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Near Calhoun Falls in Abbeville County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
 

Olin D. Johnston Memorial Boulevard

 
 
Olin D. Johnston Memorial Boulevard Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Scott, July 19, 2008
1. Olin D. Johnston Memorial Boulevard Marker





Inscription.
Named in honor
of a distinguished South Carolinian
in recognition of his
contributions
to the life and welfare
of this state and its citizens

Member, House of Representatives
1923-1924 Anderson County
1927-1930 Spartanburg County

Governor
1935-1939         1943-1945

United States Senator
1945-1965

He worked tirelessly for
development of the
Savannah River Basin

Erected in 1985, the 50th Anniversary
of his first
inaugration as governor

 
Erected 1985.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Roads & VehiclesWaterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1985.
 
Location. 34° 4.285′ N, 82° 38.182′ W. Marker is near Calhoun Falls, South Carolina, in Abbeville County. Marker is on Calhoun Falls Highway (State Highway 72). Marker is located near the Savannah River, three miles west of Calhoun Falls, SC. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Calhoun Falls SC 29628, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within 8 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Millwood (here, next to this marker); Colonists’ Crossing (approx. 1.1 miles away in Georgia); Welcome to Calhoun Falls State Recreation Area (approx. 2.3 miles
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away); Calhoun Falls World War I and II Veterans Monument (approx. 2.6 miles away); Bethlehem Methodist Church (approx. 2.8 miles away in Georgia); Richard B. Russell Dam (approx. 4.2 miles away); Gov. Heard’s Home (approx. 6.2 miles away in Georgia); "Old Dan Tucker" (approx. 6.2 miles away in Georgia); USS Scorpion (SS-278) (approx. 7.4 miles away in Georgia); Bobby Brown State Park Monument (approx. 7.4 miles away in Georgia). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Calhoun Falls.
 
Also see . . .
1. Olin D. Johnston. Olin DeWitt Talmadge Johnston (November 18, 1896 – April 18, 1965) was a Democratic Party politician from the U.S. State of South Carolina. (Submitted on September 14, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.) 

2. Olin Dewitt Talmadge Johnston, 1935-1939, 1943-1945. Detailed information on Governor Johnston's two terms. (Submitted on November 21, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.) 

3. South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1942. The 1942 South Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November
Olin D. Johnston Memorial Boulevard - East View image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Scott, July 19, 2008
2. Olin D. Johnston Memorial Boulevard - East View
3, 1942 during World War II to select the governor of the state of South Carolina. (Submitted on September 14, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.) 
 
Additional commentary.
1. Olin DeWitt Talmadge Johnston (1896 - 1965)
Olin DeWitt Talmadge Johnston, (father of Elizabeth J. Patterson), a Senator from South Carolina; born near Honea Path, Anderson County, S.C., November 18, 1896; attended the public schools; graduated from Textile Industrial Institute, Spartanburg, S.C., in 1915; attended Wofford College, Spartanburg, S.C., until 1917 when he enlisted in the United States Army, serving eighteen months overseas, and becoming a sergeant; reentered Wofford College and graduated in 1921; received a graduate degree from the University of South Carolina at Columbia in 1923 and graduated from that university’s law department in 1924; admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Spartanburg, S.C.; member, State house of representatives 1923-1924, 1927-1930; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for gubernatorial nomination in 1930; Governor of South Carolina 1935-1939, and from 1943 until his resignation on January 3, 1945; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the United States Senate in 1938 and 1941; elected as a Democrat to
Olin D. Johnston<br>1896–1965<br>As Governor of South Carolina image. Click for full size.
South Carolina Political Collections, The University of South Carolina
3. Olin D. Johnston
1896–1965
As Governor of South Carolina
S.C. House of Rep 1923-1924, 1927-1930
Gov of S.C. 1935-1939, 1943-1945
U.S. Sen from S.C. 1844-1965
the United States Senate in 1944, 1950, 1956, and again in 1962, and served from January 3, 1945, until his death in Columbia, S.C., April 18, 1965; chairman, Committee on Post Office and Civil Service (Eighty-first and Eighty-second Congresses, and Eighty-fourth through Eighty-ninth Congresses), co-chairman, Joint Committee on Postal Service (Eighty-second Congress); interment in Barkers Creek Baptist Church Cemetery, Honea Path, S.C. (Source: Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress.)
    — Submitted November 20, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.

