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SPARTANBURG COUNTY SEES COUNTLESS CHANGES
DURING 35 YEAR PERIOD
Spartanburg Herald and Journal
January 3, 1932
Generously contributed by Nancie O'Sullivan |
Sunday, January 3, 1932.
SPARTANBURG COUNTY SEES COUNTLESS CHANGES DURING 35 YEAR PERIOD
Who remembers MARTINSVILLE? Yes, that name sounds familiar. J.E.
CASH served this community as its postmaster, J.J.C. EZELL was
magistrate and J.A. MARTIN was the physician, J.?. SCRUGGS was
notary public and there were 4 stores in Martinsville in 1896. This
town was about 8 miles north of Cowpens and Chesnee.
MAUD- The exact location of the post office known as Maud has not
been learned, but it was below Cowpens several miles. It was the
home of S.C. HAMMETT, merchant, R.E. LINDER was postmaster and
merchant, and D.T. PHILLIPS, notary public.
NESBITT - The post office , Nesbitt was near NESBITT'S bridge over
Tiger River and not far from the old ROGERS cemetery on the hill.
The post office was kept by S.N. NESBITT, merchant and H.M. NESBITT
also had a general store there.
POOLES - The town of Pooles was the home of the PADGETT'S, MISS
LILLIE A. PADGETT being the postmistress. I.R. PADGETT owning the
flour mill and cotton gin, and PADGETT and KENNEDY owned and
operated a saw mill.
It was near Cherokee on the Cannons Camp Ground road.
RAVANNA, a small village, 4 miles north of Pacolet mills on the
Pacolet Mills and Limestone road, had as its postmaster T.C. CHALK,
W.S. LIPSCOMB dealt in real estate and operated his cotton gin.
There was carpenters and blacksmiths and merchants in this
community.
PARIS, only a small hamlet, was between New Prospect and Chesnee,
northeast of Boiling Springs. J.A. McMILLIN was postmaster and
lumber dealer , also a miller. T.E. JOHNSON was a surveyor, while
J.W. WALL was the merchant of the place.
FOSTER , was a town which has been lost to modern progress. After
the rural free delivery was introduced there remained only the old
FOSTER Chapel to show that a small community had once had its center
there. A.M. FOSTER kept the post office and J.M. FOSTER operated the
cotton gin. This is the only community in which there was a colored
blacksmith's listed. JOEL SIMPSON ran the blacksmith shop for the
neighborhood. This small town was located on the Fairforest Creek
where the Glenn Springs road from White Stone crosses Fairforest
creek.
GLENDALE , another cotton mill center is still a progressive town.
W.E.LINDSAY was postmaster during the 90's. The location of this
town is quite familiar.
Perhaps the most interesting and most popular of the early post
offices of the county was GLENN SPRINGS. This was also a very
popular resort, both on account of the excellent mineral water and
also for the pleasing hotel accommodations which the visitors
enjoyed. Many came to Glenn Springs not only from S.C. but from
Georgia and Florida as well. A small train was operated from
Spartanburg down to the springs gay parties and dances, were held in
honor of distinguished guests. Besides the hotel there were 5 large
boarding houses here and during much of the time they crowded with
visitors. GOLIGHTLY was a small community 3 miles north of Glenn
Springs. Although scattered , this place was the home of staunch
families whose descendants have taken prominent place in the world.
Encircled around the rude little post office building there were
high hills laden with laurel and rhododendron and in the early
spring an abundance of trailing arbutus grew on the hillsides.
JEB- The town of Jeb seems to have passed out of the minds of
people. There may still be a few grandfathers who are able to recall
its whereabouts. AMSA W. GASTON was postmaster for this place and
B.L. WOFFORD ran a general merchandise. Jeb was in the Green Pond
section between Reidville and Woodruff- named for J.E.B. STUART. MR.
AMSA W. GASTON had this community named Jeb in honor of J.E.B.
STUART under whose command MR. GASTON fought during the War Between
the States. MR. GASTON honored the famous commander even further by
naming one of his sons J.E.B. GASTON.
