The history of our cities

[monsoon]

Horry county was slow to develop, because as you can see from this portion of the map, there were no roads from the county to the rest of SC. The only road connected the main city of Conway to NC.

It's one of the reasons the county is known by the locals as the Republic of Horry. It was so divorced from the rest of SC for so long that it really isn't like the rest of the state. It's more like a NC county and why most of the natives in Horry really don't consider themselves to be involved that much with SC. My highschool ring has the Republic Of Horry seal on it.

[Spartan]

Good links. In the 1895 county map, it appears as though the SC/NC border is different; it slants down toward the southeast (from Spartanburg to York), whereas it appears to be more linear on maps today.

Adding to metro's comment, they also didn't have GPS technology to map things the way that we do today.

Cherokee County is a relatively young county - split from Spartanburg & York Counties as you can tell on the map. Gafney has been around for a long time, but had grown large enough to warrent the need for a new county centered on that town.

In fact... on my mom's side a number of my family in the 1800's technically lived in York County, but were around Cherokee Falls, now in Cherokee County.

Krazeeboi - also, at some time in the 1800's the Fort Mill side in York County was once in Lancaster County. York had once been neatly divided by the Catawba & Broad River.

Spartan - I had never noticed that & I admit I'm a little puzzled by that. It would be interesting to review maps dating back to the colonial parrish system to the present showing how those counties were formed.

Cherokee was also split from Union.

I vaguely recall Charleston's story. I think that it was due to population distribution. Charleston at that time had, by far, the most people in SC. I wish I had a better explanation.

Here is an incredibly cool link that just found that traces the evolution of SC's counites with an animation which does not show Charleston being so small in 1895, so maybe I'm wrong about that:

http://www.mysouthcarolinagenealogy.com/sc_maps/sc_cf.htm

Here is another site that has lots of links and info about the evolution of SC's counties:

http://jrshelby.com/hcl/sc.htm

[whitehourseview]

Just recently, the border between SC and NC was mapped using GPS. I wish I had the link for it, but trust me. They sent geographers literally deep into the mountain woods to map the exact boundry. Some folks were surprised to find out that they lived in a different state than they thought.

Along the way, they did discover some of the earlier border markers and found that they were really close with some of the surveying equipment of the early 1800's.

[krazeeboi]

The NC/SC border is different around York & Mecklenburg because Lake Wylie is there now. When they flooded the lake in 1904, the survey oblisk that marked the line at this point was submerged and subsequently lost. As a result they are not exactly sure where the actual line is these days because they have been unable to find the oblisk.

Right. I forgot about that. It can get somewhat confusing when something tragic happens on the lake and they don't know whether to call SC authorities or NC authorities.

[krazeeboi]

Just recently, the border between SC and NC was mapped using GPS. I wish I had the link for it, but trust me. They sent geographers literally deep into the mountain woods to map the exact boundry. Some folks were surprised to find out that they lived in a different state than they thought.

Along the way, they did discover some of the earlier border markers and found that they were really close with some of the surveying equipment of the early 1800's.

I believe at one point that parts of York County were actually in NC. And I have read of a border dispute or two in the past between SC and NC. One I read about in the Charlotte Observer a few years back, and it also covered the history of Lake Wylie as monsoon mentioned earlier. In one instance, if I remember correctly, SC was cheated out of a few thousands acres by NC somewhere along the border closer to the Chesterfield/Dillon side.

[Spartan]

I remember reading about how they were looking for some stone at thte bottom of lake Wiley that would show them where the surveyors originally marked the line. I don't know if they ever found it or not, but it would have determined where a pretty large section of the state line would be. The property lines wouldn't actually change, just the lines on the map.

[krazeeboi]

They still haven't found the marker, last I heard.

[teshadoh]

Krazee - on the York County line, I think SC regained land from NC after the initial survey. Clover would have been in NC... I think.

[monsoon]

Right. I forgot about that. It can get somewhat confusing when something tragic happens on the lake and they don't know whether to call SC authorities or NC authorities.

Even in day to day activities. One needs a fishing license to fish on lakes in either state, and of course a NC license in not good in SC and vice versa. In some parts of Lake Wylie, its a good guess as to which one you should have if you drop a line into the water.

It is marked in a few places as shown here on a couple of photos that I took of the Buster Boyd bridge.

NC on the left, SC on the right

[goodbye]

That's sad. One can fish anywhere between SC and GA without having to buy a licence from the other state. It changes when you fish from the banks of the other state though.

[krazeeboi]

Krazee - on the York County line, I think SC regained land from NC after the initial survey. Clover would have been in NC... I think.

Interesting.

I wonder if the same happens on Lake Hartwell on the SC/GA border.

[teshadoh]

Interesting.

I wonder if the same happens on Lake Hartwell on the SC/GA border.

