The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1909-12-30
DESERVED TRIBUTE
TO HON. sAMLEL DLRBLE. WHOM
WE DELIGHT TO HONOR.
A Wise Statesman, a Successful Town
Builder aHd an All Round Public
Spirited Citizen.

Spirited Citizen.
Having served two terms In con
gress, Col. Samuel Dibble now hol4s
tle cthce OF township commissioner.
1hB pOIillcal s.ep-uown, as u
were Is one Or Lle INST Remarkable
in tue nls.Ory Or soutn CarOIlnd. 1t
(, uUeS nuI SIGNIFY loss or po"er or
prestige. IL Melely emphasizes AM
1llusIrates tle s.clet Ut Col. UiDDle s
| highly Successful Cal eer, the mOllo Ot
waIcn has ever Desn service. he Is
/ at The age OF ~ now township com.
missioner because he IS primarily Ia
teresteI In securing gCOd roa-s for
Bowman township, and In that capac-
ity he Is Serving his peupie as rtuiy
as he dil ii tue halls or congress.
The sroly or Bowman rea.s ike q
romance or tie rich West
1he St.ry OF hoHman.
Fifty years ago in the southern
pa1t CT OrangeDurg district, in Or
angeburg ana ST. Matthews parishes.
the con -lIiCn CT tae farmer wAs prJs
peroLs, an tley wele waking up To
the Importance CT the education OF
the yClng. In the lower part OF Or
angebdrg parish, in aiuitiOn to the
free schools open only to the children
nf tho
esses in the families Of the rich.
there were three private academies
Of distinction, amply supported by
graduates Of Wofford college. South
CIrolina college and Dublin uniyer.
sity, respectively. while between
Four Holes swamp AMI Santee river,
in st. Matthews parish, were three
others in charge of graduates Of
South Carolina college Zone second
hcncr MANI, and of Emory college,
Georgia, and open to pay scholars
AMI also free pupils of the vicinity.
Between Cattle Cerek and Cow
Castle swamp, on beth sides of thu
; Orangeburg AMI Charleston road,
about so miles from the city of
Charleston, the Bowman family were
the largest land owners, owning plan
tations In succession for six or seven
miles, and Of them was Reddick Bow
man, at one time holding 10000
acres.
But the war between the Sections.
with death in battle AMI hospitals
AMI the downfall Of the Confederacy,
the emancipation OF the slaves AMI
the terrors of Reconstruction with
negro suffrage, turned fertile fields
into wildernesses, where deer AMI
wild turkey and alligators held un.
disputed sway.
Such conditions existed until about
20 years ago, when the Bowman
Land AMI Investment company, COM
posed mainly of Messrs Samuel Dib-
BILE, B. H. Moss and Thomas M. Ray
,, sor as shareholders, acquired title tc
about 5000 acres Of the estate Ian ds
Of Reddick Bowman, Abraham OF
and others, mostly in original forest
and in the old fields OF short leaf
pine, the rent toll sor the arabic
lanss at first being only about SIS
year.
About the same time w. E. T. R.
Smoak, Of Branchville, had con
structed and was operating tram
way which furnished wood an1 :: 'css-
ties to the Southern railway, owe,
which a narrow gauge engine with
cars built at Branchville by Mr.
Smoak, was operated as the Smoak
Tramway company out Of Branchville
about five or six miles toward the
Bowman lands.
The Founding Of Bowman.
Out of these conditions came the
Branchville and Bowman railroad,
and the founding Of the town Of Bow
man, as its ultimate terminus, II IL
miles from Branchville, the opening
up Systematically of series OF roads
leading from Bowman as a centre,
the subdivision of the Bowman lands
along the roads into over 100 1-horse
farms, and a full system of drainage
by bitches usually four feet wide,
and clearing and building settlements
On the farms. White men and fami-
lies attracted by the great fertility nf
the soil and It's a'aptability to all
kinds Of farming from early ve!eta.
bles to cotton, sugar cane and tobac-
co, began to move into the embryo
town and its environs, many of them
coming from as much as twenty five
miles, from sections with high repu
tation fer fertility.
The newcomers found lands equa.
and superior to those they left, and
in consequence year after year has
brought their friends and relativc;
AMI others. Lan7s purchased twenty
years ago by the Bowman Land COM
pany fer IS per acre, which the var
ious shareholders had originally ac-
quired for 60 and less, are now be-
ing sold at not less than $50 an
acre and have in some instances
brought $50 and over per acre. These
prices ere for the land alone, eXclus.
i've of any buildings.
\ Progressive Town.
Now Bowman has five churches.
two OF which are fer the white AMI