?an ever
moving throng from the course to the
paddock and back agam One thougnt
of tales of Kpsom Downs, except for
the lack of norsc-drawn vehicles and
the family lunch-basket!?Sunday s
Columbia State.
* * ?
THE TO I'GH EST TEST
The toughest test of horseflesh in
the world .the Grand National, staged
annually before one of the world's
greatest sports crowds, will be held
March 21 at A.ntree. rear Liverpool,,
England.
From 40 to 6u horses start in the
event which calls for four and onehalf
miles of running and jumping
over the 30 barriers on the famous
steeplechase course. Crowd? ranging
from 200,000 to 300,000 sit in the
'tands or walk about the enclosures
along the racing strip.
Few horses finish. In the decade
from 1920 to 1930 only i3 of the 398
horses that faced the barrier reached
the judges' stand. In 1928 only two
of the field of 42 lasted the route.
F'ive out of 40 finished in 1930.
One of the greatest finishes ir, the
I'-r.g history of the race which is
m-ar'.y a century old was staged in
I'.'27. when Spring won. The owner
wa? Mrs. Partridge, a woman To
years old. Spring had been bred by
he- -or., with the idea of winning a
(Land National, a few days before
the young man went to the front for
the battle in which he was killed.
The horse was kept in training as
a memorial to the son. In 1925 and
1 '.hid Spring had competed in the
Grand National, had made the course,
but could finish no better than fourth
each time.
Spring's jockey. Ted Leader, twice
had refused to ride horses that had
gone or. to win the event. W hen
Spring was 10 years old. Mrs. Partridge
and Leader received their rewards.
It is legendary that the horse first
over the last jump wins the -ace.
But Stephen Sanford's Bricht's Boywas
the first to clear the last barrier
?and Spring came on with a terrific
rush to pass hiAi in the last few
yards. Spring was 8 to 1 and earned
a purse of $-11,075 in those 10 minutes
of strenuous sport.
Death of Mrs. Wilson
Lugoff, S. C., Mar. 1.? Mrs. Eliza
Wilson, aged 72, departed this life
February 26. She was the widow of
Robert Wilson, who died 26 years
t ago. Mrs. Wilson was sick for a long
time and suffered a great deal, but
bore her suffering well. She leaves
the following children: Neal Wilson.l
T W. Wilson, Edward Wilson, Man-i
r.es Wilson, Mrs. Nettie Boulware, i
Mrs. Came Branham, Mrs. Mattie ;
Jack son. She also leaves 38 grand ,
children and 3f> great grand children '
to mourn her lo*s. She was buried
at Pine Grove Baptist church with
j Newton Kelly conducting the services.
The Kornegay Funeral Home had
j charge of funeral arrangements.
I President-elect Roosevelt has announced
that William II. Woodlin, of
! New York, is to be secretary of th<
! treasury in his cabinet, and CordeH
Hull, senator from Tennessee, is to be
secretary of state.
In the event that Senator Swanson
of Virginia takes the secretaryship of
the navy in the Roosevelt cabinet, he
may be succeeded in the senate by
Harry F. Byrd, former governor of
i Virginia.
^ DUE APRIL 1
Notice is hereby given that all
paving assessments and interest
will due and payable April l.?
Please attend to this at once and
save added costs.
J. C. BOYKIN,
City Clerk and Treasurer,
: City of Camden, S. C.
Some Intimate Facts
About New Cabinet
Washington, D. C., Mar. 1.?Hera
; h rv some quirk fact* on the cabinet
which takes hold three days from
now:
! State: Cordell Hull, 61. From
Tennessee, lawyer, representative and
senator. Episcopalian.
Treasury: William H. Woodlin, 64.
New York City. Industrialist, musioisu
sod writer, collector. Presbyterian.
Hitherto a Republican.
War: tieorge H. Dern, 6Q. Utah.
Mining executive, former governor.
Congregationalism
Justice: Thomas J. Walsh. 73.
