Aiken County Historical Markers
South Carolina Historical Markers Erected or Approved
in Aiken County, 1936-Present
NOTE: TEXTS HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE SOUTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL MARKER PROGRAM AT THE
SOUTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY.
SOME MARKERS, HOWEVER, MAY NOT YET BE ERECTED DUE TO DELAYS IN FUNDRAISING.
PLEASE CONTACT MARKER SPONSORS TO DETERMINE WHETHER THEIR MARKER(S) HAVE BEEN ERECTED.
J. Tracy Power, Coordinator
South Carolina Historical Marker Program
South Carolina Department of Archives and History
8301 Parklane Road
Columbia, S.C. 29223
(803) 896–6182
power@scdah.state.sc.us
2–1
SOUTH CAROLINA CANAL
& RAIL ROAD COMPANY
ORIGINAL TRACK LOCATION
Intersection of Laurens and Park Aves., Aiken
Began first successful scheduled steam railroad service in America on December 25, 1830, and by 1833 its 136 miles from Charleston to Hamburg made it the world’s longest railroad. Now part of Southern Railway System.
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WESTERN TERMINUS
SOUTH CAROLINA RAILROAD
U.S. Hwy. 1 & U.S. Hwy. 25 at the Savannah River, SW of Clearwater
Near the foot of this bluff in the old town of Hamburg stood the western terminus of the S.C. Canal and Rail Road Co. Begun in 1830, it was the first steam operated railroad to offer regular passenger service and to carry U. S. mail. Completed in 1833 to this point 136 miles from Charleston, it was the world’s longest railroad.
Erected by Aiken County Historical Commission, 1962
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HAMBURG
U.S. Hwy. 1 at the Savannah River, SW of Clearwater
Situated between this point and the Savannah River, Hamburg was a thriving river port and trading center for cotton and tobacco. Founded in 1821 by Henry Schultz, incorporated December 19, 1827, Hamburg became the most important interior port in South Carolina. With changing times and fortunes, prosperous Hamburg declined. Only ruins remain.
Erected by Aiken County Historical Commission, 1963
[Missing as of 4 July 2004]
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HISTORIC CHURCH
U.S. Hwy. 278, at entrance to Redcliffe Plantation State Park, about 2 mi. below Beech Island
This church was built in 1836 by Beech Island Presbyterian Church, organized in 1827 with the Rev. Nathan H. Hoyt of Vermont as first pastor. His son-in-law, the Rev. Edward Axson, was ordained and served here. His daughter, Ellen, wife of Woodrow Wilson, was baptized here. In 1950 the building was consecrated as All Saints Episcopal Church.
Erected by All Saints Episcopal Church, 1967
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JAMES U. JACKSON
MEMORIAL BRIDGE
U.S. Hwy. 25 Business, North Augusta, near the Savannah River
(Front) The first North Augusta bridge was built in 1891 by James U. Jackson. The present bridge, built in 1939, was formally dedicated as “The James U. Jackson Memorial Bridge.” The building of the 1891 bridge, the Augusta-Aiken street car line, and the magnificent Hampton Terrace Hotel earned him the title “Founder of North Augusta.”
(Reverse)
JAMES U. JACKSON
(1856–1925)
A native of Augusta, Georgia, he graduated from Richmond Academy and the University of Georgia. In 1889, he founded the North Augusta Land Company, which built the old 13th Street Bridge. He was the prime mover in the development of North Augusta, S.C. A prominent railroad executive, he secured the Union Railway Station for Augusta.
Erected by North Augusta Historical Society, 1972
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THE MARTINTOWN ROAD
S.C. Hwy. 230 (Martintown Rd.), 2 blocks S of its intersection with U.S. Hwy. 25 (Georgia Ave.),
North Augusta
In the 1730s, an Indian path from Fort Moore to the Saluda ridge was used by traders going to the Cherokee Nation. Later, a wagon road from Ninety Six to Augusta followed the same route. Named for the Martin family who lived beside it and served well the cause of the Revolution, it was widely used during that conflict by Patriots, Tories, and British.
