You are standing in a partial reconstruction of the Stockade Fort as it appeared in 1781. Archaeologists have identified remnants -- see the outlines -- of log buildings that existed here. An elevated firing step, called a banquette, was located . . . — — Map (db m11345) HM
An unusual name for a place! But there is a logical reason, of course. Notice on the map the location of the frontier Indian trails that later became roads. This place was chosen for a trading post because it was a convenient campground along the . . . — — Map (db m99686) HM
"Not a man could shew his head but what he was immediately shot down."
General Nathanael Green
Approach trenches, called saps, connected one parallel to the next. These angled ditches allowed troops to move toward the fort without . . . — — Map (db m125699) HM
The Cherokee referred to themselves as
Tsalagi or Aniywiyai which means the
"Principal People". Cherokee used the
area around Ninety Six as a hunting
ground, where they hunted deer,
turkey and even buffalo. — — Map (db m48494) HM
The trench that ran here, from the fort to the stockaded town, was not actually covered, but was used for cover. It was the route for official couriers, Loyalist relief troops, and slaves who risked Patriot fire to bring water from . . . — — Map (db m125703) HM
Robert Gouedy established a trading post on this site in 1753. He supplied cloth, tools, gunpowder, lead, and rum to the soldiers, Indians, slaves, and settlers who passed through Ninety Six on the way to or from Charleston and the Cherokee . . . — — Map (db m33594) HM
Once dense forest, this area was gradually cleared by people. Fire, storms, and the introduction of non-native plants and animal species also contributed to changing the landscape. If you lived here in the 1700s, you would have seen these woods . . . — — Map (db m32790) HM
After several days of digging an approach trench to get to this point, a first parallel was established. In siege warfare a series of trenches that face the enemy's defenses are called parallels. The first parallel established a secure position . . . — — Map (db m11179) HM
The Gouedy trail is a 1.5-mile nature path that takes you through the woods and into a lesser known for historically significant part of the park. This route passes the presumed location of Robert Gouedy's trading post, established in 1751, and . . . — — Map (db m33537) HM
Left Column:
Raymond H. Barnett, Milton Capps, Robert E. Chaney, George W. Chapman, Lewis F. Ferguson, J. Leonard Goldman
Right Column:
J. Jennings Jamison, R. Fielding Jones, Morris T. Matthews, Lewis O. McIntosh, William . . . — — Map (db m35026) HM
The earliest roads in Ninety Six were Indian trails, used for travel by foot and horse and for hunting. White settlers followed these trails to explore the countryside, trade, and eventually, to settle. As the stream of settlers into the region . . . — — Map (db m11159) HM
Sacred to the Memory
of
James Birmingham
Volunteer
Long Cane Militia
Killed at this Site
In the Battle of
November 19-24, 1775
The First South Carolinian
To Give His Life in the
Cause of Freedom
----------
Erected by . . . — — Map (db m11314) HM
One half mile south is the grave of John Waller, early minister of the Baptist faith in Virginia, where he is credited with founding eighteen churches. He was persecuted and imprisoned by the established church and civil authorities. In 1793, he . . . — — Map (db m11332) HM
A Lake is Formed
The Great Depression of the 1930s altered the economy and landscape of Greenwood County. Farmers were impoverished, land values declined, and local textile mills struggled to survive. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New . . . — — Map (db m30443) HM
The Ninety Six jail stood on this site and the courthouse was about 100 yards from it, near the Charleston Road. After the Revolutionary War, the jail fell into disrepair and its bricks were reused for other purposes. But from 1772, when it was . . . — — Map (db m125704) HM
Andrew Logan built this house in the late 1700s. The house was the first home built in the nearby town of Greenwood, SC and was actually found hidden in the core of an old house. It was moved here in 1968 where it was put under the protection of . . . — — Map (db m30719) HM
Built by Andrew Logan in the late 1700s, this well preserved example of a log house of that time was discovered in nearby Greenwood. The historic stricture has been hidden under siding and obscured by alterations from a much later period. . . . — — Map (db m30731) HM
WT 52 Tons
Main Gun 105 MM
Produced 1956-1987
This tank was acquired from the SC ARNG
with the help of Sgt. Charles A. Price.
This marker was dedicated by
VFW Post #8131
Star Fort Post 103
Ninety Six American Legion
This model . . . — — Map (db m35021) HM
(A part-time soldier who was not part of a standing army.)