I was reffering to the east-west line that comprises York County's northern border, as well as Cherokee & Spartanburg.

[Spartan]

That's sad. One can fish anywhere between SC and GA without having to buy a licence from the other state. It changes when you fish from the banks of the other state though.

I thought you're not supposed to fish in Lake Hartwell, well, not to eat them. Fish are contaminated with PCBs from the lake bed. Maybe thats just catfish. I forget the particulars of that.

[goodbye]

I thought you're not supposed to fish in Lake Hartwell, well, not to eat them. Fish are contaminated with PCBs from the lake bed. Maybe thats just catfish. I forget the particulars of that.

Since I rarely fish lakes, I can't answer that, however, I fly fish the Chattooga River, which is also on the border. That information you have about Hartwell may be a tale, because I know many people who fish there without worry of contamination.

[BrasilnSC]

The PCB contamination in Lake Hartwell is not a tale. There is an advisory out by DHEC for Hartwell and surrounding waters. Advisory

That is really dumb that you would need two licenses to fish in one lake, they probably don't really enforce that. I can understand if you were on the banks.

The Chattooga River is beautiful. I've been whitewater rafting there a couple of times.

[Spartan]

It might be, because I had never heard that until I came to Clemson. But since I've been here I have heard it from numerous people including faculty, students, and other random people.

The lake bed has PCBs on it, so supposedly catfish or other bottom feeders are not safe to eat because of that.

[BrasilnSC]

There are cooking instructions for PCB contaminated fish, but who wants to trust that.

[monsoon]

That is really dumb that you would need two licenses to fish in one lake, they probably don't really enforce that.

I agree, NC & SC could cooperate better on a number of items. Now here is an interesting question. This is a floating gut wagon on Lake Wylie. Which state's sales tax does the Wienie Boat have to charge it's customers?

[krazeeboi]

Ha ha! Cool boat though.

[Greenville]

I wonder how many pickles they sell? $1 for a pickle seems ridiculous, especially when a drink, snow cone, and chips are also a dollar, and freeze pops are 50 cents!

[krazeeboi]

There is a similar topic going on in the NC forum, but it includes all Carolina cities: http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=28493

[Spartan]

You should definately check that link out. Its quite interesting.

[Charles Pearson]

...but beautiful and LOFTY Charleston ended up burning itself...

I am so not a fan of mad-man General Sherman who IMO went overboard with all that havoc & destruction in SC, where I would be born 100 years later...Even more strange, a few months ago I had an appointment South of Market Street here in San Francisco and got lost and ended up walking past an alley called "Columbia" (that made me think of home) and then much to my shock the next alley was "SHERMAN!"... "Seedy" and "unpleasant" looking alleys, though Sherman borders in back of a courtyard of an Elementary School, between Folsom and Harrison Streets, about a block from the Hall of Justice on BRYANT Street...

More on Sherman's VENGEANCE upon South Carolina:

"[union general Henry] Halleck had written to Sherman: 'Should you capture Charleston, I hope that by some accident the place may be destroyed; and if a little salt should be sown upon its site, it may prevent the growth of future crops of nullification and secession.' In answer Sherman wrote: 'I will bear in mind your hint as to Charleston, and don't think salt will be necessary... The truth is the whole army is burning with an insatiable desire to wreak vengeance upon South Carolina'...

"After a month in Savannah, Sherman struck north for his campaign through the Carolinas...

As in Georgia, destruction marked his path in South Carolina, the following towns being burned in whole or in part: Robertsville, Grahamville, ...

[Charles Pearson]

We all know that for a very long time, for most of the history of the state, Charleston overwhelmingly had dominance in SC. So when exactly did Columbia catch up and why? How and when did Greenville catch up? If I recall correctly, at one time Spartanburg was the center of influence in the Upstate, so how did Greenville surpass it? What about Florence and Myrtle Beach?

CITY OF FLORENCE:

Florence County took its name from its county seat, the city of Florence. (Seems my hometown of Johnsonville was a part of Williamsburg county.) The county was formed in 1888 from parts of Marion, Darlington, Williamsburg, and Clarendon counties. The city of Florence was founded in the 1850s as a stop on the Wilmington and Manchester Railroad & incorporated in 1890 as a city; it was named for Florence Harllee, daughter of William Wallace Harllee (1812-1897), the president of the railroad. Florence soon became an important transportation center for the Pee Dee region. During the Civil War it was the site of a Confederate prison camp. In later years tobacco growing became a major activity in the county...

Early Florence History regarding Marriage:

Because marriages could only take place in Charleston or North Carolina, many people lived together outside of wedlock in Florence/Marion County. Someone wrote that, "they quit each other at pleasure - swap wives and children, as they do cattle and horses".

[krazeeboi]

Interesting. I didn't know that tobacco played a prominent role in Florence's economic history.