The Barnwell people-sentinel. (Barnwell, S.C.) 1925-current, May 20, 1926, Image 2
Interesting Sketch 6f Barnwell
County^-Past, Present, Future
The fourth hifK school
h/«t Blsckyfilo. Their chounodiou*
building was destroyed by fixe some
time sfo and bee not yet been re-
i i
f
ss.
% The following inSerertinc sketch
of BensreH County appeared *• a xe*
ewt special edition of fee News dad
Courier, on the occasion eft *he open-
hw of the bridge o*qc the Ashley
Barnwell County, one of the oldest
eennties in South Carolina—etoop-ed
el hi the honorable history of the
State—is also one of the meet pro-
greeglTe In education, africulture and
the.bunding of food, roads. John
Barnwell, a gentleman of Dublin and
Influential family csnnectlons, was
withstood many storms, being tom
down serorel yseiw ago by its thqp
owner, Mrs. E. AiS. Mbtson, a North-
era school teacher who located here
after the War between the States and
who was postmistress at Barnwell for
a number of yean. The property is
now owned by H. L. O'Bannon, Esq.,
former master of equity, whose fami
ly has always been closely identified
with the history of Barnwell county.
One of BemweU'f prised posses
sions is on‘old time sun-dial, which
is probably the only one of its kind
In existence and which stands on
x In addition to the excellent schools
referred to ebotaviheTe are numbers
of grammar schools located at con
venient points throeghout the coun
ty, many of the buildings being of
brick. The terms of these- rural
schools range from , seven to nine
months and all are provided with
orginal settler. ^He eikne t<r^he present court house square, ah
in 1701,
the
M <hy
wee of adventure. Barnwell, ,
‘ ' wear, was named in honor of the
Burnwells of Beaufort, decendantsof
Boon after coming to * Carolina,
Barnwell became deputy secretary of
the colony, v
ffe-
.
object of curiosity to visitors, It
was presented to the town lit 1828
by Capt. Jos. D. Allen.
- In February, 1866, a wing of Sher
man's army came through Barnwell,
burning houses and devastating thfc
surrounding country. A battle was
fought at Saltkehatchie, about three
During the war which was fought in ’ IR j} w g 0 uth of here. It is said that
jgfV
Carolina between England on the one
hand and France gnd Spain on the ot
her, and v(hiie Barnwell was a volun
teer In Col. Rhett's fleet, he carried
news of the capture of the French at
Beewee Bay to Charles Town. f
In 1711 Col. Barnwell set out with
• small body of militia and several
hundred Indiana on an expedition
against the Tuscsrora Indians of
North Carolina. He defeated them
and they retreated into their fort,
where, being besieged, they soon
aurrendtred. -The spot where the
Indian fort stood is still called M Fort
Barnwell.” in honor of Col. Barowel,
who was wounded in this campaign.
On account of hit gallant conduct he
was generally called “Tuscarora.” Be
cause of his wound he was unable to
‘aummand the aecond expedition Which
South Carolina sent out against the
Indians.
When the forces of the colony
were organised, Barnwell was made
-a colonel in than.
In 1719, after the government of
the Lords Proprietors had been over
thrown, the subject of this brief
preface was chosen agent for the
ffrovince. and sent to England to be
seech King George to take the pro
vince under his immediate ears. The
xesult wee that the''province became
•a crown colony.
District Divided
' In 1785 the Legislature passed an
act that Orangeburg district should
he divide^ into four counties: Lewis-
burg. Orange, Lexington and Winton
The last named, which comprised
that part of the former district of
Vhwngeburg lying between the South
"Edisto and Savannah rivers, was
named “Barnwell” by an act passed
‘by the Legislature December 21,
1798. Since then, however, Barnwell
County has been gradually reduced
V» its present area by the formation
of Aiken, Bamberg and Allendale
counties, ail of which are a credit to
the mother county.
The first court house, in Barnwell
County was built of togs at Patter-
aon’s Old Mill. Tradition says that
a man by the name of Blackman,
getting drunk one night and being
U vary powerful fellow, turned the
court house over.
.When the village of BarnweQ be
came the county seat, the first court
home was an old 2-story house in the
aouthern part of the town. It was
tlfa first two story house built in
the county and people came from the
■urroundhig country to see it, many
predicting that it would be turned
over by the first hard wind. But it
m
*
V-.iUT
the Yankees were a week passing
through Barnwell.
During the reconstruction period,
the court house was moved to Black-
ville and for several years its location
was the cause of many heated dis
cussions and of’ ill-feeling between
the residents of the two towns. How
ever, in 1877, the present court house
was built, and Barnwell has remained
the county Seat since that time.
Papers of Barnwell •
In 1877, The Barnwell People was
established, giving the county seat
two newspapers The Barnwell
Sentinel having made, its appearance
in 1862. On June 1, 1925, the two
(tapers were Consolidated under the
name pf The Barnwell People-Sen
tinel by B. P. Davies, who had previ
ously purchased. The People in De
cember, 1912. Since that time the
paper has grown from a four-page
sheet, only two of which were print
ed hirs, to an eight-page, all home
print newspaper, its plant being
thoroughly modern in every respect.
