These 15 Historic Villages In South Carolina Will Transport You Into A Different Time
The big cities in South Carolina have a well-published and promoted history that inspires people to travel near and far to see them.
But South Carolina wasn’t built on five or six big towns alone. There are dozens and dozens of smaller towns and communities that contributed to making South Carolina such a great place and they have history behind them too. Here are 15 of those historic towns.
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Walterboro is an old historic town where rice planters in the Lowcountry would go to escape malaria outbreaks during the summer. The city streets are still lined with historic homes that take you back in time.
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The Caldwell-Johnson-Morris cottage in Anderson was constructed 75 years after the Cherokee Indians living in what is now Anderson sided with the English during the Revolutionary War. They surrendered the territory shortly after that war.
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Georgetown is the third oldest city in the state. Father and son planters in the area, Thomas Lynch Sr. and Thomas Lynch Jr. were signers of the Declaration of Independence.
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A visit to Mount Pleasant's "Old Village" will transport you back in time. Have lunch or dinner at the Old Post House or visit the old pharmacy complete with a soda counter. The "Old Village" is Mount Pleasant's oldest neighborhood. The home at 111 Hibben Street was constructed in 1755.
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The Lancaster area was first settled in the mid 1700s and is a charming southern town full of history.
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The Burt-Stark House in Abbeville is known for being both the birthplace and the deathbed of the Confederacy.
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Once a haven for wealthy plantation owners, Beaufort is renowned for preserving the historic architecture of this historic charming town.
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Summerville is billed as the birthplace of sweet tea. But sometime before that, it became the place for wealthy plantation owners in the Lowcountry to escape to during the hot summer months.
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Aiken incorporated in 1835 and was named for William Aiken. It was a planned town that later that same century would become a popular wintering spot for wealthy folks from up north.
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Both Union and Confederate armies used St. Davids Episcopal Church in Cheraw as a hospital.
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Newberry's Opera House is on the National Register of Historic Places, as are so many other places in this charming historic town 45 miles west of Columbia.
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Camden is the oldest inland town in the state. British forces occupied the original house where the Kershaw House stands today.
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Edgefield, SC was both the birthplace and the death place of U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond.
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Bennettsville was founded in 1819 and named for South Carolina's Governor Thomas Bennett. The town still boasts many historic homes and buildings from the 1800s.
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The present day town of Fort Mill was established in 1873 and immediately prospered as a mill town. But prior to that, the territory was inhabited by the Catawba Indians.
Have you been to any of these towns? Or do you have others you’d like to add to the list? We’d love to hear!
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