2. About Olin D. Johnson
South Carolina politics...was characterized by individualistic, free-for-all intraparty fighting. The state's loose multi factional system revolved around a powerful localism and the long-standing animosity between the upcountry and the coastal plain (with the city of Charleston). The Palmetto State's preoccupation with matters of race inhibited the development of a more distinct bifunctionalism along economic and sectional lines...The most noteworthy political factions in South Carolina politics during the years of the Great Depression and World War II were those of two governors: Olin D. Johnson and Burnet R. Maybank. One came from Spartanburg in the upcounty, the other from Charleston in
Olin D. and Mrs. Johnston with<br>President Franklin D. Roosevelt<br>and a Naval Aide image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Unknown Source
4. Olin D. and Mrs. Johnston with
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
and a Naval Aide
the low country. both men were later elected to the U.S. Senate.

Johnston, the upcountryman, served as governor during the years 1935-39. His administration was identified with a number of labor and welfare reforms, and he acquired a reputation as a "New Deal" governor. His rise to power was also based on traditional divisions and grievances in South Carolina: upcountry opposition to Charleston and patrician influence, alleged frauds in Charleston, reaction against some of the control exerted by a legislative clique known as the "Barnwell Ring," and Johnston's appeal to the state's mill workers. After loosing contests for the Senate in 1938 and 1941, he was elected governor for a second term in 1942. Two years later he defeated the venerable Ellison D. "Cotton Ed" Smith in a campaign for the Senate. By this time, Johnston had won the confidence of some conservative elements, and he seized on the race issue that arose with the outlawing of the white primary by the Supreme Court. (Source: The Life and Death of the Solid South: A Political History by Dewey W. Grantham (1992), pgs 98-99.)

No one was more delighted to see the state emerge from the doldrums than Gov. Olin D. Johnson, who embarked on a "Little New Deal" of his own in 1935. Like FDR, Johnston exhibited concern for the forgotten white American, which in South Carolina meant the cotton mill worker.
Olin D. Johnston<br>As U.S. Senator from South Carolina image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Life Magazine
5. Olin D. Johnston
As U.S. Senator from South Carolina
Not only did Johnston publicly defend the CIO, but he also aided evicted strikers by donating surplus military tents and foodstuffs. Where previous governors used the National Guard and martial law to crush strikes, Johnston used both to protect strikers and seal off mill precincts from strikebreakers. He often forced management to accept him as mediator and occasionally found state jobs for strikers whom mills refused to rehire.

Moreover, in his inaugural and subsequent addresses, Johnston unveiled a program whose provisions for education, governmental reorganization, penal reform, labor relations, and Social Security reflected the liberal rhetoric of the New Deal then astir in American. He certainly deserves the title "Education Governor." At his urging, the legislature established a textbook rental system, extended the school term from six months to eight months, raised teachers' salaries from $66 a month to $90 a month, and required compulsory school attendance of those between seven and sixteen years of age. In the area of labor relations, the state legislatures from 1935 to 1938 enacted and then liberalized workman's compensation, established an unemployment compensation program, and created a state department of labor that eventually was given power to arbitrate disputes and inspect factories. Added to these accomplishments were significant provisions for better
Olin D. Johnston (Center) and Governor Fritz Hollings<br>Greet President Kennedy in Columbia, SC image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Scott, 1960
6. Olin D. Johnston (Center) and Governor Fritz Hollings
Greet President Kennedy in Columbia, SC
wages, hours, and working conditions. South Carolina became the tenth state to establish sixteen years of age as the minimum age of employment. The state also required time and one-half pay for Sunday work in textile mills, established a forty-hour workweek for that industry, and mandated a maximum twelve-hour workday, fifty-six-hour workweek for employees in most other trades and industries. For women, the legislature imposed a maximum forty-hour workweek in garment factories and a maximum forty-eight-hour workweek in bleaching, dying, and finishing plants. Night work for minors under eighteen years of age was outlawed, and textile employers were required to post wage scales and deduct no more than 50 percent of a worker's weekly wage to cover delinquent rent.