BarnweH was without railroad
facilities until 1880, when the late
Capt. J. W. Woodward bcdlt a line
from Barnwell to Blackville. The
rails were made of wood, and the
grading of the roadbed was done by
refugee negroes. The first engine
run over the road was called the
"Loula Mae,” in honor of Capt.
Woodward's elder daughter. Later
the line was purchased by the South
Carolina Railroad and iron rails re
placed the orginal wooden ones.
When it came into Col. Mike Brown’s
possession a few years later, thef
name was changed to the “Carolina
Midland.” The line was extended
north as fur as Perry and to Allen
dale on the South. Col. Brown sold
his railroad to the Southern Railroad
Cmopany in 1898 and it is now an im
portant, connecting link between
Northern points and Florida.
The story goes that when it was
first proposed to \)uild the South
Carolina Railroad, a line w'as sur
veyed through Barnwell, but many
of the* old slave owners objected
The lending citizen, who owned a
large number of slaves, refused to
allow the line to go through his
plantation, fearing that the train
Avould kill his young slaves
turkeys. Thus it is that the
runs through Blackville.
Additional railroad facilities
provided for the county in
when the Atlantic Coast Line
road Company completed a line from
Augusta to Florence by way of Barn
well. • / . <
To appreciate the strides that the
county has made educationally, one
has only to recall that prior to 1888
there was no public schools here,
children; receiving what education
they had from private teachers. The
Barnwell Graded School was chartered
by an act of the Legislature and ap
proved by Gov. J. P. Richardson on
December 23rd, 1886, a building being
erected the following year. This
building was soon outgrown and a
larger a nd more modern one was
built in 1900. This one was replaced
In 1914 by the present handsome
structure, which was modeled after
the Alamo. It is being rapidly out-
grown and it is only a question of
a very short while,before jt will be
necessary to construct an additional
building.
Other sections of the County have
made like progress and last year as
the-'result of a consolidation of
school' distrieta the Williston-Klko
High School building was agastad at
* coat of about |7p,006| This is
of the mosf modern school build-
in** in South Carolina and; is *
aborc* of groat pride to tbs citizens
that section. A similar oonsoli-
W y>ww Note ftt dntion is bda* affected in the weet-
in Harmon Block. Main * erB ^ the county and a hand
some building will soon ha exacted *1
excellent corpe of teachers.
The wonderful growth of the school
system in Barnwell County .ban been
made possible by the excellent State
highways and county roads that
reach into practically every section of
the county, enabling the quick trans
portation of pupils to and from the
schools.
y ,.. • . ' .
A few years, ^go, when the first
automobile made its appearance in
this section, a highway, in the pres
ent day sense of the word, was not
In this county, whose roads were
wretched sand-beds for the most part.
Today smooth, wide sand-clay roads
from 'this city, connecting Barnwell
with the other towns in the county
and with the county seats of ether
counties, bringing the people closer
together and giving them, that “elbow
touch” so necessary to the well be
ing and advancement of any parti
cular section In addition to the
State highways already constructed,
plans are being made right now to
build a new road from Barnwell to
Olar, which wiH provide a shorter
and better route from this section
to Charleston. It is understood that
this road is practically assured.
Not only has the county benefit
ed educationally from the construc
tion of good roads, but agriculture,
has been given & tremendous boost, es
pecially in the production of truck
crops, in which Barnwell County is
h leader. While cotton will always
be one of the principal crops, the
farmers are rapidly learning the
many advantages of diversified farm
ing. They are slowly but surely re
.covering from the terrific blows dealt
them in quick succession by the dis-
asteroos deflation of 1920 and by the
boll weevil, which reduced the pro
duction of cotton the following year
to a scant 8,000 bales. In 1925,
Barnwell Cottdtjr- produced 26,000
bales, valued at between two and one-
half and three million dollars.
Afoot thirty-five years ago, the
growing of asparagus was intro
duced in this county by., the planting
of a small acreage at Elko. The
acreage has gradually increased un
til today from ten to fifteen carloads
are shipped daily from this county
during the cutting season. It is in
teresting to note that the largest
asparagus form in the world is locat
ed at Hattieville, this connty, being
-owned and managed by Idis Brabham
of that place-
After asparagus, cucumbers, can-
loupes and watermelons bring in
Thg foe past few ydars,
churches have been erected fo Black
ville, Williston and other towns in
the county.
Church is rapidly nearing com
hero, while Die Methodists of this
will begin work on thoir new build
in the very near future.
Nor ^ are these things all that
Barnwell County has to offer the
world. Situated within a few miles
of BarnweH are lands that have been
pronounced by experts as being ; the
finest field trial grounds in the coun
try south of Saskatchewan... They
are being used at the present time
by the members of the Vlryinia-Caro-
lina Field Trial Association, for their
annual events and have proved so
attractive in every respect that the
prediction has been made that Barn
well will suentuany become the field
trial center of the United State*.
Lovers of fine horses, as well as
of fine dogs, should make BarnweH
their Mecca, for located just with
out the incorporate limits of Die town
of Barnwell is what is said to be the
finest natural race track in the world.