Erected by Martintown Road Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution, 1972
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BEECH ISLAND
AGRICULTURAL CLUB
U.S. Hwy. 278 at its intersection with S.C. Sec. Rd. 1139, Beech Island vicinity
(Front) On January 5, 1856, Governor James H. Hammond and eleven other farmers of this area organized the Beech Island Agricultural Club for the diffusion of agricultural knowledge and the regulation of illegal slave traffic. Monthly meetings and barbecues have been held almost without interruption since the club’s founding.
(Reverse) In 1883 E. Spann Hammond donated to the Beech Island Agricultural Club a four-acre circular tract of land located less than a mile north of this site. The original club house was destroyed by fire on August 7, 1967. The site of the building is marked by a dedicatory plaque. The new club house was dedicated in June 1968.
[Erected by the Beech Island Agricultural Club, 1973]
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AIKEN COUNTY
Aiken County Courthouse, corner of Park Ave. & Chesterfield St., Aiken
Aiken County, created in 1871 from parts of Barnwell, Edgefield, Lexington, and Orangeburg counties, was named for William Aiken, first president of the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company. Older industries in the county today are textiles, and the mining and processing of kaolin. In 1952, the Atomic Energy Commission’s Savannah River Plant began operations.
Erected by Aiken County Historical Commission, 1979
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SAVANNAH TOWN
S.C. Hwy. 28 at the Savannah River, SW of Clearwater
(Front) Forerunner of modern towns and highways and known to the English as early as 1685, this Indian town stood at a major northwestern entrance into S.C. on the trading routes to the Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Lower Cherokees. Both town and river were named for the Savannah Indians that lived in the area.
(Reverse) FORT MOORE
Following the disastrous Yamasee War, Fort Moore, “the most important of South Carolina’s early forts,” was constructed here in 1716 to protect the province from future attack and to guard the vital trading routes to the major Southern Indians. It was garrisoned until 1766, when the growing settlement of Georgia made it no longer needed.
Erected by Andrews Masonic Lodge, Beech Island, 1985
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PASCALIS PLANTATION
U.S. Hwy. 78, .5 mi. SE of Montmorenci
(Front) Elizabeth Pascalis purchased these 790 acres in 1835, settled here with her son Cyril Ouviere, and brought the orphaned children of her daughter, here, to live. Cyril, a civil engineer, was a resident engineer constructing the Charleston-Hamburg railroad (world’s longest when completed in 1833). In 1834 he helped lay out and survey streets in nearby Aiken.
(Reverse) PASCALINA
Elizabeth Pascalis willed this house, once know as Pascalina, to her granddaughter, Theodosia Wade, and husband John C. Wade, in 1863. The Wades were living here in February of 1865 when Union general Hugh Judson Kilpatrick used the house as headquarters during the Battle of Aiken. The house remained in the family until 1944.
Erected by Aiken County Historical Society, 1987
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SAMUEL HAMMOND
River View Park Activity Center, North Augusta
(Front) Born 1757 in Virginia, this Indian fighter, who later moved to Edgefield District, attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel of state troops during the American Revolution. Among the engagements he participated in were: Hanging Rock, Musgrove’s Mill, King’s Mountain, Blackstock’s, Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, Siege of Augusta, and Eutaw Springs. Hammond served in the US Congress and after the Louisiana Purchase in
(Reverse) 1803, President Thomas Jefferson appointed him Colonel-Commandant of the St. Louis District. He subsequently was elected to the Missouri Territory Council and became its first president in 1813. Returning to SC in the 1820s, he was elected Surveyor General (1826) and Secretary of State in 1830. Hammond died in 1842 and was buried nearby; the grave was moved about 1.6 miles north in 1991.
