High Hills of Santee
The High Hills of Santee, sometimes known as the High Hills of the Santee, is a long, narrow hilly region in the western part of Sumter County, South Carolina. It has been called "one of the state's most famous areas".[1] The High Hills of Santee region lies north of the Santee River and east of the Wateree River, one of the two rivers that join to form the Santee. It extends north almost to the Kershaw county line and northeasterly to include the former summer resort town of Bradford Springs. Since 1902 the town has been included in Lee County.
The county was named after Thomas Sumter, who came from Virginia, married a local widow in 1767, and with her became a successful plantation owner. He later became noted as a general in the Revolution. After the war, Sumter represented South Carolina in the United States House of Representatives and the Senate.
The High Hills of Santee name has been in use since the 18th century,
The South Carolina historian David Duncan Wallace placed the area in what he called the "red hill region" of the state. He wrote: "The High Hills of Santee paralleling the Wateree River on its east attain an almost mountainous appearance. The region contains much good land."[5]
The area includes three
Despite the short distances to
Historic sites
Historic sites in the High Hills of Santee include three National Historic Landmarks:
- Borough House Plantation, Stateburg;
- Church of the Holy Cross, Stateburg; and
- Millford Plantation, north of Pinewood.
Other places listed on the National Register of Historic Places include:
- Lenoir Store, Horatio;
- Magnolia Hall, Hagood;
- Pinewood Depot, Pinewood, the "southern entrance" to the High Hills;
- Broughton's Graveyard and Singleton's Graveyard, are due south of Wedgefield;
- St. Mark's Episcopal Church (Pinewood, South Carolina);
- St. Philip's Episcopal Church (Bradford Springs, South Carolina); and
- contributing properties, including:
Notable residents
- Richard H. Anderson, Confederate general, was born at Borough House Plantation.
- J.J. Broughton, Five generations of Broughtons with extensive land holdings dating back to "Kings Grant" of Seven miles of property along the Santee. Farming, cattle, logging and Broughton's Mill at Mill Creek. Plantation house located in Pinewood, SC destroyed by fire of 1937. Broughton Family funded the Baptist church and in the 1920s the Presbyterian Church in Pinewood.
- Mary Boykin Chesnut, author of A Diary from Dixie, was born in Stateburg, the daughter of Stephen Decatur Miller and his wife, Mary Boykin.
- Richard Furman, pioneering Baptist minister, first pastor of High Hills of the Santee Baptist Church. Furman University is named for him.
- John L. Manning, original owner of Millford Plantation and governor of South Carolina.
- Richard Irvine Manning III, (1859–1931), Governor of South Carolina.
- Wyndham Meredith Manning, (1890–1967), South Carolina politician and son of Richard Irvine Manning III, born in Wedgefield.
- Stephen Decatur Miller, owner of the plantation, Miller House, later known as Ellison House; South Carolina governor, congressman and U.S. senator.
- Thomas Sumter, early settler and general in the Revolution.
- Angelica Singleton Van Buren, First Lady of the United States.
Notable plantations and houses
The High Hills of Santee had many notable plantations, most of which grew cotton with slave labor. Some of them survive.[8]
- The Cedars and the Pines, Springhill
- Summer Home in Bradford Springs, owned by Capt. James Gaillard of Charleston.
- Orange Grove (Dalzell, South Carolina)
- Bloomhill, Wedgefield;
- Borough House, Stateburg;
- Home House, Stateburg, no longer extant, belonged to General Thomas Sumter, who is buried there;
- Brookland Plantation House, Old Charleston Road (State Route 261), Stateburg vicinity;[9]
- Homefield, Stateburg;[10]
- James Hill, Stateburg;
- Magnolia Hall, Hagood;
- Marden, Stateburg;
- Melrose, Wedgefield, location of Singleton's Graveyard;[11]
- Midway, Wedgefield;
- Miller House, later known as Ellison House, Stateburg;
- Millford, Pinewood;
- Moor Hill, owned by Thomas Sumter, grandson of the general, and later by DeSaussure Bull, a descendant of William Bull II;[12]
- Needwood, Stateburg;[13]
- The Oaks, Stateburg-Wedgefield Road, Stateburg;[14]
- Ramsey House, Poinsett State Park;[15]
- The Ruins, Stateburg, owned by General Thomas Sumter, then by John Mayrant[16]
- San Souci, Stateburg, home of Edward Rutledge, governor; and[17]
- Woodlawn, Stateburg.