Montana" Lawyer and senator. Catholic.
?ost Office: James A. Farley, 44.
New York. Building supply executive,
political leader. Catholic.
Navy: Claude A. Swaneon, 70.
Virginia. U. S. .Senator. Methodist.
Interior: Harold I.. Ickes, 68. C hit-ago.
Lawyer and social reform leader.
Presbyterian. Republican independent.
Agriculture: Henry V A. Wallace,
Agriculture: Henry A. Wallace, 44.
Farm editor and organization leader.
Presbyterian. Independent of Republican
background.
Commerce: Daniel C. Roper, 65.
South Carolina. Lawyer, former government
executive. Methodist.
I^abor: Frances Perkins, 49. NewYork.
Sociologist and lawyer. Episcopalian.
Patrol Held Meeting
The Beaver Patrol of Boy Scouts
(f America met at Scout house Tuesday
night. Those present were Furman
Stewart, Henry Carrison, Otis
Creed and Jack Villepigue. Tests
were passed for first and second
c 1 a??. ? Fu-man Stewart, reporter,
Boy Scouts of America.
Whither Depression?
Scene: The Camden horse show.
A pretty young woman with No rth-1
ern accent, riding a handsome young
horse. A bald-headed man hesitates
to look at her mount.
Bald-headed Man: "That's a beau-.
tiful animal. How much will you!
take for him?"
Young Eque.-trier.ne: "He is not!
for sale. I keep him for a pet."
K. H. M.: "I'll give you $5,000 for'
him."
Y. E.: "No, he is not for sale."
B. H. M.: "I'll make it $10,000."!
Y. E.: "No, I am not interested, j
I do-n't want to sell him."
Lady movtrs away on horse: bald-:
headed man joins crowd. Horse J
balks, but after some persuasion:
starts again. Horse balks again.
Horse balks for third time. Young j
lady jumps to ground impetuously. j
Y. E. (yelling to groom): "Here, I
boy. Take the saddle off this plug?
riirht away?and see that man over
yonder, the one with the bald head.
Well, lead the horse over there and
GI^E it to him?with my compliments."?John
A. Montgomery in the
Columbia State,
IN MKMORIAM
In sad but loving memory of my
grandmother, Mrs. John Gillis. who
departed this life February 13, 1933.
?Mrs. H. A. Tabb, Rt. 1, Trumann,
Arkansas.
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF
SECOND OLDEST TOWN
(Continued from first page)
Bose, Duncan McRae and others.
The- period following the Revolution
was one of great contentment
and prosperity.
Camden was one of the places visfbed
bjT President Washington on his
tour of the Southern states in 1791.
Two years latqr, -Citizen Minister
Genet, representing ihe new French
Republic, stopped in Camden and was
given a most cordial reception. The
French sentiment was then very
strong and this Genet grossly abused.
/ In the War of 1812. two companies;
enlisted in Kershaw county were sent
lio Charleston in anticipation of ai
threatened landing by- -Ch?% British.!
They~ were commanded respectively
by Captains Chapman Levy and;
Francis Blair, and were a part of the
Second South Carolina regiment, of :
which a Kershaw county man. Adam |
McWillie, wa* lieutenant-colonel.
Visited by Ijifayette
1 r. 1^.25. Camden was honored by
the presence of the ?i?ettc.
who laid the cornerstone of the;
monument to his brother-in-'.aw. the;
Bar or, DeKalb. wh i h stands in front!
of the Presbyterian church. This'
was the occasion of a great patriotic ,
celebration, in which many veterans!
of the Revolution took part.
Kershaw county .sent a company to i
the Seminole, or Florida war, com- !
manded by Capt. John Chesnut.
In the Me xican war. the Kershaw
Volunteers (a new name for the historic
DeKalb Guards), under command
of the Palmetto regiment, and
did valiant work in Mexico. The lieutenant
colonel of the regiment, James
Polk Dickinson, was a Camden HUD.
Dickinson succeeded to the command.
