Interpretations, Gatherings & Historical Sites & Subjects

 

18 Oct 2008

ANDERSON Main Page OCONEE Main Page

PICKENS Main Page

 

 

 

General Information

WebPage Consideration:

NORTHWESTERN SOUTH CAROLINA:

The Northwest Section of South Carolina was at one time a part of Georgia. The line was the Seneca river west to the Tugaloo River, then north to the North Carolina line.

Intermittent warfare between the Whites and the Cherokees were frequent. The few Pioneers who settled in this section were not sufficient to develop and protect themselves before the treaty of 1777. At the end of the Revolution, Andrew Pickens, Col. Ben Hawkins who was the Indian Agent for North Carolina, Joseph Martin of Tennessee, Locklear McIntosh of Georgia and Old Tassel Chief of the Cherokees, with Nancy Ward (who was a friend to the Whites and was the first White woman to make a public address in America). They all met at Due West South Carolina on May 20, 1777 and signed the Treaty of Hopewell. This opened up a whole new section for the Whites. The Cherokees ceded one third of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee to the Whites in this Treaty.

Large numbers of families from Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, and some from the South Part of South Carolina came to the new territory and settled.

Some large land grants were made to Revolutionary soldiers, who divided it out and sold to smaller settlers. This section was settled at such rapid rate that the Capitol was moved from Charleston to Columbia in 1790.

Benjamin Cleveland, a patriot from Wilkes county North Carolina and hero of Kings Mountain, came from Culpepper county, Virginia with his wife Mary Graves in 1775 to Wilkes county was granted 3,000 acres on the Tugaloo River for his part in the Revolution as a soldier.

In 1790 Pendleton village was organized and in the census of 1790 Pendleton District had 10,000 people. In 1778, lands were set aside between the Keowee and Tugaloo rivers for Revolutionary soldiers and the land rush was on. Some squatters had come before the revolution and some came to avoid the Revolution. Benjamin Cleveland, Bolin, David and Edward Clark, Edward Vandiver, Joshua Dyer, William Jackson, Andrew Pickens, John Miller, William Holbert, Henry Clarke, Jim Moffett, Robert Anderson were some of the first land owners in the District. Elisha Dyer, son of James Dyer of Granville county North Carolina, came to settle here before going on to Hart County Georgia, where he died at the age of 90. His descendants came to Walker County, GA. Edwin Dyer was a very prominent Baptist preacher in this section.

John Miller a printer from London England who published the corruption of the public officers of the day in his newspaper was a part owner of the London Evening Post. He was not very popular with the Government officials of England after publishing their corruption and was expelled from the country and came to America. He was induced to come to South Carolina and then to Pendleton district where he published a newspaper the first in the district call "The Millers Weekly Messenger."

This part of the piedmont South Carolina is very beautiful country and as one goes on north toward the North Carolina line, mountains are found to be very steep and rugged. Around the Keowee river section are now lakes and very thinly settled. One wonders where the first settlers made a living there does not seem to be very much cultivable land. This is where the Dyers, Joshua and Elisha lived. It is now Pickens and Oconee counties of South Carolina.

This article was taken from W.B. Dyer's book "Dyer Family History, England to America, 1600-1980", copied with permission from author.
 

African American Life in SC's Upper Piedmont, 1780-1900 - by Dr. W.J. Megginson, h-50

Alexander's Books, Jerry:- Box 1233, Seneca, SC 29679, 864-882-9326, jerryalex@netmds.com

Amateur Historians Blaze Own Paths - by Lindsay Edmonds, Greenville News in 19-Aug-2006, h-56

Blue Ridge Railroad - by Betty Plisco in 2003 (not on-line)

Early Religious Effort in Old Pendleton District 1785-1970 - by Annie Lee Boggs, h-54

Historical Interpretations by G. Anne Sheriff

Historic Sites by Frederick C. Holder

Remembering & Preserving Our Past Heritage - by Paul M Kankula, h-42

The Forgotten Society of the Keowee River Valley - by Johnny Hester, jvickery3@yahoo, in 2008

The Revolutionary War the Southern Campaign and the Battle of Cowpens - by Bob Royer in Oct-2004, h-43

 

Anderson County

 

Anderson County and its county seat, Anderson, were named for Revolutionary War General Robert Anderson (1741-1812). This region was occupied by the Cherokee Indians until 1777, when it was ceded by treaty to the State of South Carolina. This was due to a military expedition which burned out all the Indians in this section of SC, GA and NC. Part of the "Indian Land" became Pendleton County in 1789 a part of the 96th Judicial District. In 1795 Pendleton County was split off from the 96th Judicial District and placed in the Washington Judicial District until 1798. In 1799 the state legislature changed all counties to district thus Pendleton District was formed. The area was given its present name in 1826/7, when Pendleton District was split into Anderson and Pickens Districts.

In 1868 the state legislature decided to change the districts to counties. Thus the Anderson County we have today. All of the old Pendleton County and Pendleton District records can be found in the SC Archives Columbia, SC. 

