History Horse Creek Valley

1 history

1.1 17th , 18th centuries
1.2 19th century
1.3 20th century

history
17th , 18th centuries

henry woodward recorded westo indians in area during pioneering travels charleston in 1674. westoes connected slaveholders in virginia , terrorized neighboring tribes slave raids. south carolinians foresaw more profit in trade in these slave raids, , engineered overthrow of westos in 1690 trade war, after area briefly occupied shawnee (savannahs) (bowne 2005). in 1723 south carolina assembly invited chickasaw occupy area. located in northern mississippi, chickasaw relied on south carolina source of guns, , agreed send colony under so-called squirrel king. in 1737 allocated 21,774-acre (8,812 ha) tract along northern/western bank of horse creek, extending savannah river vaucluse. these chickasaws actively collaborated english in defense of area, during cherokee war in 1760. chickasaw returned homeland shortly before american revolutionary war (cashin 2009: 11-36, 107-123).

19th century

the rapid expansion of cotton farming led commercial growth, first in augusta on georgia side of savannah river, @ south carolina competitor founded in 1821 henry shultz under name of hamburg. @ end of growing season, farmers wagoned bales of cotton overland either of these towns, sale warehouses or onto boats transport savannah or charleston, , textile mills in northeastern u.s. , europe. farmers spend proceeds shopping manufactured goods carry home (chapman 1897).

1841 scc&rr schedule

in order divert traffic going river more accessible port @ savannah, south carolina rail road completed hamburg charleston in 1833. @ 136 miles (219 km) in length, @ time longest railroad in world, , ran on published regular schedules exclusive use of steam power (brown 1871 , fetters 2008).

horse creek s power potential attracted industries area. according 1885 survey, horse creek crosses fall line, , has rapid fall, offering excellent advantages power... offers example of large amount of power can obtained @ small expense comparatively insignificant stream if developed. (us department of interior 1885: 132-133) 1883 south carolina survey noted 1807 horsepower developed, , capacity perhaps one-third more (sc state board of agriculture 1883: 206).

the first horse creek textile mill, located @ vaucluse in 1830, produced disappointing results. noted william gregg, causes included insufficient capital investment, excessive diversity of products, lack of widespread marketing area, , insufficient hands-on management (gregg 1845 in tompkins 1899). gregg, great proponent of southern industrialization, built landmark mill embodying ideas @ graniteville in 1845. while gregg s success appreciated, contradicted southern preference agrarian slave economy, , not imitated several decades.

other industries taking advantage of horse creek water power paper mill @ bath , pottery works above vaucluse. in 1860, benjamin franklin landrum pottery works reportedly manufactured 40,000 gallons capacity of stoneware annually, 3 employees , 1 hp water turbine. in same year, lewis j. miles pottery works manufactured 50,000 gallons 13 employees , 4 hp turbine. famous potter dave worked there late 1863. in 1880, same establishment had 35 hp water turbine (baldwin 1995:95-99).

the charlotte, columbia , augusta railroad built through valley in late 1860s. after civil war , reconstruction, textile industry entered period of great expansion (harper s weekly article). 1900, industrial establishments included graniteville, seminole, vaucluse, ... mills , employment along valley ... (kohn 1907).

20th century

during time, popular winter resort wealthy developed @ headwaters of valley, became known aiken winter colony. whitney polo field, established in 1882, , palmetto golf course, begun in 1892, characterize vacation pursuits, , horse culture still thrives in aiken. thirty residences survive in aiken winter colony historic district (scdah link). pat conroy s essay, horses don’t eat moon pies, explored juxtaposition of wealthy equestrians , blue collar mill culture of valley. in 1903 hampton terrace hotel opened in north augusta, south carolina, near lower end of valley, connected aiken means of augusta-aiken railway. rich, powerful , famous vacationers included john d. rockefeller, henry ford, , bing crosby (source?).

the textile industries suffered effects of boll weevil (1920) , great depression (1930). labor strife @ horse creek valley mills major theme of erskine caldwell s book god s little acre. after world war ii, industrial economy continued decline until 2005, when last mill left standing impacted graniteville train derailment. 9 people in area killed morning chlorine spill. according avondale mills, owners of graniteville mill, lingering chemical corrosion on following months caused extensive equipment damage, ostensibly making facility uneconomical repair , operate, , leading closure in 2006 (augusta chronicle, 12 january 2005 , 1 june 2006).

after environmental cleanup, langley pond @ lower end of valley has become recreation area. former mill impoundment offers olympic-class rowing course , used practice area 1996 summer olympic games. lake continues host crews seeking warm weather practice areas during winter months, regattas attracting on 1,000 rowers (midland valley area link).

in july 2011, movie bryton entertainment titled graniteville: past, present, future presented @ area movie theaters. begins william gregg, continues train derailment in present, , envisions possibilities future. funding provided in part gvw (graniteville, vaucluse, warrenville) community investment corporation.

on 22 september 2011, one-hour movie storyline media titled horse creek valley... tale worth telling premiered on scetv’s southern lens. covers 13,000 years of prehistory , history present. funding provided in part humanities council sc.