Of course, we will know LANDRUM, the town which is the gateway to
the Land of the Sky. JOSEPH B. PAGE was postmaster in 1896, and
there were 6 stores owned by CANTRELL and PAGE, J.S. CARPENTER, N.F.
and J. CARPENTER, EZELL and DANIEL and T.C. MORGAN. There were also
2 marble dealers- ELLEGE and PAGE. Landrum has known a great
progress since that time. Landrum mills was the manufacturing plant
in those early days and to this has been added many industries.
LAYTON was between Walnut Grove community and Pauline. This was the
home of A.B. LAYTON who was postmaster and J.H. LAYTON, Constable.
A.S. SMITH was the miller and S.N. WEST the blacksmith of the
village. This town- if it could have been called a town - has long
since passed out of existence.
The town of EVINSVILLE is not heard of now except when the
grandfathers or grandmothers refer to it. The postoffice was kept by
B.L. ALLEN while A.S. LESLIE was the minister of the gospel for the
village. H.L. LAYTON owned a gin and saw mill and had as his
competitors, JAMES CASEY and W.M. McCRAVY. WORKMAN and Company owned
the only store in the neighborhood. Evinsville was probably near the
Old Burnt Factory community, near the Burnt Factory bridge.
ENOREE Manfacturing Company was making cotton goods for several
years prior to 1896. In this town which is quite a large thickly
settled community, there were then 3 ministers, B.R. ANDERSON, W.H.
MILLER, and E.C. WATSON, and 2 doctors, A.R. FIKE and C.H. GREEN.
J.W. BISHOP served as postmaster.
FARLEY , the home of L.C. BISHOP, blacksmith of W.J. McDOWELL,
magistrate and postmaster J.H. MILLIN and who were the merchants of
Farley. This town was located near Fingerville on the north Pacolet
River. The present location of C.C. McMILLIN'S store. J.H. McMILLIN
owned the only store besides the cotton mill store. J.E. CHALK was
the physician and he was listed under the Victor postoffice which
was not far away. DR. J.B. WILSON, too was a physician of
Fingerville.
CRIM - There is some question as to where the exact location of Crim
was. Some of our older friends no doubt will be glad to tell us just
where this place was. To be sure it must have been a small
settlement as there are only 2 mentioned besides the postmaster, W.T.
CRIM. H.P. BRIDWELL had a general store and G.T. PEARSON ran a stock
farm. This seems to have been the present Poplar Springs community
or thereabouts.
ANDOVER - Then there was Andover. J.H. ATKINS was postmaster and ran
the general store. M.C. ATKINS was the blacksmith, while W.M.
COLLINS owned a store also. This postoffice was 2 miles south of
Gowansville. Some of our older friends will be able to tell us more
about Andover.
ARDELLA is well known as it was near the present DISPUTANTA school.
It was 5 miles west of the city. Arlington has been translated into
the Appalache Mill community. The town of BECCA may not be so well
remembered . Here JAMES A. FOSTER and J.L. COLLINS both has stores
while D.C. STROBLE ran the cotton gin. W.T. WEST followed the
vocation of blacksmith. J.L. FOSTER was station agent. Of the
location of this place there seems to some doubt, but several have
given its location as having been near the present site of the town
of Roebuck.
The community which is now known as Stone's Station was once known
as BISHOP. J.M. STONE was post master and ran a general store. He is
the only one listed under BISHOP.
BLACKWOOD- In Blackwood we see there were 2 stores, 2 blacksmiths ,
a miller, ALFRED NEWTON, a sawyer, WILLIAM SANDERS and MRS. MAMIE E.
BLACKWOOD was post mistress. This settlement was between Inman and
New Prospect. It has long since gone.
HARRELSON- The postmaster of the good ole days was also blacksmith
for the village. Evidently his mail not so heavy and he must have
had plenty of time to sharpen plows, make plow stocks and shoe
horses for the whole neighborhood. A preacher, T.A. BLAKELY also
lived here. HARRELSON was situated on the Tiger River between
Nesbitts and Hill's bridges. HEBRON, forgotten by many was only a
short distance from Harrelson. Four general stores supplied the
community with its simple needs. H.W. GWINN ran a flour and saw
mill, also a cotton gin. Hebron was about 2 miles east of Harrelson
on the Hill's factory road.
STATE LINE , as the name signifies, was on the line between North
and South Carolina on the road between Chesnee and Cliffside. OLIVER
HAMES was postmaster, C.W. MOORE was a merchant and D.S. SCRUGGS is
listed as the only merchant of the place. There is a church known as
the State Line Baptist Church, which is in use at the present time.
