The Orangeburg democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1879-1881, 1880-03-05
The Sunny South,

.pleted the erection Of delightful
house in !Orangeburg, South Carolina,
and removed to that place with his
.famllyItor the winter a private let
ter from Dr.. DUBOIS gives some in
,teresting1 facts concerning Orange
burg and its surroundings, from which
we take the liberty OF making the fol-
lowing'extrac,s
."Tlie South Carolina railroad runs
from Charleston northwest through
the centre Of the State, and forks like
the letter I, the right hand arm go
ing to Columbia, the capital; the left
hand to Augusta, Ga. At the fork
of the I is Branchvilc, II miles
north Of which, on the Columbia arm,
lies Orangcburg, 81 miles from Co
iumbia, 70 from Charleston and G5 bv
rail from Aiken. 1t is an ancient
.burgh, founded before the Revolution,
and named after William III, Prince
of Orange, and King Of England in
1858. 1t is the county town Of Or
angeburg County, and has popula-
ton Of about 1900. 1t was much in
jured in Sherman's march in 1865,
the old court house, built in 1926,
being burned. The present one, q
fine brick building, was erected in
1875. Russell street, the business
street, having suffered severely from
1lres, is now compactly built up in
brick, and Orangeburg is thriving
business town. The principal crop
is cotton, the short staple. The soil
is fertile, being a rcd clay, with Thin
layer of sand on top. Corn, rye and
others cereals flourish; the sorghum,
(Chinesc sugar canel also is raised.
The climate is lovely about the
same rs Aiken, which has SO great Il
reputation rs health resort for lung
and throat diseases, and is almost at
the same elevation above The sea.
with the same pine forests and sandy
soil and consequently dry, pure air.
The thermometer, since / have been
here, has averaged about Sc degrees,
mornings and evenings cool, rcquir-
ing wood fires on the hearth, but
middle of day sunny, warm and de-
lightful. Wood is plentiful and
cheap. No one burns coal. l have
an open coal stove, Of tile, new pat
cnt, which is here considered curl
osity. Board is cheap, s25 a month
at the hotel, and much cheaper il
boarding houses. There arc fine hunt
ing and fishing; the north fork of the
Edisto river, half q mile from the
village, supplies fish in plenty. Rice,
hominy, sweet potatoes and chickens
are cheap and plentiful. In short,
as health resort the place is fully
equal TO Aiken, which being famous
charges fancy watering place prices,
while Orangcburg is cheap.
have been most warmly and
heartily welcomed by the best citi
zens, most Of the principal people
having already called on us. I talk
"stalwarC' rcpublicanism freely, when
necessary, and am not even rcbuked.
L am emphatic on this point, con
trary impression prevailing with Us.
l could not ask Il greater kindness
than have met with here. True,
my wife is 4 niece Of an old and
prominent resident, the surrogate of
the county (judgc of probate, they
call it herc), which 10 @ certain ex-
tent fixes our stutus. l have been
here several times and am pretty we'll
known-and have built Il house, pay
taxes and bring capital to the place,
and am not dependent on this people
for living-all Of which makes
difference, doubtless, but hno,o that
any respectable 7lTcrthcrn family will
be heartily welcome here, regardless
of politics. Most of the principal
merchants of the village are OF North
ern birth, and the society is good.
We are delighted with our house.
It is all yellow pine, with the inside
finish unpainted. l treat with raw
oil and shcllac, bringing ont the rich
grain OF the wood. 1t isrharder than
oak-what we know as Georgia pine,
and is the ordinary lumber here.
My lot is four acres, pine and oak
grove, 800 feet frontage on the prnc-
pal street, just out of the business por-
tion Of the village, and five minutes