Erected by Olde Towne Preservation Association of North Augusta, 1992
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ST. THADDEUS CHURCH
Pendleton St., between Richland Ave. & Hayne Ave., Aiken
(Front) This Episcopal Church (cornerstone laid Sept. 5, 1842) was consecrated Aug. 9, 1843. It is the city’s oldest church structure, having retained its Greek revival style through subsequent remodeling. Church purchased bell in 1853, Cornish Memorial Chapel completed in 1888, and Mead Hall School opened 1955. William Gregg (1800–1867), an important figure in the textile industry in SC, was one of the church founders.
(Reverse) Buried in the churchyard are John H. Cornish, rector of this church 1846–1869; George W. Croft (1846–1904), SC Senator and US Congressman; William P. Finley, Ordinance of Secession signer; James M. Legaré (1823–1859), poet, artist, inventor who held several US patents; Henry W. Ravenel (1814–1887), SC botanist whose name is perpetuated in many plants; and John F. Schmidt, a church warden in 1843.
Erected by The Congregation, 1992
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SITE OF ELLENTON
NE side of S.C. Hwy. 125 at the Aiken County-Barnwell County line
Post office est. here 1873. Town chartered 1880. Ellenton and surrounding area purchased by US Govt in early 1950s for establishment of Savannah River Plant.
Erected by Ellenton Reunion Organization, 1993
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BEECH ISLAND BAPTIST CHURCH
170 Church Rd., Beech Island
(Front) This church was organized in the Beech Island Academy on January 21, 1832, with Rev. Iverson Brooks as its first minister and Mathias Ardis and Randolph Bradford as its first deacons. This sanctuary, built on land donated by James T. Gardner and Abner Whatley, with lumber, other materials, and carpenters donated by Dawson Atkinson, was dedicated in September 1832; the Sunday School was organized in 1839.
(Reverse) Charter members of Beech Island Baptist Church were Mathias and Louisa Ardis, Dawson and Marie Atkinson, Randolph Bradford, John and Ann Everett, James T. Gardner, Samuel and Rebecca Gardner, Eliza Gray, James Hankinson, Lida Lamar, Jonathan Miller, Pranmore Owens, John and Harriet Swain, Briton and Adeline Ware, Abner and Elizabeth Whatley, and Edmond Whatley.
Erected by the Congregation, 1996
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STORM BRANCH BAPTIST CHURCH
at the church, Storm Branch Road, Clearwater vicinity.
(Front) This church had its origins at or near this site in 1772 as a plantation chapel, in what was Edgefield District until after the Civil War. Revs. Iverson L. Brookes and John Trapp, prominent ministers in the Savannah River region, preached here from the 1830s into the 1860s; Brookes died in 1865.
(Reverse) Storm Branch Baptist Church became a wholly black church in August 1866 when Mrs. Sara Lamar, widow of planter Thomas G. Lamar, deeded this land to trustee Aleck Davis. About that same time the first permanent sanctuary was built. Rev. Robert L. Mabry, the longest-serving minister, preached here from 1898 to 1943.
Erected by the Congregation, 1997
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AIKEN INSTITUTE
in the block bounded by Chesterfield St., Whiskey Rd., Colleton Ave., S. Boundary Ave., and
York St., Aiken
The Aiken Institute, which gave this area the name of “Institute Hill,” was chartered in 1888. The main building, designed by I.F. Goodrich in 1891, includes a wing added in 1913. All grades attended the Institute until 1937, when a new high school was built and this became Aiken Elementary School. It was the second oldest school in use in the state when it closed in 1986. The 1913 wing became the Aiken County Public Library in 1990.
Erected by the Aiken County Historical Society, 1999
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HAMPTON TERRACE
HOTEL
1000 block of Carolina Ave., North Augusta
(Front) The Hampton Terrace Hotel, an exclusive winter resort, stood atop this hill from 1903 to 1916. The $536,000, 5-story hotel boasted more than 300 rooms and was the dream of James U. Jackson (1856–1925), founder of North Augusta. A private railway connected the hotel to major railroads. This, and its reputation as one of the finest hotels in the South, made the Hampton Terrace a leading destination for winter visitors.
