History & Genealogy

The Teacherage (Old Malloy House) (c. 1780)
Cheraw, SC 29520
This is thought to be the oldest house still standing in Cheraw. For most of the 19th century this was home to the Malloy family who sent six sons to war. All of these boys returned, although one later died of his wounds. The magnolia trees in this yard were planted in honor of these boys; the house survived an attempt to burn it.
Town of Mount Croghan
Mt. Croghan, SC 29727
Mount Croghan is one of the three oldest towns in Chesterfield County. Cheraw and Chesterfield are the other two. It is named for the hill around which the town was built, and dates back almost two hundred years to 1780 and the Battle of Camden. Mount Croghan got its name from Major Croan, a French officer who was famous during the Revolutionary War. While traveling to Virginia after the Battle of Camden, Major Croan made his camp on a hill just above the present site of Mount Croghan and gave it this name. By 1809 Mount Croghan was a voting precinct and had a post office. The town was almost completely destroyed during the War, but after many decades, it is now a growing community.
Union Baptist Church
Rock Hill, SC 29732
One of the oldest in the county, Union Baptist was organized in 1867 by Reverend Barney Humphrey and was first called Sardis Church after the name of the nearby white Baptist church where the black and white congregations had once worshiped together. In 1871 Ku Klux Klan raids caused many of the members to flee the area. Some of those who had fled returned and reorganized the church in 1874. By 1879 the congregation had grown from twelve members to seventy. A conflict arose within the church and some of the members left and started their own church called Bethany. In July 1892 the pastors of these two churches succeeded in rejoining the congregations into one and called the new church Union Baptist Church.
Unity Baptist Church
Kershaw, SC 29067
The congregation of Unity Baptist Church was organized in 1909 as an outgrowth of Kershaw's First Baptist Church. Unity is believed to be the second separate black church established in Kershaw, in the early 20th century. The congregation originally met in the homes of its various members. The new sanctuary was built by Deacon George L. Shropshire, a local carpenter and contractor. The Reverend A. W. Hill became the church's first full-time minister in 1911 while he was still a student at Benedict College in Columbia. Hill's successor, the Reverend L. C. Jenkins was the first pastor to occupy the parsonage (c.1922) adjacent to the church. Unity Baptist Church has undergone few alterations since its construction and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. View from outside; open on Sundays.
Wesley United Methodist Church
York, SC 29745
Church records verify Wesley was organized in 1866, thus making it the oldest African-American Methodist church in York County, and the oldest African-American church in the region. View from outside; open on Sundays.
White Hall African Methodist Episcopal Church
Jenkinsville, SC 29065
Having the distinction of being the first African-American church in Fairfield County, White Hall African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church was built in 1867 on land donated by Moses Martin. Manton Latta Martin (who was to become the church's first pastor) and his two brothers, Jerry and John, started the movement to build this church in 1866. View from outside; open on Sundays.
William Elliott White House (c. 1830)
Fort Mill, SC 29715
Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Cabinet passed through the area during their flight from Richmond in 1865 and all of the Cabinet that fled with him spent the night here, April 26/27. The next day the last meeting of the full Confederate Cabinet was held on the lawn. Although the house is not open to the public, a marker commemorates the event.
Woodward Baptist Church
Chester, SC 29706
Mrs. Jefferson Davis and children were passengers on one of the trains that arrived in Chester. When the wagons carrying the gold and silver left, she and the other women were placed in an ambulance as a mode of transportation. Heavy rains left the roads muddy and almost impassable. When the wagons bogged down, the first lady carried her baby in her arms and walked about six miles to the church where they slept on the pews. 3.5 miles south of Chester. (Accessible from 72/321 By-pass).
York County Genealogical and Historical Society
Rock Hill, SC 29731
Genealogical research documents covering mostly York County and the surrounding counties. Contact via mail only. Please inquire about paid research.
Buford’s Battleground
Lancaster, SC 29020
On May 28, 1780, Colonel Abraham Buford, in command of a regiment of 350 Virginians, was overtaken by Colonel Banastre Tarleton of the British Army who commanded 700 cavalry and infantrymen under Lieutenant General Charles Lord Cornwallis. In the ensuing action 115 Americans were killed, 151 were wounded, and 53 were taken prisoner. After the battle, nearby settlers aided survivors and buried American soldiers in a long trench. The dying and badly wounded were carried several miles where they were cared for by, among others, Mrs. Andrew Jackson and her two sons Andrew and Robert. Two monuments now mark the Buford Battleground. A white 10-foot monument erected on June 2, 1860, marked the American gravesite. This marker became so scarred from chippings of souvenir hunters that a new monument was erected on May 1, 1955, bearing the same inscription. This was one of the many vicious actions that characterized the Revolutionary War campaigns in the backcountry South. Listed in the National Register.
Elias Hill, the Clay Hill Community and Allison Creek Presbyterian Church
York, SC 29745
Paramount is the Clay Hill community that centers around the life of Elias Hill, a formerly enslaved man who led the migration of freed slaves from York County (SC) to Liberia in 1871. Hill and his followers were victimized by the Klan during the Reconstruction Era. Prior to leaving he testified before a congressional committee on the atrocities they had suffered. The community grew up around Hill's Iron Works and Plantation, which includes the Nanny's Mountain Historic Site. An on-site state marker at Allison Creek Presbyterian Church (c.1854) commemorates Elias Hill and the Liberian migration. It is the only historic marker in the state that mentions the Klan. In the woods nearby is a historical graveyard that contains remains from former African American slaves and free people. The graveyard has been restored with markers and walking paths. The church is home to the annual "Let the Land Say Amen" festival. Guided tours of the church and its historic cemetery, as well as a short film on the history of the church and its connection to Liberia are available.