This track was used extensively years
ago when the,“sport of king*” was
at the height of its popularity.
New Enterprises
\
Snow in Greenville.
Greenville, May 15.—A barely per
ceptible show fall was registered
here this afternoon. The flakes melt
ed, however, as aoon as they alighted.
A temperature of 52 degrees was reg
istered at 8 o’clock tonight, with
the mercury rapidly falling. Frost
was forecast for the mountain sec
tion just north of here before morn
ing.
Growing Old Too Fast?
Many BarnweH Folks F*el Older and
Slower Than They Should.
N$w enterprises in tbe
xterritory served by us are invited to
tunicate with us, as we may be
able to afford assistance in the financ-
\ ' ' •; J ~
ing of their enterprises, as well as as
sist in\the distribution and sale of
their products.
our
ce that is within
e development of the
Any
power for
Edisto-Savannah section will be cheer*
fully afforded by us at any time.
.j
The Edisto Publi
Denmark, South
Service Co.
lina
a
■r
tlx
and
road
were
1899,
Rail-
—-r— -a “
luiiniiiiuininNi
'' \V\A'
. \ O ' s' -
■ 5 JtiSSeriS
Wm. McNAB
j§AS^4
fciM. uumh am® .Aoenrarr
fS-
ousunds of dollars at a season
of the year when money is badly
needed by the farmers.
To give *ome idea of the extent
of truck growing in this section it
ie only necessary to state that in
19251 Barnwell County shipped 140
cars of asparagus, 400 cars of cucum-
bers and 1,380 cars of watermelons,
at art approximate income bf
$1,000*000.
A tour of this section will disclose
the fact that the towns are exceed
ingly substantial, those of two thou
sand inhabitants and less having pav
ed streets, splendid systems of water
works and lighting arrangements.
The business sections are of brick,
mostly, -the buildings being modern
and substantial. Some of the finest
.farms in the State are to be seen on
such a tour. The homes of the citi
zens in the towns are substantial
, •
and would do credit to cities of many
times their population. In fact, it
has been said by visitors that the
town of Barnwell has more beautiful
mes than any other town of its
«dxe in the atatc. T**® soil of. this
section for the most part is highly
productive, the climate is ideal and
with the intensive methods of culti
vation, Barnwell County has become
one of the leading agricultural cen
ters of the entire State.
Agriculture and Industry.
And it would seem that agricul
ture is to be balanced by industry,
for the Edisto Public Service Co., of
Denmark, which was founded and is
-being managed by a former citizen
of Barnwell, Mr. R. A. Easterling,
has brought hydroelectric power in
to tljia county, his lines being connect
ed with the super-power iryitem of
the Southeast. Current is now being
supplied by tibia concent to Williston,
Elko, and BlaekviHe in this county.
Barnwell has its own plant, which
modem excellent 24-hour service at
Nor has the reMgioua aide of life
boon neglected for the material. Dur-
Are you weak, tired, worn-out?
Do you feel years older than other
folks of your age? Then look to your
kidneys! The kidney* are the blood
filters and if they weaken, the effect
is quickly felt. You have constant
backache, headaches, dizziness and
urinary troubles. You fee! lame, stiff
and achy—all played out. Don’t wait’
Use Doan’s Pills—a stimulant diuretic
to the kidneys. Read what this
Barnwell resident says!
Mrs. Virginia Sanders, says: ‘T
had a dull, numb feeling across my
back. My kidney* did not act right
and were a source of annoyance to
me. Doan’s Pills from the' Mace
Drug Co. quickly rid me of those
symptoms. Despite my age, I enjoy
better health than I did at that time.”
Price 60c, at all dealers.- Don’t
simply a sk for a kidney remedy—^et
Doan’s Pill*—the same that Mrs.
Sanders had. Foster-Milburn Co.,
Mfrs, Buffalo, N. Y.
^ All of the Machinery for the ice plant of the Mutual loe and
Fuel Company has reached Barnwell and we now have out
erecting engineer on the ground placing machinery and getting
4
the plant ready to run. We will have a modern electric driven
20 ton capacity plant that will take care of the aeeds of Barn
well and the surrounding territory for a long time.
Mutual Ice & Fuel Co-
R. G. HERNDERN, Mgr.
S. C.
R. C. HOLMAN, Free.
Barnwell, _ *
•- ■
HUDSON COACH
’1309
44 At Your Door"
Ntihmg Skt l» fmy
Brougham - 41564
7-Pass. Sedan 1800
Qe«ocr Rrar Vmmt Minor.
Trunmusio* Lock (b«Hi
tali Radiator Sbottara;
r, Coobinatio*
#
Hudson holds first advan
tage because of its paten ted
Super-Six—the world's
most famous motor. More
than 8004)00 have been
built by Hudson under its
exclusive principle. * For
11 years itTias been out
standing because of dis
tinctive smoothness, wide
flexibility, power, speed
and reliability.
And today’s Hudson
Coach is not only the best
ever built. also is priced
lower than ever before.
?..
it'
u << •> .
.«***••
W. D.
MAIN STREET
HARLEY
BARNWELL, S. C
m
i
VF-'
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