(Reverse) Guests enjoyed orchestra concerts in the music room and dancing in the hotel’s magnificent ballroom. Other amusements included riding, hunting, tennis, an 18-hole golf course, billiards, and shuffleboard. Notable visitors included Marshall Field, Harvey Firestone, and John D. Rockefeller. President-elect William Howard Taft was the guest of honor at a banquet here in 1909. The hotel burned on New Year’s Eve 1916.
Erected by the Heritage Council of North Augusta, 2000
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DOWNER INSTITUTE & SCHOOL
at the site of the school, int. of Hammond Rd. and U.S. Hwy. 278, Beech Island
(Front) Downer Institute, founded in 1843, was originally located 1.5 mi. NE of this site and operated until 1865. It was named for benefactor Alexander Downer (1752–1820), whose will established an orphanage and school at Beech Island. By 1898 the General Assembly, at the request of Aiken County citizens, reestablished Downer School for the community at large; the school reopened in 1899.
(Reverse) DOWNER SCHOOL, 1924–1986
Downer Elementary School, successor to the Downer Institute, stood here 1924–1950 and 1952–1986. A one-story school built here in 1924 replaced a two-story school constructed ¼ mi. SW in 1899, which burned in 1923–24. It burned in 1950 and was replaced by a second one-story school built in 1952, which served the Beech Island community until Downer Elementary School closed in 1986.
Erected by the Downer Fund Trustees, 2000
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SCHOFIELD SCHOOL
at the school, 220 Sumter St., N.E., Aiken
(Front) This school was founded by the Freedmen’s Bureau shortly after the Civil War to educate freedmen, women, and children. In 1868 Martha Schofield, a Quaker from Pennsylvania, came to Aiken and began her long career as superintendent. The school soon expanded to this two-block site and combined academics with instruction in industrial, farming, and homemaking skills. The 1897 Schofield School bulletin declared, “Character building is our most important work.”
(Reverse) Schofield School educated more than 6000 students by 1898. Many graduates became teachers and department heads here; others became successful business owners, professionals, farmers, and community leaders. In 1940 alumnus Sanford P. Bradby became its first African-American superintendent. As first a private and later a public school, Schofield has taught children of all races and creeds since 1866. The bell tower nearby once stood atop Carter Hall, built in 1882.
Erected by the Aiken County Historical Society and the Martha Schofield Historic Preservation
Committee, 2001
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MARIE CROMER SEIGLER HOUSE
at the house, S.C. Hwy. 191, Eureka community
(Front) This house was for many years the home of Marie Cromer Seigler (1882–1964), educator and national pioneer in agricultural instruction. In 1910, as teacher and principal of Talatha School, she founded a Girls’ Tomato Club, the first of many such clubs nationwide and a forerunner, along with the Boys’ Corn Clubs, of the national 4-H Clubs, supported by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.
(Reverse) Marie Cromer said of her efforts to encourage girls and young women interested in agriculture, “I made up my mind I was going to do something for country girls.” With the support of Aiken Co. Superintendent of Education Cecil H. Seigler, whom she married in 1912, she established Home Demonstration clubs and created Home Economics courses in Aiken Co.
schools. She died here in 1964.
Erected by the Aiken County Historical Society, 2000
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SILVER BLUFF BAPTIST CHURCH
360 Old Jackson Hwy., Beech Island
(Front) This church, one of the first black Baptist churches in America, grew out of regular worship services held as early as the 1750s at “Silver Bluff,” the plantation of Indian trader George Galphin. At first a non-denominational congregation with both white and black members, it was formally organized as Silver Bluff Baptist Church in 1773 with Rev. David George as its first minister.