WINGO - Tucked away not far from the Mount Zion section was WINGO,
which was the home of B.K. WINGO, who served his community as
postmaster. His home was on the road between Fairforest and Inman
nearer the latter. Some of the oldest and best known families of
Spartanburg lived in this community.
WOODRUFF has been a very prosperous town for a long time. Even in
1896, there was a long list of business men given. There were cotton
buyers - L.L. BEASON and J.H. KIRBY and W.W. SIMPSON; preachers.
C.F. SCAIFE and S.W. REID and doctors S.D. PARSONS and L. IRBY -
lawyers, barbers, grocers, druggists and shoemakers. The list is too
long to enumerate all.
WRIGHT - W.C. LIPSCOMB was the mail man for his neighborhood, which
was known as Wright. This settlement is no longer known by this
name.
WELLFORD - Three clergymen, J.A. BELL, S.W. REID and S.C. TODD lived
at Wellford in the late 90's. DR. J.O. VERNON was the physician of
this place, A.R. BALLINGTON and J.W. JONES were merchants. M.L.
GILBERT was postmaster for Wellford. The location is well known.
WALNUT GROVE - located on the road from Roebuck to Cross Anchor, is
a well known community. There used to be a postoffice for the
neighborhood and this was kept by T.S. HARRISON. The people of
Walnut Grove had as their doctor, W.H. KELLY.
RICH - The town of RICH has now become White Stone. Back in the 90's
we see A.J. FOSTER was magistrate and J.T. FOSTER was postmaster and
merchant. R.A. LANCASTER operated a saw mill and cotton gin and his
competitor was W.W. MURPH. J.J. TINSLEY was another merchant of this
community.
SWAIN was the home of A.T. JONES, clergyman, J.P. JACKSON , merchant
EDWARD GARRETT, carpenter and L.M. PUTMAN postmaster and merchant.
SWAIN was near north Pacolet above JOE WALKER School about 5 miles
northeast from Campobello.
THICKETY -The postmaster of THICKETY was D.L. LITTLEJOHN. MARTIN
PINSON served the town as its doctor. JEFFERSON LIPSCOMB was the
only merchant listed for the year 1896. THICKETY , on the Southern
Railroad between Spartanburg and Gaffney was named after the
Mountain of the same name.
ROCKFORD, so named because of a rocky place, on Dutchman's Creek, at
the ford, was the home of GEORGE A. MORROW, who was postmaster. The
post office was in the MORROW home. J.M. WILLIAMS owned the only
store of the neighborhood. W.A. WOFFORD was a miller and L.E. PETTIT
the carpenter. Rockford was about 12 miles below Spartanburg on
Dutchman's Creek.
GRASSY POND - The name is most familiar. This town has been
abandoned now, but it once had its blacksmith, saw mill, general
store, postmaster J.J. MAGNESS and assistant postmaster, J.B. JONES.
Grassy Pond was about 4 miles west of Gaffney. An old church still
retains the name of the place.
GRAMBLIN, although the spelling has been somewhat revised - was then
a small town. It is north of Inman. It was a new village in '96 but
it has grown into a very prosperous community with churches, stores
and an excellent school. It is the center of a rich peach growing
district and that was E. LAWRENCE, postmaster.
Goucher - The town of GOUCHER is almost forgotten. It was the
postoffice for the community between Gaffney and Pacolet. There
remains a Baptist church by the small name at this place. ADELINE
LITTLEJOHN was then postmaster.
CEDAR SPRINGS- A place familiar to all- N.F. WALKER distributed the
mail for the community. T.Z. GOODWIN was the miller, R.P. ROGERS , a
shoemaker. The institution for the deaf and blind was on the same
site as it stands today.
CASHVILLE is still known by the same name. In this small town of
long ago H.H. ARNOLD owned and operated a cotton gin and saw mill.
MR. ARNOLD had two competitors in business - S.V. BROCKMAN and O.P.
WESTMORELAND. DR. G.H. JONES was the doctor and M.E. WOOD, the
postmaster. These half-dozen men were all the business men of the
place. CASHVILLE is between Reidville and Woodruff.
