History Clarendon County, South Carolina

alderman s 20 stores in 1 in manning

clarendon county officially established in 1785, shortly after american revolutionary war, when legislature divided camden district 7 counties. 1 clarendon county. named after edward hyde, lord proprietor , earl of clarendon.

during american revolutionary war, battle of half way swamp fought in december 1780. 1 of many revolutionary battles took place in area of clarendon county. others in area following battles: richbourg’s mill, nelson’s ferry, fort watson/santee indian mound, , tearcoat. swamp fox murals trail has been established historical landmark depicting american revolution , general francis marion, swamp fox .

memorial stone @ site of fort watson

the first european settlers in clarendon county ethnic french huguenots, traveled boat santee river. ancestors had earlier settled in charleston after leaving france in late 17th century escape religious persecution. transportation of goods land difficult, canals constructed carry boat traffic around rapids in river. first notable canal santee canal, constructed in 1793. due development of railroads in mid-1800s , construction linking major markets, canal superseded , ended operations years later.

in 1798, state legislature combined 3 counties - clarendon, claremont, , salem - form sumter district ease of administration. on december 19, 1855, legislative act passed establishing clarendon district, same boundaries defined county in 1785. during antebellum period, county developed large plantations cultivate commodity crops, particularly short-staple cotton, labor of enslaved african americans. cultivation of crop made profitable development of cotton gin eli whitney, made processing more labor-efficient. time of civil war, population of county majority black.

in 1855, captain joseph c. burgess selected determine geographical center of county, preferred location county seat, courthouse village built. commissioners decided on site present courthouse erected. manning developed county seat. captain burgess deeded 6 acres state, providing sites courthouse , jail, in addition streets 75-feet-wide on 4 sides.

in 1865, toward end of american civil war, body of general sherman s union troops under command of general potter raided clarendon county. destroyed large portion of manning, including court house. raid took place few days before gen. robert e. lee´s surrender @ appomattox. county recovered civil war due reliance on agriculture, suffered long depression.

the state constitution of 1868 renamed districts counties. agriculture continued mainstay of economy through of 19th century, , planters had adjust free labor economy. gradually relied on system of african-american tenant farmers , sharecroppers. lumber , related mills , industries became increasingly important, towns developed along railroad lines in aarea.

following reconstruction, white democrats regained control of state legislature, passing laws segregation of public facilities, jim crow , new constitution of 1895 disfranchised blacks in state. exclusion political system not ended until after decades of activism african americans, gained passage of federal civil rights legislation in mid-1960s enforce constitutional rights.

in november 1941, lake marion created reservoir construction of santee dam united states corps of engineers. dam built across santee river generate hydroelectric power rural electrification, 1 of major infrastructure projects initiated under president franklin d. roosevelt s new deal federal investments during great depression. lake marion , santee dam part of santee-cooper hydroelectric , navigation project.

two notable court cases in clarendon county in mid-20th century part of challenges civil rights movement racial segregation of public facilities; these cases related segregated public schools. concluded in law united states supreme court ruling in brown v. board of education (1954), declared separate equal schools unconstitutional. court learned separate school historically underfunded in southern states , seldom equal. these cases levi pearson v. clarendon county board of education (1947), , briggs v. elliott (1952).