(Reverse) The church, dormant for a few years during the American Revolution, was revived in the 1780s by Rev. Jesse Peter. The congregation moved from its original site in 1815, again in the 1840s, and for the last time to the present site in 1866. A large frame sanctuary built in 1873 was covered in brick veneer in 1920; it was demolished and the present brick church was built in 1948.
Erected by the Congregation, 2001
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GRANITEVILLE MILL
corner of Canal and Marshall Streets, Graniteville
(Front) This mill, the largest textile mill in antebellum S.C., was chartered in 1845 and opened in 1847. It was founded by William Gregg (1800–1867), a Virginia native and advocate of industrial development who chose this site for its proximity to waterpower, granite deposits, and the S.C. Railroad. The company provided housing, a school, a store, and land for churches, creating a model mill village. Unlike most early textile mills, it was adequately funded.
(Reverse) Under Gregg’s management early Graniteville families lived under strict rules and a rigid schedule, and became a close-knit community. During the Civil War the mill made fabrics for the Confederacy. After Gregg died in 1867 while fighting a flood on Horse Creek the company was run by its board, which expanded its operations. After several changes in ownership Graniteville remains one of the oldest textile manufacturing concerns in the South.
Erected by the Aiken County Historical Society, 2001
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AIKEN
corner of Laurens Street and The Alley, Aiken
(Front) Aiken, chartered in 1835 and the county seat of Aiken County since its creation in 1871, was an early stop on the railroad line from Charleston to Hamburg. It was named for William Aiken (1779–1831), the first president of the S.C. Canal and Railroad Co. Aiken’s mild climate and accessibility by rail soon made it a health resort for visitors hoping to escape the summer heat or seeking relief from tuberculosis and other lung ailments.
(Reverse) On Feb. 11, 1865, Federal and Confederate cavalry clashed here in the Battle of Aiken. The city’s resort status was enhanced in the 19th and 20th centuries with its fame as a “Winter Colony,” created by wealthy Northerners who built houses and sports facilities such as golf courses, polo fields, racetracks, and stables. Aiken later experienced a significant population boom in the 1950s after the construction and opening of the Savannah River Plant.
Erected by the Aiken County Historical Society, 2003
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PICKENS-SALLEY
HOUSE
University of South Carolina Aiken campus, Aiken
(Front) This plantation house, first known as “Edgewood,” is an excellent example of Federal-era architecture. Originally near Edgefield, it was built in 1828 for Francis W. Pickens (1807–1869), state representative and senator, congressman, U.S. Minister to Russia, and governor 1860–62 during the secession crisis and the first two years of the Civil War. Lucy Holcombe Pickens was an ardent Confederate and novelist.
(Reverse) In 1929 Eulalie Chafee Salley (1883–1975), pioneer woman suffragist, real estate broker, and developer, saved the house. Salley, architect Willis Irvin (1891–1950), and contractor Byron E. Hair supervised its dismantling, relocation to the Kalmia Hill area of Aiken, and restoration. It was moved here in 1989 when developer Ronny Bolton donated it to the University of South Carolina Aiken.
Erected by the Aiken County Historical Society, 2003
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MILLBROOK
BAPTIST CHURCH
East Pine Log Road, Aiken
(Front) This church, formally organized in 1884, had its origins in a Sunday school class organized in 1874. With 16 charter members and Rev. Arthur Buist as its first minister, Millbrook built its first sanctuary here in 1886. The frame church, built by J.V. George, was described as “one of the prettiest and best arranged” churches in this part of the state when it was dedicated.
(Reverse) The original 1886 church was enlarged in 1909 and again in 1952. With the growth in Aiken County’s population during the 1950s the congregation grew dramatically, building the present brick sanctuary in 1962. Dr. W. James Rivers is Millbrook’s longest-serving minister, preaching here 1967–1996. The original sanctuary, renovated in 1979 and 1984, has served as a chapel since 1962.