During both battles at Ninety Six,
citizens took part. These men were not
trained regular soldiers. After the battles
ended, they returned back to their homes
and . . . — — Map (db m48559) HM
This stone honors James Birmingham, the first South Carolinian to lose his life for freedom during the Revolutionary War. Birmingham, a member of the Long Cane Militia, received his fatal wound from a Loyalist musket ball. He fought under the . . . — — Map (db m11312) HM
Rock walls communicate that a place is important and worth of protection -- a sanctuary. In the 1940s, Civilian conservation Corps (CCC) enrollees were using the boulders scattered before you to erect a rock wall guarding Lake Greenwood State . . . — — Map (db m30424) HM
The convergence of roads at Ninety Six ensured its success as a hub of commerce, center for law and order, and haven for settlers in colonial times. In 1775 the village had a dozen dwellings, a jail, and, most importantly, a courthouse, making it . . . — — Map (db m11304) HM
Front
The Ninety Six Colored School, built nearby between 1927 and 1953, was a combined elementary and high school through the 1951-52 school year and an elementary school through the 1955-56 school year. It was a six-room frame . . . — — Map (db m83914) HM
Ninety Six played a significant role in the struggle for American independence from British rule. It was the site of the first southern land battle of the Revolutionary War, in 1775, and the scene of its longest field siege, in 1781. Early in the . . . — — Map (db m95759) HM
Ninety Six National Historic Site is a unit of the National Park Service, which preserves lands of national significance. This park features the site of the old town of Ninety Six, an important seat of power in the backcountry of South Carolina . . . — — Map (db m30565) HM
Ninety Six National Historic Site is a unit of the National Park Service, which preserves lands of national significance. This park features the site of the old town of Ninety Six, an important seat of power in the backcountry of South Carolina . . . — — Map (db m35098) HM
Ninety Six National Historic Site is a unit of the National Park Service, which preserves lands of national significance. This park features the site of the old town of Ninety Six, an important seat of power in the backcountry of South Carolina . . . — — Map (db m125710) HM
Ninety Six National Historic Site
A Brief History of Ninety Six National Historic Site
The Ninety Six National Historic Site is an area of unique historical and archaeological significance. In the late 1700s traders gave the town its . . . — — Map (db m11129) HM
Even before 1730 the fork in the Cherokee Path 96 miles south of Keowee, was called Ninety Six. Here a trading post was operated, a fort was built and a courthouse town was established. Here the first land battle of the Revolutionary War was . . . — — Map (db m11465) HM
General Nathanael Greene had about
1,000 Patriot troops from Maryland,
Delaware, and Virginia. The average
height of an adult during the
Revolutionary War was 5 feet 5 inches.
See how you stand up to this Patriot
while standing in the . . . — — Map (db m48534) HM
National attention was focused here on Oct. 3, 1856, when some ten thousand people honored Preston S. Brooks, Congressman from this district, with a public dinner in vindication of his assault on Charles Sumner of Massachusetts on the Senate floor . . . — — Map (db m215256) HM
By June 3, the sappers had finished the approach trench and established a second parallel. Now that he was in position to attack Cruger's stronghold, Greene, in keeping with the etiquette of siege warfare, made a formal demand for the Loyalists' . . . — — Map (db m11229) HM
On the night of May 22, Greene began constructing an assault position only 70 yards from Star Fort, hoping to overrun the fort quickly with a frontal attack. The Americans were driven away, however, by heavy cannon fire and an attack party from . . . — — Map (db m11346) HM
This church was organized in 1799 by Rev. John Waller, Rev. David Lilly, William Chiles, and Meshec Overby, with 32 charter members. Waller, its first minister, served until his death in 1802. Other notable pastors included Revs. John Broadus, . . . — — Map (db m27322) HM
(front)
This depot, built for the Southern Railway in 1915, is an outstanding example of an early-20th century combination passenger and freight depot. A settlement called Ninety Six predates the Revolution, but the modern town grew up . . . — — Map (db m203531) HM
A plentiful water source was essential for the colonial residents of Ninety Six and for both Patriot and Loyalist troops garrisoned here during the Revolutionary War. The water surely flowed more freely in colonial times. During the sweltering . . . — — Map (db m125706) HM
You are standing at the site of the first southern land battle of the Revolutionary War. The men fighting here were all Americans. The Loyalists supported British rule; the Patriots wanted independence from the Crown.
The location of Ninety . . . — — Map (db m11308) HM
Once a parallel was dug, troops could move artillery forward and place cannon in position to batter the enemy garrison. Greene's six-pounders (guns firing six pound cannon balls) were placed here on platforms that sat on earthen fortifications . . . — — Map (db m125698) HM
By June 17, the Ninety Six garrison was low on food and ammunition. Cruger had expected a relief expedition from Charleston, but hope was turning into despair.