I 111
ot the regiment at Cherubusco on the
fall of Colonel Butler, but 16 minutes
later was himself mortally wounded.
He lies in one of the beautiful parks
of Camden and over his ashes there
rises a handsome marble shaft erected
by popular subscription.
At the outbreak of the Confederate
war, the sons of Kershaw enthusiastically
volunteered for service.
As distributed in the Several arms,
the following figures are approximately
correct:
Infantry from Kershaw county, 800;
cavalry from Kershaw county, 160;
reserves?(artillery, 60; infantry, 9-1),
154; total, 1,113.
Caaaaltiea
Infantry: Killed, 125; wounded, 300.
/"Vavalry: Killed, 12; wounded, 123.
Kershaw's Brigade.
Kershaw's famous brigade, to
w hich many of these troops Were at-J
tached, covered itself with undying,
glory on many battlefields of the war,
particularly in Virginia. It was commanded
successively by Joseph B.1
Kershaw, James Connor and John D.
Kennedy. Kershaw and Kennedy were
both natives and lifelong residents of
Camden.
Sherman's army passed through
Kershaw county in February, 1865.
The main body was encamped at Liberty
Hill. From this point a raiding
party visited Camden February 24,
destroying many buildings, public
and private, among them the old
"Cornwallis House", built by the
founder of -Camden, which had been
the headquarters of both Cornwallis
and Rawdon during the war of the
Revolution.
Potter's Negro troops also raided
Camden April 18, 1865, doing much
damage.
Six Confederate Generals.
Kershaw county was the, birthplace
of six generals of the Confederacy:
Maj.-Gen. J. B. Kershaw; Brigadier
Generals James Cantey, James Chesnut.
Zach Cantey Deas, John D. KenI
nedy and John B. Villepigue.
In the World war, the young men
| of the county (433 of them, by official
reports not-yet completed), saw
I service overseas, in the Thirtieth,
j Eighty-first and Forty-second (Rain,bow)
divisions. Several made the suI
preme sacrifice, and many were
I wounded or disabled.
I Two Congressional Medals
! Of the totaf number, 78, of Conj
gressior.al medals awarded for conspicuous
gallantry, six were bestowed
upon South Carolinians, and of these
I two were Kershaw county boys, Richmond
Hobson Hilton and John Cantey
Villepigue.
It would appear, from what has
been said, that patriotic service in
practically every war in which this
country has been engaged is Kershaw
j county's chief claim to distinction in
the history of the state. Her men have
nobly responded to every call to arms.
All the monuments that adorn the
public places in Camden commemorate
the military, achievements of the
people. Besides the DeKalb and Dickinson
monuments, there are the shaft
to the Confederate dead, the pergola
and fountain to the six generals of
the Confederacy born in the county,
and the handsome fountain dedicated
to the memory of Richard Kirkland, a
private in Kershaw's brigade, from
the upper part of the county, who
risked his life at Fredericksburg to1
carry water to the wounded enemy;
he was soon after killed in battle.
The two last named monuments were
erected in 1911 by subscriptions raised
in the public schools of Camden.
In civil life Kershaw county has
given to the bench Judges Joseph
Brevard, Thomas J. Withers, Joseph
B. Kershaw and Mendel L. Smith. To
public service she has given Stephen
D. Miller, governor of South Carolina
and United States senator; James
Chesnut, United States and Confederate
States senator; William McWillie,
state senator and governor of
Mississippi, and John D. Kennedy,
lieutenant-governor of the state and
United States consul general at
Shanghai. Many others, somewhat
less conspicuous, might be named.
Two Famous Duels
A delicate, some might say supersensi:
v.. -ense of personal honor has
drawn the men of Kershaw into many
encounters settled by the code duello".
Of these the two most famous and
unfortunate we-e the meeting between
Henry G. Nixon and Thomas
Hopk;r.s :n 1826. and the still more
tragic duel. ,n 1880, between Col. William
Shannon and Col. F.. B. Cash.