Erected by the Congregation, 2003
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ORIGINAL SURVEY
OF AIKEN
corner of Laurens St. and Park Ave., Aiken
The town of Aiken, on land donated by Mr. Beverly M. Rodgers to the S.C. Rail Road in 1834, was laid out around a core of 27 city blocks bounded by Edgefield and Park Aves. and Newberry and Williamsburg Sts. This area was surveyed by civil engineers Cyril Ouviere Pascalis (1810–1836?) and Andrew Alfred Dexter (1809–1854), who had also helped survey the route of the new railroad between Hamburg and Charleston in 1832–33.
Erected by the Henry Tyler Chapter, Colonial Dames of the XVII Century, Jefferson Davis Chapter #2465, United Daughters of the Confederacy, and the Gen. David Williams Chapter, National Society of the Daughters of the War of 1812, 2004
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SAVANNAH RIVER PLANT
intersection of S.C. Hwy. 19 and U.S. Hwy. 278 at the entrance to the plant, south of New Ellenton
(Front) The Savannah River Plant (SRP) was built 1950–56 by Du Pont for the Atomic Energy Commission. SRP, a nuclear production plant, produced tritium and plutonium for national defense during the Cold War. Creating a 310-sq.-mi. site in three counties meant moving all residents from their homes in Ellenton, Dunbarton, Meyers Mill, Leigh, and other area communities.
(Reverse) The first reactor at SRP went online in 1953 and the free “neutrino,” a subatomic particle, was first detected at P reactor in 1956. SRP also produced medical and research isotopes and energy sources for NASA. In 1972 it became the first National Environmental Research Park. Renamed Savannah River Site (SRS) in 1989, it is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Erected by the Aiken County Historical Society, 2004
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JACKSONVILLE SCHOOL
351 Huber Clay Rd., Langley
(Front) Jacksonville School, built by the Jacksonville Lodge in 1895, taught the black children of this community until 1936. Grades 1–7, with two teachers, met in two classrooms on the first floor, without electricity or running water. The Jacksonville Community Commission acquired and renovated the building in 1991–92.
(Reverse) JACKSONVILLE LODGE
This building was constructed in 1895 by the Jacksonville Lodge, Grand United Order of Odd Fellows, a black fraternal organization. The lodge was led by Rev. Robert L. Mabry (1867–1943), also pastor of nearby Storm Branch Baptist Churches 1898–1943. The Odd Fellows met here on the second floor for many years.
Erected by the Jacksonville Community Commission, Inc., in Memory of Founding President Erwin M. Robinson, 2005
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AIKEN FIRST
BAPTIST CHURCH
York St. at Richland Ave., Aiken
(Front) This church, founded in 1805, predates the city of Aiken and was first called Levels Baptist Church. Its first location was a mile south of present-day Aiken. In 1836 the congregation joined with the members of the Wise Creek congregation to build a sanctuary here, on land deeded by the S.C. Railroad and Canal Co. They renamed their congregation Aiken Baptist Church. The frame church burned in 1876 and was replaced in 1878.
(Reverse) The third church, a Gothic Revival sanctuary, was built in 1919. The kindergarten, founded in 1946, was one of the first church kindergartens in S.C. The present Classical Revival sanctuary was built and dedicated in 1958. Aiken First Baptist is the mother of four churches: Hispanic, Marion St., Memorial, and North Aiken. Its cemetery, dating from 1838, includes the graves of both Union and Confederate soldiers.
Erected by the Congregation, 2005
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GRANITEVILLE
CEMETERY
Gregg Hwy. Graniteville
(Front) This cemetery, established about 1850, is closely associated with the Graniteville Mill, the largest and most successful textile mill in antebellum S.C. William Gregg (1800–1867), founder of the mill, laid out the mill village and also helped plan this cemetery. Most of the early wooden grave markers do not survive, and burial records were not kept until 1892, when the Graniteville Cemetery Assn. was founded.