 

by: SC Archive & History Center

Amelia Earhart Stops in Anderson, Nov 14,1931 - contributed by Cindy Chandler

Anderson Election of Sep. 5, 1884 - contributed by Judy Ballard

Auto Tour comes to Downtown Anderson 1909 - contributed by Cindy Chandler

Chiquola Mill Uprising, 1934 - contributed by Cindy Chandler

History of Pendleton District - by ? (not on-line)

Journeys Into The Past - by Frank A. Dickson (not on-line)

Riverside Mill - Tornado of 1924 - contributed by Cindy Chandler

The Old Reformer - contributed by Linda Bratcher McGuire 

Traditions and History of Anderson County - by Louise Ayer Vandiver (not on-line)

Whiskey Dumping - contributed by Cindy Chandler

 

Oconee County

 

The area of present-day Oconee County was home to unknown groups of Indians as early as 300 A.D. About 1100, the Etowah Indians probably occupied the region. Muskogeans inhabited parts of the territory previously occupied by the Etowahs from approximately 1350-1600, and recent studies place the arrival of the Cherokee in present-day far eastern Georgia and extreme northwestern South Carolina after 1500. (This date is subject to change in the future as additional materials on the Cherokee are discovered and as the relationships between the Cherokee and other Indian people are redefined.) In 1760, a bitter war between South Carolina and the Cherokee resulted in the destruction of most of the Lower Cherokee villages, and the loss by the Cherokee of lands south and east of the present-day South Carolina counties of Anderson and Greenville. An attack by the Cherokee on the settled parts of South Carolina in 1776 resulted in one of the early campaigns of the Revolutionary War. The Lower Cherokee villages, most of which were in the area of present-day Oconee County, were destroyed, and all but a few of the Lower Cherokee moved out of the boundaries of present-day South Carolina. Norwood's Station, a guard post to warn of possible Indian attacks was erected along the Tugaloo River in the latter years of the Revolutionary War and apparently continued in operation for a number of years after 1783. 

 

by: SC Archive & History Center

 

 

A Brief History of Courtenay Manufacturing Co. and the Village of Newry - by John L. Gaillard in Dec-1994

Ann Rogers (of Walhalla) Story - by Paul M Kankula in 2003

Cemetery Serves as Reminder of 'Self-Containment' - by Dede Norungolo, in MarcH-2005

 

Carroll Gambrell (of Walhalla) - Newspaper Articles & Books:

Historic Oconee County Gatherings - by Mary Cherry Doyle in 1935

 

History of Mountain Rest - by Mountain Rest Community Club in 1984

 

 

Images of Oconee Station - by Scott Alexander in 2003, h-24

New Development to Preserve Old Cemetery - by Anna Simon, Greenville News in 10-Oct-2003, h-37

Oconee County Overview - by Rev. George Shealy in 1995, h-19

Preserving Memories for the Future - by Mynra McKee, Seneca Dailey Journal in 21-Jun-2003, h-36

Remember When? -- Columns From The Westminster News - by Jack L. Hunt

Seneca's Mineral Springs - by John Moore in 1966, h-29

The Garden of the Gods  - by Willie Howard Ballenger, h-33

Wagner Monument Rededication, John A. - by Mayor William R Whitmire in 2000, h-31

Walking Tour of Residential Seneca - by Donald D. Clayton

Whippoorwill Farewell - Jocassee Remembered - by Debbie Fletcher, debbie@jocasseeremembered.com,

 http://www.jocasseeremembered.com

 

Pickens County

 

Pickens District, SC, and the subsequent Pickens County, in 1868, was named for General Andrew Pickens (1739-1817), a Revolutionary War hero. This area in the northwestern corner of the state was held by the Cherokee until 1777 when it was know as Indian Country. It later became part of Pendleton County in 1789 as part of 96th Judicial District. In 1795 and until 1799 Pendleton was removed from 96th Judicial District and placed in Washington Judicial District until 1798. In 1799 Pendleton County became Pendleton District when the SC legislators decided to change all counties to districts. In 1826/27 (effective 1828) Pendleton District was divided into two Districts, Pickens and Anderson. In 1868 the legislature decided to change the districts to counties. In 1868 the western portion of Pickens was later split off to form Oconee County. Pendleton District records are now in the custody of the SC Archives, Columbia, SC. The earliest European's in this region were explorers and Indian traders. The British built Fort Prince George around 1753 to protect the Cherokee Indians from advances being made by other groups such as the Creeks out of Georgia - and to keep relations between the Cherokee and South Carolina on something of an "even par." In fact, the Cherokee had requested the construction of such a fort for some years. The fort was the site of several battles in the Cherokee Wars in 1759, 60 & 61. The Cherokee town of Essennca (near Clemson), along with numbers of other Cherokee villages, was later destroyed by American troops in 1776. John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), United States vice president, senator, and cabinet member, made his home at the Fort Hill plantation in what became Pickens County. His son-in-law, Thomas Green Clemson (1807-1888), bequeathed the plantation to the state for use as an agricultural college, which led to the founding of Clemson University.  In 1968, Oconee County lands that included Clemson College and areas extending southeast to the Anderson County line were annexed by Pickens County. 

 

by: SC Archive & History Center

Benjamin Hagood Family Heritage - by Margaret "Gary" Hagood-Brightwell

Clemson University Area Historical Sites

Development Threatens to Unearth Buried Dead - by Anna Simon, Greenville News in 24-Mar-2004, h-38

Integration with Dignity (Harvey Gantt) - by Dr. H. Lewis Suggs

Legacy of a Southern Lady: Anna Calhoun Clemson, 1817-1875 - by Ann Ratliff Russell

Man tries to solve mystery of missing tombstone - by Jason Evans, Easley Progress in 29-Dec-2006, h-47

Preserving Our History Preserves Who We Are - by Karen Patterson, Travelers Rest, Apr-2004, h-39

Pickens Estate Slave Cemetery - by Anna Simon, Greenville News in 30-apr-2003, h-35

Pickens Estate Slave Cemetery - by Chris Day, Seneca Dailey Journal in 19-Jun-2003, h-34

Prather's Covered Bridge - by Coy Bayne, h-28

Remembering & Preserving Our Past Heritage (GenWeb Project) - by Easley Progress, 20-Aug-2004

Tales of Clemson, 1936-1940 - by Arthur V. Williams, M.D.

Women & Clemson University - by Dr. Jerome V. Reel, Jr.

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