Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1901-06-19
PIEDMONT REGIONS NAME.
What Does II Mean7-An Alleged Curious
Fact In History.

'"Ns OSSS ~ ftUCECu NuiiUuo
Fact In History.
Mrs. II. NJ. Green, of ashington,
Ga, gives the following explanation
of the term Piedmont in recent
issue of the Atlanta Journal
We all have vague sort of idea
that we live in the great "Piedmont
Region" but exactly what that
means, what its boundaries are, or
why 30 called, not one of us can tell.
There is no Piedmont river nor
mountain nor Indian tradition upon
which to found the name. In fact,
it is not an Indian name, but French.
We hear people in Virginia and
North Carolina say they live in the
"Piedmont Region" We hear South
Carolinians and Alabamians say the
same thing, and as for Georgians,
you would think the whole State
ought to bo called Piedmont, since
people from every corner claim to
inhabit that mysterious region whose
center is nowhere and whose boun-
daries everywhere.
1t puzzled me long time.
used to ask common mortals, like
myself, about it, but they could not
tell. Then / asked those who were
authority on nomenclature, with the
same result. Then l watched for
some mention of it in all the South
ern histories that read, and only
once did | find anything like clcw.
That was in Iogan's History of
South Carolina, book, by the way
as rare and as valuable as Gov
ernor Gilman's Gcorgians. Here
saw it stated that upper
South Carolina-around Abbovillc-
was settled in part by Picdmontcsc.
This seemed clue, but was not
satisfactory, for the region called
Piedmont extends from the Chesa-
peake Bay to central Alabama.
In the life of Alexander Stephens,
by Richard Malcolm Johnston, men
ton is made that Mr.. Stephens, on
one occasion away back in the
forties, went over to Washington,
Ga, to take the "Picdmont stage
line" and this sentence, coupled
with local traditions, explains the
whole thing. The Piedmont region
is simply the region traversed by q
line of stage coaches run by q
Frenchman of the name of Piedmont.
The line originally ran from Rich
mond, Va, to Columbus, Ca, but
ater was extended to Montgomery,
Ala. Possibly it changed horses at
Marthasville, and for this reason
Atlanta claims to be the head center
of the Piedmont region.
Whether the Frcnchman's name
was Piedmont or whether he was a
refugee from the province of that
name in Italy, cannot say, but he
and his stage coaches gave the name
to the region through which they
passed. The line followed the
Indian trails and the Indian trails
followed the natural wealth of the
country. The Indians selected those
places for building their Villages
most favored by nature. They
sought pure water to drink, good
streams to fish in and good forests
to hunt in. The best hunting ground
was always where vegetation was
most luxuriant, for wild animals fed
on nuts, fruits, cane and grass.
1t is curious to look back hun
drcd years and see how civilization
has marched in the footprints of
savagery. First came the Indians,
single file, silently marching one
behind the other. Then came the
traders, with their pack horses, fol-
lowing the paths of the Indians and
selling them rum and pclfry for
skins and furs. Then came the
white settlers, with their families
When the settlers came the paths or
trails were widcncd to admit wheels
Then came the stage coach. Then
tho steam engine, plunging, blowing
and bursting wide open the hidden
treasures of stream and forest. 1t is
fact that the railroads are built,
for the most part, along the lines OF
the old stage routes, so that in look.
ing backward wo see that the Indians
surveyed many of tho lines now Gov
orcd by steel rails, telegraph and
telephone wires.