(Reverse) William Gregg was buried here in 1867 and an obelisk erected over his grave. His widow moved his grave and monument to Charleston in 1876. In 1926 a daughter returned the original monument to this cemetery. Notable persons buried here include 83 Confederate soldiers and veterans, as well as many employees of Graniteville Mill. James Wesley Rearden (1861–1959) worked at the mill for 87 years, from 1872 to 1959.
Erected by the Horse Creek Historical Society and the Aiken County Historical Society, 2005
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HITCHCOCK WOODS
Near the entrance to Hitchcock Woods, Aiken
(Front) Hitchcock Woods, one of the largest urban forests in the United States, is an area consolidated between 1891 and 1898 by Celestine Eustis (d. 1921), Thomas Hitchcock (1860–1941), and William C. Whitney (1841–1904). Described as “the greatest equine playground in America,” this tract of more than 8,000 acres was used for steeplechases, fox hunts, and other equestrian recreation by the wealthy Northerners who belonged to the “Aiken Winter Colony.”
(Reverse) The tract, now comprising almost 2,000 acres, has been owned and managed by the Hitchcock Foundation since 1939, when Thomas Hitchcock and his daughter Helen Clark established the foundation. Landmarks include Memorial Gate; Cathedral Aisle, a portion of the railroad bed built by the S.C. Rail Road in 1833–34; and Sand River, an unusual natural formation. Annual events include the Aiken Horse Show each April and the “Blessing of the Hounds” each November.
Erected by the Aiken County Historical Society, 2005
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AIKEN COUNTY
FARMERS’ MARKET
Williamsburg St., Aiken
The Aiken County Farmers’ Market, founded in 1951, was originally an open air market sponsored by the Edisto Grange. This building, which opened on May 21, 1954, was designed by Woodrow Jackson and built by the Aiken County chain gang. Farmers and their families built 45 tables, still used today. This is the oldest county farmers’ market in continuous service in the same location in S.C.
Erected by the Friends of the Aiken County Farmers’ Market, the Aiken County Historical Society, and the Historic Aiken Foundation, 2006
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NORTH AUGUSTA
John C. Calhoun Park, intersection of Carolina and Georgia Aves., North Augusta
(Front) North Augusta, chartered in 1906, includes the site of two early towns. Campbell Town was a trading post on the Savannah River before the American Revolution. Hamburg, founded in 1821 as a port on the river, was an early western terminus of the S.C. Rail Road. When the line was completed from Charleston to Hamburg in 1833, it was the longest railroad in the world. In 1890 James U. Jackson (1856–1925) founded the North Augusta Land Co. and bought 5,600 acres here.
(Reverse) James U. Jackson built a bridge over the river in 1891, and a trolley line in 1897. By 1902 the trolley ran from Augusta, Ga., to North Augusta, and on to Aiken. The Hampton Terrace Hotel, which stood here from 1902 until it burned in 1916, soon attracted visitors seeking a winter resort, and the population grew to 1,500 by 1913. The opening of the Savannah River Plant in 1950 swelled the population to more than 10,000 and spurred major growth and development.
Erected by the North Augusta Centennial Committee and the Aiken County Historical Society, 2006
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JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL
170 Flint St., Bath
(Front) Jefferson High School opened in 1956 as a junior high and high school for African-American students of Beech Island, Belvedere, Graniteville, Jackson, Langley-Bath-Clearwater, and North Augusta, with Herman W.W. Fennell (1910–1996) as principal. After county schools desegregated in 1970 it became Jefferson Junior High School, and in 1980 it became Jefferson Elementary School.
REV. AUSTIN JEFFERSON, SR.
(Reverse) This was one of three African-American schools in Aiken County named for Rev. Austin Jefferson, Sr. (1881–1966), longtime advocate for education. In 1944 the Langley-Bath Colored School was renamed Jefferson Grammar School in his honor. The original portion of this school was built in 1953 as the Jefferson Elementary School, with Augustus T. Stephens (1903–1992) as principal.
Erected by the Jefferson Alumni Association, 2007