In other areas legislators were less responsive. Johnston presented a comprehensive package of requests for governmental reorganization: pooling of all state revenue into one fund; reduction in the number of highway commissioners; requirement that all state banks join the FDIC; creation of a single police force from the highway patrol and constabulary; and creation of a South Carolina rural Electrification Administration. The lawmakers gave him the electrification administration but turned a deaf ear to his other requests. For penal reform, Johnston sought creation of a comprehensive probation system and funds to
Olin D. Johnston<br>After Voting on the Civil Rights Act image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Life Magazine, 1964
7. Olin D. Johnston
After Voting on the Civil Rights Act
relieve prison overcrowding. The legislature ignored his first request but did not give him $75,000 for construction of a women's prison near Columbia. Finally, at Johnston's urging, the legislature enacted laws to enable the state to participate in Social Security and passed as act to prevent misrepresentation in the sale of securities. (Source: South Carolina and the New Deal by J.I. Hayes (2001), pgs 188-189.)
    — Submitted November 21, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.

3. Olin D. Johnston Library
In addition to this highway, Johnston's name adorns the main library of Anderson University in nearby Anderson, South Carolina. The Olin D. Johnston Library was constructed in 1956 and was renovated in 1974.
    — Submitted November 15, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.
 
Gladys Elizabeth Atkinson Tombstone<br>Barkers Creek Baptist Church Cemetery image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Scott, November 21, 2009
8. Gladys Elizabeth Atkinson Tombstone
Barkers Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
Wife of
Olin D. Johnson
March 24, 1901
July 17, 1976
Olin D. Johnston Tombstone<br>Barkers Creek Baptist Church Cemetery image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Scott, November 21, 2009
9. Olin D. Johnston Tombstone
Barkers Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
Dedicated Christian Gentleman
and Public Servant. Devoted
Husband and Father.

Born
Nov. 18, 1896 near Honea Path, SC
Son of
E.A. and Leila Webb Johnston

Sgt. 117th Eng. C Co. 42nd Rainbow Division
Regimental Citation for Bravery in Action
Active in Baptist Young Peoples Work
Deacon, Sunday School Teacher. Member
House of Rep. Anderson County 1923-1924
Spartanburg County 1927-1930. Only
South Carolinian Ever Elected for Two
Four Year Terms as Governor 1934-1938
1942-1946. Elected to United States
Senate in 1944. Assumed Office Jan. 2, 1845
Re-elected for Four Six-year Terms. Died
While in Office April 18, 1965. Married
Gladys E. Atkinson Dec. 27, 1924.
Their Children
Olin D., Jr., Sallie J. Scott, G. Elizabeth
Olin D. Johnston, Jr. Tombstone<br>Barkers Creek Baptist Church Cemetery image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Scott, November 21, 2009
10. Olin D. Johnston, Jr. Tombstone
Barkers Creek Baptist Church Cemetery
August 8, 1936
June 7, 1993
Olin D. Johnston and Family Plot<br>Barkers Creek Baptist Church, Honea Path, SC image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Brian Scott, November 21, 2009
11. Olin D. Johnston and Family Plot
Barkers Creek Baptist Church, Honea Path, SC
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on October 12, 2020. It was originally submitted on July 22, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. This page has been viewed 3,229 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on July 22, 2008, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.   3, 4. submitted on November 21, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.   5. submitted on November 20, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.   6, 7. submitted on November 21, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.   8, 9, 10. submitted on June 26, 2011, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina.   11. submitted on November 21, 2009, by Brian Scott of Anderson, South Carolina. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 19, 2024