The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-02-23
rFRo,r OUR OWN coRREspoN DENT. |

BENNETTsvILLE, February 15.-The road fror
Society Hill to Bennettsville, although onl
about thirteen miles, has always appeared to M
much longer. Nine miles of river swamp wi
tire even the most patient traveller. To
sure, the road is in pretty fair condition just O
this time, hut l have travelled it frequentl
when it was otherwise. Marlboro in oldc
times was wont to be considered, for lts slzt
one of the wealthiest districts in the State;
e. by those who knew anything Of the exist
ence OF such place. For Marlboro was ava
off in corner, remote from the main thor
oughfares, and to very many people in Soutl
Carolina terra mcogaNa. In spite Of this
however, Marlboro grew and prospered
Her people grew in wealth, intelligence, virtu
and all the reEnements of an enlightened
civilization. Churches were built ant
school-houses, from one end of her border II
the other; and as to planting, I do not thinl
any part of our State could DO asst of a NOR,
scientific system Of agriculture than this came
Trans-Peedee District. Some of tho larges
cotton clJps Of our State used to como from
Marlboro. Although, as I SAID, Marlboro
was remote from the great thoroughfares, il
did not escape the ravages cf Sherman:
hordes. The 'great march" lay through tho
very heart OF the district, and great was the
devastation in consequence. The traces o.
| vandalism are still numerous along that
''swath," and mar, OF the poor sufferers have
not yet recovered from that visitation. The
number of horses, mules, cattle and swine
driven off, the amount OF bacon and other
eatables taken or destroyed; the cotton, GIN
houses. store-houses, implements, &C., burned
OR rendered useless, is something stupendous.
I do not know that Marlboro suffered worse in
this respect than many other parts OF the
State; but do know that ii will be some years
yet before all trace of this Christian mode OF
warfare is effacod here.
Bennettsville, the county seat, was built in
or about 1922, and named after the late Gov
ernor Bennett. The village has grown but
slowly, and is, presume, now not much larger
or more populous than it was twenty years ago.
few merchants, lawyers and physicians, with
q sprinkling Of mechanics, constitute the popu-
Iation of the village. There were, however,
generally number of wealthy planters living
within six or seven miles of Bcnnettsville, who
virtually contributed to the character and soci-
ETY. OF tae place. Like every other community
in the State, tins also has seen great changes
during the last few years. Death has removed
some OF the most revered names from the ros-
ter, among them Mr. A. h. Douglass. DR.. w.
Crosland, General John McQaeen, Mr.. John
McCuliom, and Rev. Thomas Cook, all old
oit, tvbo had a
terially to create healthy public sentiment
here. The war, with its cOncomitant upheaVal
o. .-thv-fU -fUuacatiUn stOncs VI c1Yil society, hss
left SAD footprints here; and as everywhere
else throughout our stricken Southern land, 30
here you may see the most striking instances
and most distressing, of the yicissitudes OF for
tuEe. They wh0.were rich are now poor, ana
many who before were pennlless, now RANK
with the nabobs Of the land.
Mar boro', 1 believe, is the only district IN
South CaroliRa tiilt can Claim the proud pre-
emlnence Of not having had any splrltuous IL
quors sold within her borders for some thirty
years. The commissioners refused to grant IL
censes, and Bennettsville not having been IN
corpo1ated until after the war, the commits
sioners had full coutrol in all such matters. l.
do not know whether this regulation still OBJ
tains hore or not; but know that for thirty
wears it was not lawful for any one TO sell
drop OF intoxicating drink IN Marlboro. Inns,
on the whole, speaks we'll for the community;
for unless the commissioners had been sup
ported by public opinion, the regulation could
not have remained in force SO long. OF course
little of the "critter" is sold on the sly now
and then by the canvas-covered wagons from
North Carolina that cruise through the district;
and, if I am correctly informed, these same
itinerant whiskey peddlers are very Literally
patronized by the thirsty freedmen in the
rural parts hereabout.
n, o1, n hoe r.
prised to learn that churches, schools and sons
of temperance divisions have fourished here
bevond what we were accustomed to see IN
some other parts of the State. Bennettsvilc hos
three churches Rev. q. 81. Pritch-
ard pastor; Baptist, Rev. j. A. ". Thomas;
and Presbyterian supplied by Rev. DR.. Corbett,
of Cheraw.
The Bennettsville Journal, weekly paper,
is the only vehicle of political literary intel
ligence published within the county. II ID
edited BIZ William Little, Esq, young gentle
man formerly of Charleston, who, with thor
ough familiarity %ith the printing business III
all its varied branches, combines knowledge
of the law, which greatly enlarSes the sphere
of his useful labors.
OF notablIlties, Bennettsville can boast Cham
cellor Vim. d. johnson, who has now retired
from public hfe and devotes Lis time and ener-
GIGS TO the cultivation of the soil. Unlike most
of his brethren, &r. Johnson rs good planter
as we'll as q good jurlst. Colonel 9. W dudley,
formerly State Senator, now Assessor ot Inter r
nal Revenue, is also an old and leading cltlzen
of BennettsviIlc. Major B. D. townsend, until
recently one Of the most public spirited OF Its
citizens, now lives at Society. Hill. ln TINS
connection, it may also not be improper 10
mention the efforts put forth by the last named
gentleman and Chancellor Johnson toward
improving the horticulture and arboriculture
OF the district. With generous rivalry worthy
OF all praise and of imitation, these two
gentlemen have spent years OF labor, and large
sums of money, in demonstrating, to their
feIlow-citizens the fact that excellent fruit,
aud in large quantities. cIn be grown upon cur
soil. hope, ere long to hear that these spien-
did orchards will become = source OF large
profit to ther owners.
Marlboro, perhaps, as much as any other
district in the State, before the war nt
least, showed the extremes OF wealth and po-
verty. Here was first the "arstocracy" near
the river oppt site Cheraw; next, the ,rlstocra-
cy of Bsnnettsvlle, and thirdly, the Gr!stot ol
Ahnt raj Springs, to say nothing of wealthy and
''well-to-do" plan crs in ali tho more fertile
parts Of the district. Oi the other hanCi, you
may sec here representatives OF the class vail
ously nominated rs ''poor whites" "httwoods
| people," .'sond-Aillers," &c. The first Of th"se
terms is generic; thc ether two are SPECIFIC,
denoting classes widely varying IN their char
acterslcs.
As this class Oft neople o: South Carolina
bns attracted consldcraL attention since the
war in the periodical publ, cations tho North,
first from q paper in tho Galaxy by Il. T.
Scabrook, Esq. OF Charleston, an1 afterwards
from q series uf articles pLblIShel by Capta IN