Suddenly, a farmer, casually riding near the American lines, spurred his gorse and . . . — — Map (db m11249) HM
Cruger assumed command at Ninety Six in August, 1780, and quickly strengthened the defenses. By October he had built a stockade and ditch around "ye Court house and the principle houses" and added blockhouses, probably on the Island Ford and . . . — — Map (db m11183) HM
Having established the third parallel and dug a mine, the Patriot troops were exhausted. Promised reinforcements from the Virginia militia failed to arrive. A frustrated Greene wrote to Congress: "...our poor Fellows are worne out with fatigue, . . . — — Map (db m33029) HM
After the Revolution, the American government confiscated land that belonged to prominent Loyalists. You are standing on such a tract, and it became the site of a new town of Ninety Six in 1783. The old town, near the Star Fort -- never rebounded . . . — — Map (db m125707) HM
"We shall be in the ditch of the enemies works by tomorrow night or early morning; and the powder is wanting to blow up the works. I beg you will send the powder the moment this reaches you."
General Nathanael Greene to General Andrew . . . — — Map (db m125702) HM
After a series of disastrous defeats in South Carolina, George Washington, head of the Continental Army, took action. He named General Nathanael Greene to command Patriot forces in the South in December 1780. Greene drove into the backcountry . . . — — Map (db m11175) HM
"Our success is very doubtful."
General Nathanael Greene
May 23, 1781
General Greene entrusted Colonel Thaddeus Kosciuszko with the task of creating siegeworks -- a system of trenches -- that would allow his men to . . . — — Map (db m32831) HM
"Our success is very doubtful."
General Nathanael Greene
May 23, 1781
General Greene entrusted Colonel Thaddeus Kosciuszko with the task of creating siegeworks -- a system of trenches -- that would allow his men to . . . — — Map (db m32863) HM
In a single night -- June 13 -- a 30-foot tower made of interlocking logs was erected under Kosciuszko's supervision. From the wooden platform marksmen could aim down into the fort. The Loyalists responded to this threat by making the walls . . . — — Map (db m125701) HM
In November 1775 — just months after American and British troops traded musket fire at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts — the first southern land battle of the Revolutionary War was fought here in Ninety Six. Later, in 1781, the . . . — — Map (db m30623) HM
On assuming command of Ninety Six in 1780, Lieutenant Colonel Cruger set out to fortify the town in the event of a Patriot attack. The Star Fort was the center of his defense and today offers a rare view of original British military field . . . — — Map (db m11265) HM
The British built this “stockade fort on the right” in 1781 on property owned by James Holmes, a Loyalist, to protect the garrisons water supply.
An irregular fortification built around a barn and several out building, the . . . — — Map (db m99687) HM
Water was critical to the survival of the men confined to the Star Fort, but the town's only water source, Spring Branch, lay well beyond its walls and within range of Patriot fire. Cruger hoped to remedy this dire situation by digging a well . . . — — Map (db m11293) HM
Roads and paths allowed trade between
the Cherokee and early traders. In 1753
Robert Gouedy set up the first
permanent trading post at old Ninety Six.
Many road traces can still be seen today. — — Map (db m48532) HM
Follow the paved path to explore a colonial roadbed, Revolutionary War siegeworks and the original Star Fort, the site of the early town of Ninety Six, the reconstructed Stockade Fort of 1781, and the Logan Log House. The one-mile walk starts out in . . . — — Map (db m125696) HM
About Lake Greenwood State Recreation Area
Lake Greenwood became a part of the South Carolina State Park System in April 1938. the land for the park was donated by Greenwood County. Originally the park consisted of 1,114 acres. Later the . . . — — Map (db m30441) HM
The quiet field before you was the site of the once-thriving 1700s town of Ninety Six. In 1781 it had about a dozen homes, a courthouse, and a jail. When Lieutenant Colonel Cruger arrived in 1780, he fortified it against attack. One visitor . . . — — Map (db m33468) HM
The origin of Ninety Six's unusual numeric name remains a mystery. There are many theories. One plausible explanation is that English traders who passed through here in the 1700s estimated this location to be 96 miles from the Cherokee village of . . . — — Map (db m30703) HM
As many as 100 Loyalist families took
refuge in the town of Ninety Six during
the 1781 siege. They had to suffer the
same hardships and disease as the
Loyalist soldiers. After the battle many
families followed the British Army to . . . — — Map (db m48535) HM
At Chestnut Hill Baptist Church is the grave of Lucinda Horn, Confederate War heroine, wife of Cornelius Horn and mother of William Horn, both members of Company K, 14th S.C. Volunteers. She accompanied her husband and son to the front and remained . . . — — Map (db m12967) HM