In The former. Nixon, a brilliant '
yourg member of the Camden bar.
was killed; and ;n the latter Colonel
shannon, a prominent lawyer and citizen,
the father of 13 living children,
fell shot through the heart. Both Cash
and Shannon were grizzled Confederate
veterans. The horror created
by this affair put an end to duelling
in South Carolina.
PART II.
Social and Economic
Prior to the Revolution flour was
manufactured in large quantities and
of a superior grade at Kershaw's Mills
or. Pinetree Creek. Even as late as
1801, Mills (in his "Statistics") tells
us, there were two or three flour
mills within one mile of Camden and
BP?f
in that year 60,000 barrels were turned
out by them. This industry declined
about the beginning of the
10th century, on the introduction of
cotton as a staple crop. This led to a
great induction of slave labor and a
rapid growth of the plantation system.'
In 1800 there were 2,53A slaves
in Kershaw county; in 1820, 6,692; in
1840, 12,281.
Wealth multiplied, and the county,
up to the- time of the Confederate
, war, was controlled politically by a
! landed aristocracy. It is doubtful if,
! outside of Charleston, a more elegant
and delightful society could be found
( in the state than in and around Camden.
Liberty Hill, too, in the extreme
northern part of the county, was a
community of rich planters, who built
beautiful homes and lived sumptuously.
As n business center, Camden was
at one time the most important town
in the up-country, drawing its trade
from its own and several neighboring
counties and even from the border
counties of North Carolina.
Early River Traffic
Before the coming of the railroad,
I the river was the principal means of
hauling freight between Camden and
Charleston or Georgetown. Lines of
flat-bottomed boats were poled or
towed dcwit the Wateree and Santee,
j through^ the Santee canal, to "Moui
zon's Store," where the cargoes were
i transferred to schooners "because of
j the danger of crossing Bull's Bay in
bad weather."
The first steamboat operated between
Charleston and Camden was
put on in 1835. It drew five and one,
half feet of water. Owing to poor
'dredging and frequent low water,
; river navigation was never very sucj
cessful, though kept up sporadically
j until about 20 years ago.
1 The mail was first carried by post
I riders and later by stages, which also
transported passengers. In 1792 Camj
den was on one of the first United
, States government mail routes, between
Petersburgh, Va., and Augusta,
Ga. In 1823, there was one mail a
(week between Charleston and CamJden,
the stages taking two and a half
i days to make the trip each way.
Railroad Built in 1846
j The first railroad came in 1846, a
; branch line, connecting with the main
J line between Charleston and ColumI
bia at Gadsden. Upwards of 2,000
packages and 30,000 bales of cotton
were shipped by rail within the first
two months, we learn from the local
papers, "besides what was carried by
steamboat." |
Camden remained the terminus of
this branch line until the "3-C's" waal
built in 1887, continuing the road toi
I Marion, N. C. The Seaboard Air Line
! was completed in 1899, first putting
Camden on a through line from the
North to Florida. The "Wilson Short
Cut" (Northwestern railroad), * connecting
Camden with Sumter, was
built in 1900. Several
small towns sprung up in
the county as a result of this railroad
development, the largest being
Kershaw, on the "3-C's."
Many Bridges Loet
The first bridge over the Wateree
was built, near Camden, in 1827. It
was destroyed in the great freshet of
1831. Several times in later years
were the bridges at this gite wrecked
or carried away by the treacherous
floods.
Finally abandoned in the '80s, a new
bridge was built a little higher up'
the stream. This too after several
near-wrecks was swept away in the
freshet of 1908, and the present'
bridge, still further up, was complet-1
ed in 1921.
The first courthouse at Camden was |
built in 1771. It was burned by the
British in 1781. The second on the
same site was built in 1788. It was
replaced in 1825 by the handsome'
classic structure of brick still stand
ing at the corner of Broad
streets, now the property Jm
Daughters of the America* *B
tion. It is the work, of RobnuS
the great South Carolina trJ
^and engineer.
