Click on the red dot above to view the historic site. The Cheraw Historic District There are more than 50 antebellum buildings and numerous Victorian and Revival structures scattered throughout the 213 acre Cheraw National Register Historic District. Some of the most notable are shown on the map above. A free guide to the historic district is available at the Cheraw Chamber of Commerce.
All buildings are private unless otherwise noted.
The Cheraw and Pee Dee Indians were the earliest known inhabitants of what is now Chesterfield County. Of Siouan stock, the Cheraws were the dominate tribe in the upper Pee Dee. They reached the height of their power around 1650 and maintained a well fortified village on the river hill close to present day Cheraw. Disease greatly decimated their population after a time, and they joined the Catawba Confederacy, leaving only their names, well established trading routes, and by the time of the Revolution, a few scattered families. Most of Cheraw's early settlers were English, Scots, French or Irish.