Carolina Ghost Towns

Bonus - USA 250 and taking a short break

 
Happy Fourth of July!
 
I'm taking some time off from the podcast to travel and be with family.  I'll be back with more episodes later in August.  Until then, have a great summer!

Purrysburg

In the 1730s, a group of Swiss and French Huguenots let by Jean Pierre Purry came to South Carolina and settled on the Savannah River.  Their new town became known as Purrysburg.
These are some of the resources used in this episode:
Blog Post - Grave Matters on the Savannah
Blog Post - A Paddle and a Pow Wow on the Savannah River
A History of Purrysburg on Carolana
Wikipedia article
Memorial presented to His Grace, my lord the Duke of Newcastle ... upon the present condition of Carolina, and the means of its amelioration: by Jean Pierre Purry
A description of the province of South Carolina, drawn up at Charles Town, in September, 1731. Tr. from Mr. Purry's original treatise, in French, and published in the Gentleman's magazine, for August, September, and October, 1732
The history of South Carolina in the revolution, 1775-1780
Purrysburg Cemetery

Skagit City, Washington

Skagit City
Since I'm in the Pacific Northwest, I thought it would be good to do another ghost town from this area.  Today's ghost town is Skagit City in Washington.  This is another town with connections to the Southeast.
Here are some of the resources I used in this episode...
Skagit River Journal
Tales of the Magic Skagit
Ghost Camps and Boom Towns by JoAnn Roe
Blog Post - Searching for Skagit City
Skagit City Ferry
Skagit River Log Jams
Skagit City School
Skagit City School, 2017
Skagit River and former location of Skagit City

Samish and Atlanta, Revisited

This week I'm traveling and I've got a bad head cold, so I'm reposting an episode from Season 1.  I hope to be back in a couple of weeks with new episodes.

Totness, South Carolina

The town of Totness was a resort for the wealthy in Calhoun County.  It had no central business district or town layout, but it was chartered as a town in 1855. When Sherman's troops came through in 1864 the village was never rebuilt.
Most of the resources used in this episode are from newspapers.com and behind a paywall.  Here are the only two that might be publicly available:
Blog Post on RandomConnections
SC Picture Project

Jalapa, South Carolina

The town of Jalapa was named for Xalapa, Mexico after members of the Palmetto Regiment fought near there in the Battle of Cerro Gordo.  Now just a crossroads in Newberry County, it was once an active community with stores, churches, and a school.
Most of the information I used in this episode can be found on my blog post, Seeking Jalapa.

Lando, South Carolina

Lando is a largely abandoned mill town in eastern Chester County.  It was once the largest producer of blankets in the US.  The only remnants left from the town are the old school and the old mill store, which is now the Lando-Manetta History Center.Please note - in this episode we describe a visit to the interior of the Lando School.  The school is on private property and has been the victim of vandalism.  It is monitored by surveillance cameras and regular law enforcement patrols.  We were able to visit with an escort from the History Center.
Here are some of the resources I used in this episode:
Lando-Manetta History Center
A Trip to Lando - RandomConnections Blog
National Register Listing
Wikipedia Entry
Lando School - SC Picture Project
Manetta Mills - SC Picture Project

How to Find a Ghost Town

Instead of linking all of the resources mentioned in this episode, I decided to do a podcast with a transcript of the show and with the links mentioned, plus a couple of others I forgot to include.  This can be found on the RandomConnections website at this link.

Childsbury

Childsbury was a settlement on the Cooper River, inland from Charleston.  It was one of the oldest planned towns in South Carolina, and Strawberry Chapel is one of the oldest extant buildings in the state.
Here are some of the resources I used for this episode:
A History of Childsbury
Wikipedia Entry
National Register of Historic Places
Childsbury Towne Heritage Preserve
James Child Archives
Child Family Muniments
Childsbury by Henry A. M. Smith
Some Forgotten Towns in Lower South Carolina
Friends of Strawberry
Strawberry Ferry
SC Picture Project
 

Stateburg, South Carolina

Located in the High Hills of the Santee, Stateburg missed out on being the state capital of South Carolina by one vote.  It was the home of General Thomas Sumter.
Here are some of the resources:
Wikipedia Article
Claremont County
Stateburg Historic District
History of Stateburg
National Register Listing
South Carolina Encyclopedia
Church of the Holy Cross
High Hills Baptist Church
Battle of Stateburg Historical Marker