Places
Places, past and present, in the High Hills of Santee, include:
- Bradford Springs,
- Claremont
- Dixie Crossing
- Foxville, also known as Camden Junction
- Garner's Ferry, formerly Brisbane's Ferry, originally Simmons Ferry
- Hagood, formerly Sanders Station
- Horatio, formerly Louellen
- Manchester,
- Middleton, formerly Clarendon Depot
- Pinewood, formerly Clarendon
- Stark's Ferry
- Stateburg, formerly Stateborough
- Stateburg Station
- Wateree Junction and
- Wedgefield
Transportation
River
The Wateree River was one of the first means of access to the High Hills of Santee. Manchester became its gateway river port. There were ferry crossings at Garner's Ferry near Stateburg and further south at Stark's Ferry near Manchester.
Roads
The major north–south road in the High Hills of Santee since the 18th century has been "Kings Highway". It originally ran from
Millford Plantation was sometimes called Manning's Folly, partly because of its remote location.
Railroads
An
In April 1865 General Edward E. Potter and his
From Sumter today one railroad line runs west to Wedgefield and across the Wateree to Eastover. Another runs southwest to Pinewood and across the Upper Santee River" connecting Remini and Low Falls, SC across the Lake Marion now flooded swamp called Sparkleberry to Calhoun County. There is no longer any passenger service on these lines.
Foot trail
The High Hills of Santee Passage is a
Gallery
-
Portrait of General Thomas Sumter, c. 1790
-
Portrait ofAngelica Van Buren by Henry Inman(1842)
-
Edward Rutledge, signer of the Declaration of Independence and later governor
-
Joel Roberts Poinsett, statesman and botanist, for whom the Poinsettia was named died at Borough House and was buried in the Holy Cross churchyard.
References
- ^ Mary Schuette, Nomination Form for Stateburg Historic District, South Carolina Department of Archives and History
- ^ USC Institute for Southern Studies XV 29[permanent dead link]
- ^ Richardson, Katherine H., nomination form for St. Philip's, South Carolina Department of Archives and History
- ^ "Singleton's Graveyard", South Carolina Department of Archives and History
- ^ Wallace, David Duncan, South Carolina: A Short History, 1520-1948, Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, reprinted 1961, p.4
- ^ Account of a recent visit to the High Hills of Santee, Random Connections
- ^ Historic American Buildings Survey for High Hills of Santee Baptist Church
- ^ South Carolina Plantations - Sumter County
- ^ Historic American Buildings Survey for Brookland Plantation House
- ^ Historic American Buildings Survey
- ^ Historic American Buildings Survey done in 1940[permanent dead link]
- ^ Names in South Carolina, Winter, 1967, vol, 14, p. 24[permanent dead link]
- ^ Historic American Buildings Survey for Needwood
- ^ Historic American Buildings Survey for The Oaks
- ^ Historic American Buildings Survey for Ramsey House
- ^ Names in South Carolina, November, 1966, vol. 13, p.34
- ^ Names in South Carolina, Winter, 1973, vol. 20, p.5
- ^ Names in the Old Sumter District
- ^ Teal, Harvey S. "Experiencing history: a visit to a railroad 'stonehenge'", University of South Caroliniana Society, Newsletter, Spring 1997
- ^ Haile, Dr. E. Cantey, Jr., "Civil War History in the Wateree Swamp", University South Caroliniana Society, Newsletter, Spring 1998
- ^ "Wateree to Kings Creek", Abandoned Railroads
External links
- National Register listings for Sumter County
- South Carolina Department of Archives and History file on Stateburg Historic District
- Names in the Old Sumter District
- Map of Stateburg Historic District
- University South Caroliniana Society, Newsletter, Spring 1997, Teal, Harvey S. Experiencing history: a visit to a railroad "stonehenge"
- Abandoned Rails - Wateree to Kings Creek
- University South Caroliniana Society, Newsletter, Spring 1998, Haile, Dr. E. Cantey, Jr., Civil War History in the Wateree Swamp
- A Brief Historical Background of Potter's Raid
- An Account of Potter's Raid by a Private in the Massachusetts 54th
- Joey Holleman, Road to Pinewood: S.C. 261 filled with religion, recreation, The State (newspaper), June 16, 2013 accessed June 19, 2013[permanent dead link]