As the town moved norths!
its growth it became
have a new courthouse nHr*3
center, and the present bjduSfl
the site of ".Lafayette Hail," (SB
old residence in which LafayathJ
entertained, was completed in iJB
Three Race Courses
Horse racing was a sport in J
Kershaw county gentry found B
pleasure in the olden days, -JB
different periods, there were it k|
three race courses in or near 3
den. , IS
The first house of worship of yfl
we have record was the Quaker 3
ing House, which stood in thtB
Quaker cemetery. Church of Endl
and Presbyterian ministers ahoB
services in Camden prior to the r3
lution, using, it appears, a corn!
assembly hall. The Baptist*!
Methodists established thermal
early in the 19th century, Thai
est church building still &tandinf!
the Presbyterian, also attribute!
Robert Mills, which was erecteddl
1820. ;
There was a boarding school 1
young ladies in Camden shortly|1
i the Revolution. In 1788, the CuB
' Orphan society was incorporated!
j was one of the so-called cbaritl
societies whose chief mission watl
{extend the benefits of educate!
all, only a few of the really indif!
however, being given free initl
tion. The two brick school hoi
built in 1820 by the society on Del!
street were interesting landmark!
moved in 1893 when the new "1
ed school" system was inaugural!
; The society continued its fundi!
until that time..
i The Laurens street school hi
ing was erected in 1893. A fewl
later, the residence of the lata 1
"W". Z. Leitner was bought and !
verted into a separate high school
In 1920 this property was soldi!
the splendid old home of the 1
' M rs. George Reynolds was acqa!
for the high school. This strut!
! fell a victim to the dames euty!
1921, and on its site the present!
grammar school was built in ft!
j the old building on Laurens il
being used now Jfor the interned!
j grades. 1
Camden has had a notable lint!
teachers, both in private and pi
school work, the moat famous, 1
haps, being the! stern, bat schok!
Leslie Mc Candles*. 1
As early as 1338, and up to the (!
federate war, there was a cotton 1
tory, with a model village, at 0!
den, where, at one time, negro kM
was employed. It manufacture4lW
and osnaburgs. The HermitageCi!
mill was built in 1892, and the fti
Tree Creek Manufacturing cofflp!
mill a few years later. These a!
different names are still opeiaWl
Tourists Begin Condaf .
The fine, salubrious winter di*!
of Camden attr*ct& the noticei!
Northern tourists early in the
and the town has since becoui!
of the best known resorts i*f|
South, maintaining three large w*
hotels, two golf courses, two IJ
fields, a race course, and other sttl
tions for pleasure and health tidM
The establishment of the Wood*!
airport, the gift of a winter
has also made it an important
ping place on the airways.
Thus it will be seen that Ce*J
enjoying a rich heritage historic**
is a very live town today, esped**
in the tourist season. Jl
In "home-coming" week, to bof!!
brated March 19-26, the former ,
dent cannot but take pride infill
ing that there is no better, mart*
viting, more hospitable town. 5a
man to come home to.
SALE OF SURPLUS STO^
/ Fruit Treetb Small Fruit PUnta, Grape Vuu, 1
full J to 4 fwt. arnert ti.<Tdl w what y?w w.at.)
| . < each~ doa.
Apple and Peach 20c $2.00
Pear* and Pluma 25c 2.50
Cherriea 30c 3.00
Grape bunch variety > 20c 2.00
jGrape acuppernongs 30c 3.00
Strawberry plants, spring fr^. I
ing, per 100, 60c; per l,^fl
$5.00. Brer bearing per
Raspberry. Blackberry ^ I
Dewberry, 60c per dot. $n3H
py it#. ?
Order* for $2.00 or more delivered. All food stock.
NORTH STATE NURSERY, JULIAN, N.J
FOR SALE M
Desirable building lot on North Broad Street Addre* I
inquiries to
l. a. Mcdowell,
703 So. Newport Are.
TAMPA, FLORIDA. I