“The modern era had arrived and Darlington was in step with the times.”
Darlington as a municipality came into being as a direct result of an Act of the South Carolina Legislature dated March 24, 1785, which created, the County of Darlington. The passage of this Act initiated a search for a centrally-located site on which to erect a court house and jail for the newly-created County. After a lengthy controversy between two influential families of the County, a compromise was reached and a point on the plantation of John King, Sr., astride a trail leading to Camden, was finally selected.
When it was finally determined that the new court house should be on his land, John King gave the necessary lot, and then proceeded to have the surrounding lands laid, off by a surveyor into lots, anticipating the emergence of a village. However, available evidence indicates that growth was slow, and that for years, there was little more in the village other than the court house, the jail and John King’s house.
According to tradition, Thomas Knight, a merchant, is said to be the first person to erect a dwelling in the recently laid-out village, at the same time building a store on a corner lot. He was followed in short order by Joseph Woods, District Sheriff; Col. John Smith, Justice of the County Court; Jesse DuBose and Moses Sanders. Sanders’ choice of a home site extended the village westward beyond the original lots surveyed for John King. Of these pioneer settlers, only Woods has descendants still in the city.
For a number of years, James Ervin was the only resident attorney in the village. Shortly after the War of 1812, the court house at Darlington was made the seat of justice for the huge Cheraw Equity circuit; thus the importance of the village as a regional court was assured. This caused more attorneys to locate in the town. Long before the Civil War, the Darlington Bar was one of the largest and most highly respected in the entire upper Pee Dee region.
By 1818, the population of the town had increased, sufficiently to warrant the
Until 1827, there was no church edifice in the village; services for the various denominations had been held, regularly in the court house for years, and, it was not until 1827 that a successful movement got underway to build a church in
Darlington. It was completed in 1827 by the Presbyterians, but all denominations contributed, to the effort with the understanding that each had free access to the facility, By 182.9 the Baptists had organized officially into a church but did not have their own meeting house until 1831. Methodists acquired their lot and built their first sanctuary in 1830.
Although Darlington is shown in 1820 as the “head of navigation” on Black Creek, no serious attempts were made to navigate that stream, and Darlington merchants for generations hauled their goods from landings on the Pee Dee River; stages passed through town at regular intervals, giving excellent connections to the outside world.
Darlington is described in 1826 as “….the seat of justice of the district situated near Swift Creek, which waters two sides of the village the public buildings are a handsome new brick court house and jail, besides several private homes and the requisite taverns.” The village was incorporated December 19, 1335, with an intendant –warden system of government. By 1836, a Library Society flourished, and in 1849, a warrant was issued to organize a Lodge of Ancient Free Masons, which is functioning to this day. An earlier Lodge, organized, in 1822, withered and died after less than five years in existence.
In 1854, a railroad connecting Wilmington with the interior of South Carolina was completed; it passed ten miles South of the village of Darlington. A horse-drawn hack service was immediately inaugurated from the Court House down the Ebenezer Road to a passenger platform built alongside the tracks on the Beaverdam plantation of W. E. James, where the daily trains were met. It is said that several prominent Darlington citizens refused to allow the tracks to be laid any closer to the town to prevent a feared influx of undesirables. Many of the same persons quickly modified their views and worked to get a spur line extended to Darlington and on to Cheraw. Such a connection was completed during 1855.
After a disastrous fire swept through the town in 1866,
Starting in 1873 and continuing for many years, a large regional fair was held annually in Darlington, representing most of the counties of the upper Pee Dee region. It is said to have compared favorably with the State Fair in Columbia; backing and motivation for this fair came primarily from the Darlington Agricultural Society.
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The first industry of any consequence arrived in Darlington after the Civil War; a newcomer, John Siskron, opened a wagon manufacturer. Then, in 1883, a major industry came in the form of a cotton mill founded by l
By the early 1890’s Darlington had the benefit of centrally-supplied running water and electric lights; and several new industries, including a fertilizer plant; a phosphate plant; a compress company; a canning factory and a marble works. Nor were leisure activities overlooked: The Darlington Driving Association, a group of horsemen, built a race track near town, where races were held regularly for years. After the turn of the century, motorcycles supplanted horses on an oval south of town. A small, wooden opera house had been in operation for years, and the Darlington Baseball Association held regular games.
The first decade of the Twentieth Century was one of unparalleled growth. A magnificent city hall-opera house, modern in every respect, and designed by famed architect Frank P. Milburn, was completed in 1901; a beautiful new court house of the latest and most fireproof design was completed in 1905; the first three-story brick office
The modern era had arrived and Darlington was in step with the times.