On Jeter Street, on the right when traveling west.
Present-day Edgefield County was first settled in the 1750's, then a portion of a vast unsettled region of virgin forests, abundant wildlife and Indian tribes. From the time of the first settlements through the period of the American Revolution, . . . — — Map (db m12583) HM
On Main Street (State Highway 23) at Buncombe Street (U.S. 25), in the median on Main Street.
From its earliest history, Edgefield developed a reputation for violence. The bloody fighting of the Cherokee War of 1760 was followed by years of lawlessness and retribution during the Regulator period. period. During the American Revolution . . . — — Map (db m12534) HM
On Jeter Street, on the right when traveling west.
In the 18th century, Edgefield County had largely a subsistence economy in which the settlers consumed what they raised. Beginning around 1800, following the invention of the cotton gin, planters began to grow cotton, which became an extremely . . . — — Map (db m12587) HM
On Waterworkd Road, on the left when traveling south.
The longest serving and oldest Senator in American history, he began his public service as Edgefield County Superintendent of Education in 1929. A decorated soldier and circuit court judge, he was elected in the U.S. Senate as a write in candidate . . . — — Map (db m12933) HM
On Calhoun Street, on the right when traveling north.
Johnston, founded in 1868 as Johnston's Station on the Charlotte, Columbia, & Augusta Railroad and also known as Johnson's Turn Out, was named for railroad president William Johnston. It was first incorporated in 1875 and rechartered with its . . . — — Map (db m12338) HM
On Cokesbury Road (State Highway 254), on the left when traveling east.
[Original Marker]
Site of Old Tabernacle Methodist Church. Buried here are Confederate Generals Martin Witherspoon Gary, Nathan George Evans and other Confederate officers and soldiers.
[Second Marker]
1000 feet east is . . . — — Map (db m11095) HM
Near Railroad Avenue just west of Riverside Boulevard (North Augusta Greenway), on the right when traveling west.
Since the late 1700s, the Edgefield District, located in present-day Aiken and Edgefield Counties, was well known for the production of distinctive pottery. Known as alkaline-glazed stoneware because of its characteristic glaze and the hardness of . . . — — Map (db m238837) HM
On Church Street, on the right when traveling north.
First Baptist Church
Founded in 1823 as Edgefield Baptist Church, with Basil Manly, Sr., Pastor, Matthew Mims, Clerk, and Arthur Simkins, Moderator, this church led in the establishment here in 1826 of Furman Academy and Theological . . . — — Map (db m12671) HM
On Columbia Road, on the right when traveling west.
[Front]:
J. Strom Thurmond, by mid-1997 the longest-serving U.S. Senator in history, was born here to J. William and Gertrude Strom Thurmond Dec. 5, 1902. educated at Clemson College, he taught high school 1923-29, was county . . . — — Map (db m12408) HM
From 1858 to 1860 he was U.S. Minister to Russia. As Governor, his order to fire on a Union Ship in Charleston Harbor led to the start of the War Between the States. He lived at Edgewood, one of Edgefield's greatest homes. He is buried in . . . — — Map (db m12905) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 25) near Penn Street (South Carolina Highway 23), on the left when traveling west.
A tribute to the Governers
and Lieutenant Governors of South
Carolina who were
natives of or at one time
residents of Edgefield
District or County.
Governors
Andrew Pickens II (1816-18)
George McDuffie (1834-36)
Pierce Mason . . . — — Map (db m12645) HM
On Simpkins Street, on the right when traveling north.
Site of law offices of
Eldred Simkins
Congressman, Lt.-Governor
George McDuffie
Congressman, Governor,
U.S. Senator
Francis W. Pickens
Congressman, Governor,
Minister to Russia
Francis H. Wardlaw
Author of . . . — — Map (db m12657) HM
On Old Cherry Road (State Highway 149) near Camp Road (State Highway 4-56), on the left when traveling west.
Hopewell
Hopewell was the family home of General Andrew Pickens, Revolutionary War hero and Indian Commissioner, and his wife, Rebecca Calhoun Pickens. Their son, Andrew Pickens, S.C. Governor, 1816-1818, later owned Hopewell, and it was the . . . — — Map (db m9586) HM
Hopewell Plantation was home to Revolutionary War General Andrew Pickens and his wife, Rebecca Calhoun Pickens. On July 16, 1785, Pickens acquired a grant of 573 acres on the Seneca River. By August 1, 1785, Pickens received an additional 560 acres . . . — — Map (db m54892) HM
[North]:
Born August 11, 1847 - Died July 3, 1918
Married Sallie Starke January 8, 1868
Patriot • Statesman
Governor of South Carolina 1890-1894
United States Senate 1895-1918
In the World War, Chairman Senate
Committee on . . . — — Map (db m50899) HM
On Butler Church Road, on the right when traveling east.
