History & Genealogy

Approximately one quarter of the town’s Main Street is devoted to this park which has four monuments. One is dedicated to “faithful” slaves loyal to the Confederacy, another to the soldiers of the Confederacy, the third, to the women of the Confederacy and last, to the Catawba Indians who served in the Confederate Army. 

One of the oldest extant dwellings in the second-oldest incorporated town of the up-country, the so-known Cornwallis House is documented in letters and diaries as being the residence of Lord Cornwallis in the "winter of his discontent" or the months of October 1780 through January 1781. Though several houses of the town were commandeered by British officers at the time of the occupation, precedence is given to the family traditions of the owners of the houses to preserve the story of that residence. British troops are documented to have occupied the Mount Zion Institute campus across the street from the Cornwallis House, and for years fragments of the weapons and ammunition have been found in the neighborhood. The first recorded records of the house date from 1797 when it was deeded to Captain John Buchanan, a Revolutionary soldier, by way of a sale at public auction to settle the estate of the prior owner Alexander Millar. The Buchanan family owned the property until 1862. Over the years the house has undergone several renovations and expansions, the latest in 2001. This is a private residence. Group tours available by appointment only. Contact the chamber for access.

Built by Barham (Barrum) Bobo between 1812 and 1814, this priceless piece of history is one of the best examples of Colonial Georgian in the upstate. It was a working plantation and came under the stewardship of the Union County Historical Society, with the assistance of the County of Union, in October 2006.  Presently consisting of more than 20 acres, the site is being restored in a plantation re-creation effort. Original buildings have been repaired and three log cabins from around the county have been moved to the site. Each spring the visit of President Jefferson Davis, CSA, is reenacted. For more information or to arrange a tour call the Union County Museum.

Jazz king Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993) virtuoso trumpeter, composer and founder of modern jazz is now playing a long term gig in his hometown of Cheraw. A seven foot bronze statue of Gillespie-cheeks bulged to play his trademark bent horn-was unveiled in October 2002 on the 85th anniversary of his birth on the Town Green. Born John Birks Gillespie, Dizzy attended the public schools in Cheraw and graduated from Robert Smalls School in 1933. It was in Cheraw that Dizzy first played in a band and first performed in public. Because of his musical talents, he received a scholarship to the Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina. Dizzy and his family attended Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church (c. 1915) on Greene Street. As a child, Dizzy was fascinated by the movies. He became so adept at sneaking in to see the shows that the theater manager gave him the job of keeping the other kids from doing the same. His pay was that he got to see the movies for free. The theater, built in 1920, was then called the Lyric Theater. Recently renovated, it is now known as The Theater on the Green and is used for live performances. The statue was designed by internationally known artist Ed Dwight. Cheraw also celebrates Dizzy's life with the South Carolina Jazz Festival the third weekend in October. For more information or a free self guide to Dizzy Gillespie-related sites, contact the Cheraw Office of Tourism.

In 1919 a bond election was held to raise $75,000 to build a combined grammar and high school for black children in the southern part of Rock Hill. The school was built in 1920 and its first principal was Professor Frank Neal. It was named for Emmett J. Scott who became secretary of Tuskegee Institute in 1898 and served as Assistant Secretary of War during WWI. In 1970 the school was closed. The City of Rock Hill purchased the property from the school district and dedicated it as a neighborhood center in 1973. Special tours by appointment.

The largest and oldest cemetery (c. 1858) in the city has an area set aside for Confederate War soldiers. Included are a memorial marker, two headstones of known soldiers of the Confederate War, and 55 headstones of unknown soldiers. There is also one grave of a Union soldier who died in Chester on March 14, 1866. 

Union soldiers made the pulpit area into a bandstand and danced in the interior. The Confederates had used the church as a hospital.