7 Towns in South Carolina that Transport You to the Past

Deep South-based South Carolina has some of the oldest roots of all US states. Human habitation occurred for millennia before South Carolina became one of the 13 original US colonies in 1663. Less than half a century later, the state's inhabitants fought for independence alongside the other colonies, and nearly a century after that, started the Civil War against its former comrades. Losing the Confederacy, the Palmetto State eventually rebounded with industries such as textiles and agriculture. The World Wars brought strife and prosperity to South Carolina as it did almost everywhere else in America. Vestiges of such events, from battlefields to plantations to theaters, compose a thrilling itinerary for wannabe time travelers. Since many relics are rural, a trip through these seven South Carolina towns that will transport you to the past inevitably means traversing small towns. But it's a beautiful trip, one that makes for a great back-to-the-past adventure.

Camden

Settled in the 1730s, Camden is the oldest inland city in South Carolina. We say "city" because that's how Camden identifies, but it has fewer than 8,000 people as of the 2020 Census. Roughly the same number of people fought near Camden during the Revolutionary War, and their heroics are honored at the Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site. This expansive open-air museum, featuring everything from a Conestoga wagon to historic houses, becomes an open-air stage in November for Camden Revolutionary Days, whose climax is, according to the City of Camden, the "largest annual force-on-force Revolutionary War Reenactment in the nation." After watching or joining the battle, a tourist can travel to the next century by glimpsing the graves of Civil War generals at the Old Quaker Cemetery and jump again to the 20th century for steeplechase at the Springdale Race Course. Finish in the 21st century at Wateree Cajun Seafood and Wings.

Gaffney

Another inland city, Gaffney boasts fewer than 13,000 residents and dozens of historic sites. Chief among them is the limestone complex comprising Nesbitt's Limestone Quarry and Limestone University across the street. The quarry helped with iron production during the American Revolution and early 19th century before being bought by Limestone, one of the oldest universities in the state. It changed hands and purposes, including supplying the South Carolina stone for the Washington Monument. Now it is filled with water and designated a National Historic Place alongside the university and its oldest buildings, such as Winnie Davis Hall and the Carroll School of Fine Arts. More Gaffney history can be gleaned at the Cherokee County Museum and Gaffney Visitors Center & Art Gallery.

McClellanville

Our first coastal community is McClellanville, a 600ish-person fishing town northeast of Charleston. After trolling fish markets like Carolina Seafood and Livingston's Bulls Bay Seafood in the town center, tourists can expand their radius for plantation viewing. McClellanville neighbors some of SC's oldest agricultural estates, including Fairfield Plantation, which was built circa 1730 and sits a few miles northeast of town near the South Santee River, and Hampton Plantation, which is from the same era and area. McClellanville also claims one of the state's oldest churches, St. James Episcopal Church, Santee, (aka the Brick Church at Wambaw), which dates to 1768. All those attractions occupy the Francis Marion National Forest, so after historic sightseeing, tourists can go hiking, biking, birdwatching, and canoeing.

Abbeville

Abbeville is considered both the birthplace and deathbed of the Confederacy. In 1860, at an Abbeville grove now called Secession Hill, locals induced South Carolina to become the first state to secede from the Union. After 10 other states followed and failed in the Civil War, Burt-Stark Mansion, also known as Armistead Burt House, was where Confederate leaders conceded defeat in 1865. The mansion still stands, which means that Abbeville residents and tourists can walk from hill to house and cover the entire history of the Confederacy. Afterward, they can relax at newer historic sites like the Abbeville Opera House, which was dedicated in 1908 and remains an active venue. Concerts, plays, and stand-up comedy shows blend present entertainment with past grandeur.

Georgetown

Georgetown is the third oldest city in South Carolina. It began officially in 1729 and thrived pre- and post-independence thanks to indigo harvesting, rice farming, logging, and fishing. Still a port city surrounded by wilderness, Georgetown retains many of those industries and honors the ones it lost. It does this with museums. If not already called the museum capital of South Carolina, Georgetown certainly should be. Its South Carolina Maritime Museum, Kaminski House Museum, Georgetown County Museum, Rice Museum, and the Gullah Museum of Georgetown display a diverse collection of artifacts from old boats to rice cultivation tools to Gullah Geechee quilts.

Cheraw

Situated near the Great Pee Dee River, not far from the state's border with North Carolina, Cheraw is one of South Carolina's oldest inland towns. It was named for the original occupants of the land that Europeans colonized in the early 1700s. By the middle of that century, it had become a largely Anglo settlement. Mere decades later, its ownership was contested by British and American forces during the Revolutionary War. The latter being victorious, Cheraw became a prosperous American town. Tourists can find proof of antebellum prosperity at the Cheraw Lyceum, which was built as a Greek-style courthouse circa 1820, and Old St. David's Episcopal Church, the last Anglican parish established in the state when it was still under British rule; it traces its roots back to 1768. More modern history can be cherished at the Dizzy Gillespie Homesite Park where the titular trumpeter was born in 1917.

Beaufort

After Charleston, Beaufort is the oldest city in South Carolina. It was founded as a beautiful British fort on Port Royal Island and survived not just Spanish and indigenous conflict but full-on battles during the Revolutionary War and Civil War. Despite its contentious history, present-day Beaufort is a preserve of stately historic buildings, ranging from the Thomas Hepworth House (c. 1720) to the Daniel Hingston Bythewood House (c. 1792) to the Arsenal (c. 1798), the last of which houses the Beaufort History Museum. After grasping pieces of American history, one can grasp pieces of film history by touring locations from "Forrest Gump." The University of South Carolina Beaufort, Basil Green Sports Complex, and Hunting Island State Park were all used in that iconic movie.

Conclusion

Perhaps nowhere else in America can you explore more eras than in South Carolina, especially via small towns. From bases like Camden, Gaffney, McClellanville, Abbeville, Georgetown, Cheraw, and Beaufort, a tourist can travel from ancient forests to indigenous settlements to colonial homes to Revolutionary War battlefields to antebellum estates to Civil War sites to Jazz Age venues to modern movie locations. Grab time by the palm of your hand in the Palmetto State, where these seven towns will transport you right to the past.