At Butler Church, about one mile west, is the burial plot of the Butler family. Among the graves are those of William Butler, Captain in the American Revolution, United States Congressman, and Major General of S.C. Militia; Andrew Pickens Butler, . . . — — Map (db m81696) HM
Frame church with gallery for slaves
built 1856-1857 on land given by family of
Major General William Butler and wife, Behethland,
who had lived on these grounds
and lie buried in cemetery.
First pastor, Rev. T. Sumter Daniel.
This . . . — — Map (db m12989) HM
Native of Edgefield Born 1902
County Supt. of Education 1929-1933
State Senator 1933-1938
Circuit Judge 1938-1946
U.S. Army - World War II 1942-1946
Governor of South Carolina 1947-1951
United States Senate 1954-
Chairman - Senate . . . — — Map (db m12653) HM
[East Inscription]:
A Century of Service
Born December 5, 1902 in Edgefield, South Carolina, Strom Thurmond provided nearly a century of service to the Palmetto State and to this nation. Highlights of his extraordinary life include: . . . — — Map (db m46598) HM
This Court House Square, which was identified as the site of the courthouse and jail for the newly established Edgefield District in 1785, has been the center of life here for over two centuries. Today the present courthouse, which was built in . . . — — Map (db m12638) HM
On County Road 12 at County Road 1, on the right when traveling east on County Road 12.
William E. Summers is inextricably tied to Texas history through his involvement with the election to name delegates to the Texas Independence Convention and in the fall of the Alamo as one of the Immortal 32. Summers family history can be traced . . . — — Map (db m293522) HM
Religion has played an important part in the lives of the people of Edgefield County. In the 1760's, the great evangelist Daniel Marshall, came to this area and established Big Stevens Creek and Horn's Creek Churches. In 1826 Edgefield Baptists, . . . — — Map (db m12594) HM
On Old Stage Road, on the right when traveling south.
Horns Creek Baptist Church
This church was constituted in 1768 by the Reverend Daniel Marshall, one of the founders of the Baptist faith in this part of South Carolina. Other early ministers of Horns Creek included Hezekiah Walker, Samuel . . . — — Map (db m12769) HM
On Old Stage Road, on the right when traveling south.
Religion
Founded in 1768 as a result of a religious revival sweeping the American colonies known as the "Great Awakening," Horn's Creek Baptist church was one of the first churches established in the South Carolina backcountry. The church . . . — — Map (db m12782) HM
[East Face]
South Carolina To her sons of the Palmetto Regiment Who fell in the War with Mexico Anno Domini 1847.
[West face]
Colonel Pierce Mason Butler.
Lieut. Col. James Polk Dickinson.
Capt. Le Roy Secrest.
First . . . — — Map (db m81693) HM
On Courthouse Square, on the right when traveling west.
On the 12th of August 1878, two Edgefield County families has a shootout here that left three persons dead on the Square and four others badly wounded. The Booth and Toney families were from the eastern side of the county near Trenton. There had . . . — — Map (db m12459) HM
On Bettis Academy Road, on the left when traveling south.
Established as a result of the inspiration and efforts of the Reverend Alexander Bettis, this coeducational institution was incorporated in 1889 and provided elementary, high school, and junior college training for blacks. A.W. Nicholson . . . — — Map (db m12795) HM
Near Stumphouse Tunnel Road near State Highway 28, on the right when traveling west.
[Listed from north to south]
Oconee Located on the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Oconee County is known for nature-based activities such as boating, birding, backpacking, and camping
Pickens Pickens County has many beautiful . . . — — Map (db m185421) HM
On State Highway 23 0.3 miles west of Main Street (State Highway 39), on the left when traveling west.
This site, approximately halfway between Augusta and Columbia, was the location of Jacob Odom's house, where George Washington spent the night of May 21, 1791, on his trip northward through South Carolina. His escort at this time consisted of . . . — — Map (db m7115) HM
Thin black lines indicate changes in relevance. Between each pair of lines entries are ordered geographically but all have the same relevance.
* Inflectional forms of words are their plurals, singulars, and possessives as well as gramatical tenses and similar variations.