CAVINS - Three ALEXANDERS owned cotton gins in Cavins. J.M. LANHAM
was the doctor. This town was between Nesbitts bridge over the Tiger
River and the present town of Woodruff. The ALEXANDERS had a
competitor, S.T. LITTLEFIELD, also owned a gin. M.C. MASON was a
postmaster and S.E. MASON wrote insurance.
DUTCHMAN - Although the community is still known by that name, the
post office of Dutchman was discontinued before 1918. It was near
Pauline, 15 miles south of Spartanburg. S.G. WOODWARD, W.D. ALLEN
and S.G. McCRAVY, all three, had general stores and W.D. ALLEN was
postmaster.
BRANNONS - The town known as Brannons must not have boasted of many
inhabitants as the only business men listed are J.A. BRANNON,
postmaster and BRANNON and WOLF who were joint owners of the store
of the community. Brannons was between Inman and New Prospect.
BROOKLYN- The name of Brooklyn is quite highsounding, but the town
by that name in the county during the 90's was not a very active
center. It supported 2 blacksmiths, W.D. CUDD and A.D. HARDIN- a
limber dealer, D.P. MARTIN and one store owned by M.O. WESTBROOK.
S.P. JONES was Brooklyn's postmaster. Strange to say, this town did
not live to see our day. It was located on the North Carolina line ,
on what was then known as Pore's Ford road.
BOILING SPRINGS is known to all. Instead of passing out existence
this town has weathered the storms of progress and has thrived on
its prosperity. In 1896 there were 2 blacksmiths, 2 stores, owned by
J.H. CANTRELL and J.W. TURNER respectively, also 2 cotton gins and
saw mills.
Campobello is still on the map, as we know, and is one of the
progressive towns of the upper county. During the late 90's we see
there was a shoemaker, J.W. BRIDGEMAN, a carpenter, A.W. GAINES, a
doctor, DR. J.W. BRAMLETT and there were 2 merchants there - W.R.
BALLARD and W.C. WILKINS. It is 18 miles north of Spartanburg. One
advance that Campobello had made should be noted here, and that was
the excellent school which had the late REV. I.W. WINGO as head
master and teacher. MR. WINGO has passed on to his reward but his
influence both as preacher and teacher is still felt not only in the
village but elsewhere into many homes throughout the upper section
of the county.
CAMPTON is still a town. This village was named in honor of SQUIRE
"BILLY CAMP who was the best-known citizen of the community in the
'good old days". In the year 1896 there were S.E. BRYAN and J.W.
METCALF, the 2 merchants. W.L. MOORE was postmaster and DR. J.R.
GIBSON was the physician. CAMPTON is about 8 miles from Spartanburg
on the Asheville hwy.
FAIRFOREST - The town of Fairforest is familiar to all. In 1896
there were 3 stores and post office there. MRS. MARY E. VAUGHN was
postmistress. MRS. VAUGHN held this place many years even up to a
few years ago. MRS. VAUGHN still resides in the section which has
been her home for many years. This town is about 6 miles west of
Spartanburg.
COWPENS - is quite familiar to all. Fourteen general stores were
there in 1896. J.D. BAILEY is the only clergyman of Cowpens listed.
The MOORES, WEBSTERS, and WILKINS families were some of the early
stock of Cowpens. This town is about 9 miles from Spartanburg on the
Gaffney road.
CLARENCE - [ A JUG FACTORY ] Clarence located 6-8 miles west of
Inman is now known as HOLLY SPRINGS settlement. This place was once
famous for its jug factory operated by J.J. JOHNSON. A grist mill
was there owned by J.E. HANNON and R.E. THOMPSON was the doctor. The
post office was taken care of by C.C. BEARDEN.
CLIFTON - The town of Clifton has grown much larger and has been a
thriving manufacturing town. The Clifton Mills No1 and 2 manufacture
cotton goods. During the 90's DR. B.F. BATES was the physician,
along with J.R. BROWN and O.G. FALLS. Clifton there boasted also of
2 preachers, S.L. HARLEY and J.L. SHINN and 2 teachers, E.C. ELMORE
and T.L. SHIPPEY.
GAFFNEY - In 1896 Gaffney was a part of Spartanburg Co. This town,
even then was composed of merchants, bankers, real estate agents,
doctors, dentists. Gaffney was proud to boast one photographer...for
a number of years, Gaffney has been the county seat of Cherokee
County.
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