Florence in Florence County, South Carolina — The American South (South Atlantic)
Mars Bluff Rice Growers
Photographed by Dave W, May 7, 2023
1. Mars Bluff Rice Growers Marker, Side One
From the 18th century until c. 1920, African American farmers grew rice in nearby fields. While not a major cash crop in this part of S.C., rice was a staple on local plantations, where enslaved people grew it using African methods. After the Civil War, most freed people here worked as tenants and sharecroppers, and some continued to grow rice for household consumption and sale to merchants.
Freed people and their descendants grew rice on at least 18 fields, most less than 1 acre in size. Most Mars Bluff farmers cleared fields where rainwater accumulated and watered as needed from wells and ditches, rather than rely on canals and reservoirs. Grown on land unsuited for cotton, rice provided African Americans in Mars Bluff a measure of economic and community independence.
Erected 2022 by Francis Marion University. (Marker Number 21-55.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Agriculture • Industry & Commerce.
Location. 34° 11.258′ N, 79° 39.411′ W. Marker is in Florence, South Carolina, in Florence County. It is on Francis Marion Road north of Old Wallace Gregg Road, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 480 SC-327, Florence SC 29506, United States of America. Touch for directions.
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Regionally, this marker is in South Carolina’s Pee Dee. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the original Thirteen Colonies, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Francis Marion Memorial Highway (approx. 0.7 miles away); Hewn-Timber Cabins (approx. 0.7 miles away); Atomic Bomb Accident at Mars Bluff, March 11, 1958 (approx. 0.7 miles away); Mt. Zion Rosenwald School (approx. 0.9 miles away); Mt. Zion Methodist Church (approx. one mile away); Red Doe (approx. one mile away); Gregg-Wallace Farm Tenant House (approx. one mile away); Mars Bluff (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Florence.
Photographed by Dave W, May 7, 2023
2. Mars Bluff Rice Growers Marker, Side Two
Photographed by Dave W, May 7, 2023
3. Mars Bluff Rice Growers Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on December 26, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 8, 2023, by Dave W of Co, Colorado. This page has been viewed 707 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 8, 2023, by Dave W of Co, Colorado. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
