Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg Court House [S.C.]) 1877-1881, 1879-02-21
For tho Orangeburg TIMEo.
BEanChvi2lo Neutrality-suspicious.
Rapid PEogress since the War,
and Her present Status.
B~RANCHvILLB, s. c.,
February 18th, 1879.

o1loH lleIe R IL StTeAIn CAlIeu zen
Bran h from which Branchville
derived its name. The site of the
town was originally a vast cypress
pond, in which abounded tadpolcs g,
terrapins and various kinds of small
f.shes-a dense forest of undcrs rowth
which lined the outskirts of the pond,
made the locality a famous hiding
place for deer, and many an old buck
made his last leap near where the
steam whistle now takes tho place o.
the hunters horn.
The first settlers here were Mr..
Philip Chartrand and q Mr.. Bason,
both Frenchmcn. The former of
these built an eating house somewhat
South Of where the present hotel
stands, where the ira, cling public
RECALLED themselves on good things
for the inncrman before the writ or
of this article had beer born to this
splendid ~scenc.of busy VOC" After
the lapse of time the South Carolina
Railroad constructed a branch Of its
line from here to Columbis, which
added to this quondnm cypress pond
the dignity ofan important JUNCTION.
Travel increased rapidly, anil Mr..
Chnrtrand, being brimfll of en.csy
and pluck, conceived tho i.lca Of
erecting m eating ho use on asslargcr
sca:e, AID i'll tho fork off the wv
roads. The present hotel was thu
result oftEis resolution. Mr.. Chart
iand kept it tor a number Of years,
and achieved for it q deal of celebrity
with travellers. But this was tho
long ago where travel via this place
from and to the North was very
extensive.
a. In the days which the preceding
Paragraph refers to, there we're but
three mere hants here, namely, John
D.. D.. Fairy, Daniel Loeb and w. II.
Gaskin.
Mr.. f. w. Fairy, one Of the old
landmarks of better days, was tn
railroad agent. MIR. JAS. B. Berry,
who still lives an honored citizen in
our midst, owned all the land South
of the Railroad, and upon which the
principal part of the town now stands,
the first lot having been sold by him
to Gaskin in 1887. From this time
on, the growth Of the.place was like
the tortoise's speed. In 1853 it was
Incorporated, having then about
thirty-fve or forty inhabitants. Dr..
o. II. OFT wa, elected first Intend.
ant. The town commenced now to
put on airs, and nightly our streets
and paths were patrollcd
For a number of years previous to
the war Branchville boosted Of splen.
did educational advantages. Gen.
James r. 1zlar aud his brother, Mr..
b. LILA, at one time, had louris h
ing schools here, and left the impress
of their correct lives upon the minds
OF many OF their pupils.
The progress Of the town, however
was inconsiderabIc until subsequent
to the a After recovering from
the stagger given it by this intern:-
Gene strife, Il steady advancement
became .%oticeablc. +. j. w. Meyers
was elected the first Intendant after
the war Gin which position he died)
when a system of drainage was in
auguratcd which added considerable
to its healthiulne $. Although many
of our citizens suffered severely in
consequence of the impovcrishment
entailed upon them by the loss of
their property, n new lifo took os-
session of the place md ;;s surround
ings. and Il steady advancement was
at once developed. In 1866 the
place numbered between two and
three hundred inhabitants, and about
five stores. Its population now
cceds eight hundred; while there are
some twenty odd stores in full blast,
the principal ones being owned by l.
w. Loryca, b. d Meyers, j. ID.
Rhoads. d ID. Meyers, Asberry
Dukes, +. p. Bruce and j. d ID.
Fairy. Messrs. John Byrd, F. w.
Syfrett, Jacob Karesh and Crook