McCormick messenger. (McCormick, S.C.) 1902-current, June 15, 1916, Image 4
TWO
McCORMICK AND McCORMICK COUNTY, S. C,
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which it is written. Many things must be omitted, which would be
jutet -
of interest to our readers for which we beg your kind indulgence.
This part of South Carolina was settled mainly by the English,
Scotch-Irish and French Huguenots, as some of the names of per
sons andMbwns would indicate and while their hardships and priva
tions were many, education was not entirely neglected. In fact
the new county boasts the first manual labor school in the State,
and possibly in the Southern States, established (by will) in 1796
by Dr. John De Howe, a noted Frenchman, for the education of
12 poor boys and* 12 poor girls of Abbeville county. Dr. De La
Howe gave his entire estate, consisting of 2600 acres of realty for
the establishment of this agricultural school, stipulating in his
will, that they shall manufacture such of their clothing themselves,
as can be made out of the produce of the farm. He further enjoins
“that it shall be the duty of the master, that besides having the boys
instructed in reading, writing, arithmetic, principles of geography
affd of geometry so far as to render them useful in practical sur
veying, and the girls in reading, writing, and the four rules of arith
metic, the master shall instruct the boys and girls in such chemi
cal principles as the success of their different operations depends
upon, as malting, brewing, distilling, bakery, fixing different col
ors, making vinegar, soap, cheese, butter, etc.”
The years that follow especially from 1830 to 1840, the whole
country was greatly stirred by a new educational movement !n
favor of manual labor schools, all of which no doubt, sprang from
the sudden thought of the famous Frenchman, who lived one hun
dred years ahead of his contemporaries. The idea grew that boys
and girls should not only know something, but should know how
to do something and has led in later years to the establishment of
large agricultural institutions in all the states of the Union.
This same School called Lethe established one hundred and
twenty years ago is in a flourishing condition under the superin
tendency of the Rev. H. B. Blakely with the assistence of a com
petent board of trustees, and is destined in my opinion to grow
into an institution of much larger proportions. A bill providing an
appropriation of $10,000 annually to supplement the income from
the farm, past the house at the last session of the Legislature, and
it is confidently expected, that at its next session, the Senate will
do likewise, thus enabling the institution to widen its scope of use
fulness. The object of the founder, as plainly set forth in the will
is “the raising of useful citizens to the state, many whereof would
without such an; institution be a nuisance.”
The state had no famous institutions of learning in itB early
settlement, but was not without its famous academies, the most
noted of which vfas established in Abbeville county, that part which
forms a portion of our new county, in 1804 by Moses Maddel. Dr.
Waddel first established his school at Vienna, but finally moved it
. to Willmington, so called, because those Huguenot settlers along
Little river, and the Scotch Irish along the Savannah were such
willing helpers. f
* Willmington is situated on a high ridge between the Savannah
and Little riven This locality has been the birthplace of many
, ^ prominent persons. It was here that James L. Pettigrue was born.
On one of these delightful hills, Geo. McDuffie spent most of his
**» life. John C. Calhoun lived here until he entered Congress.
This famous school moulded and educated more prominent
men than any other contemporary institution in the United States
of like character. "One vice-president and many foreign Cabinet
Ministers; Senators, Congressmen, Governors, judges, presidents
and professors of Colleges; eminent divines, barristers, jurists,
legislators, phyiicians, scholars, military and naval officers in
numerable camd from this institution.” (W. J. Grayson, in “Life
of J. L. Pettegrew.”)
It would be impossible to give a list of the great men educated
here, but it will not be amiss to mention the following: W. H.
Crawford, one of Georgias great men; Eldred Simpkins, member
of Congress; John C. Calhoun, Congressman, Senator and Vice-
President of the United States; W. D. Martin, Judge and member
of Congress; James L. Pettegrew, eminent lawyer; Andrew Govan,
member of Congress; Hugh S. Legore, Attorney-General, foreign
and Cobinet Minister; Geo. McDuffie, member of Congress, Governor
and United States Senator; Geo. R. Gilmer, member of congress,
and Governor of Georgia; Geo. Carey, member of Congress of
Georgia; John Walker, member of Congress of Alabama; Henry W.
Collier, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama; Lawrence
E. Dawson, a distinguished lawyer; John S. Hunter, of Alabama,
Judge of the circuit court; Geo. W. Crawford, member of Con
gress and Governor of Georgia; Patrick Noble, Governor; D. L.
Wardlaw, Judge; F. H. Wardlaw, Chancellor; A. B. Longstreet,
Judge and president of the South Carolina College; A. P. Butler, U.
S. Senator; P M. Butler, Governor and Col. of the Palmetto Re
giment in the Mexican War, and others whose names will go down
in history among our great men.
The section embraced in the new county of McCormick has,
besides a rich heritage in her pioneer institutions, already men
tioned, mineral wealth which, in the long ago, made the spot upon
iwhich the town of McCormick is now located quite famous.
Gold was discovered near the town as early as 1835 by Mr.
John Dorn who operated a mine upon his own property, and
the government reports show that the U. S. Treasury paid him
$900,000 for gold from his mine up to 1858. This mine was worked
after the war between the States and it is estimated that Mr. Dorn
made several hundred thousand dollars additional to what was
made up to 1858.
The property was leased to some New York men who opened
what is now known as the New York shaft and these men, it is
claimed made $700,000 in four years. Then Cyrus H. McCormick,
the inventor and manufacturer of the world famous harvesting
machinery, became interested and bought thousands of acres of
land in this section, including the Dorn Mining property and the
land upon which the present town of McCormick now stands.
Two other mines were opened near McCormick, shortly after
the Dorn property began to show a quantity of free gold. The
property known as the Jennings mine and that known as the Self
mine. Both of these were more or less profitable but on account
of there being but little free gold and several refractory ores ap
pearing in greater quantities, operations were suspended. There
being no way known, at that time of extracting the gold from the
other ores nor of any use to which the other ores could be put.
One of the refractory ores found in great abundance was
Manganese, a very valuable mineral that is used extensively now
in the manufacture of fine steel.
After the town of McCormick began to grow, a company was
formed, known as the McCormick Land and Development Co.,
which is still in existence. This company bought the McCormick
interests and sold off town residence lots and the mining properties.
The original Dorn property is now owned by the Robinsons of
McCormick. There is a company that ownes some of the other pro
perties while J. M. Sullivan of Greenville and W. D. Story of Georgia
own the Self property.
While for years there has been very little done in the way of
mining around McCormick, some ore has been taken out from
year to year and prospecting has been going on continuously up
to the present time and it is known that there are great quantities
of valuable minerals to be found here. Extensive preparations are
now under way for the development of the mineral property while
considerable Manganese is now being shipped.
HOW McCOCRMICK COUNTY CAME INTO EXISTANCE.
(By M. L. B. Sturkey.)
The town of McCormick was originally in the extreme south
eastern corner of Abbeville County; only a few miles from the
northwestern corner of Edgefield and the southwestern corner of
Greenwood Counties.
In 1895 the Constitution Convention met in Columbia and the
people of McCormick organized themselves into a body to make a
fight for a new county to be formed of a part of Edgefield and Ab-
M. L. B. Sturkey J. B. Harmon
Two of the first committeemen to go to State Capital in 1895 for
purpose of getting a county with McCormick as county seat.
beville Counties. A committee was appointed and sent before the
Constitution convention asking for a county of which McCormick
was to be the county seat.
The committee failed to accomplish their aim. Of this com
mittee there are now only two of its original members left, M. L. B.
Sturkey and J. B. Harmon.
During the following nine years the new county movement was
agitated and at the end of that time, or in 1904, application was