The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1916-11-01
Wednesday, Nov. 1, 1916
TWO WEEKS IN EDGEFIELD.

We had the pleasure of spending
the greater part of the last two weeks
in the historic and quaint old town
of Edgefeld. And to say that we
enjoyed the stay among the good
people of that town would be but
mildly stating the facts.
We have heard of Edgefeld since
the days when we were a boy. There
were brave men in that town and
county in those days, and they were
not afraid to strike a blow for iber-
ty and civilization. Whether right
fully or wrongfully, we would not
say, the men Of the county in those
DAYS gained the reputation Of being
men of courage, always ready to
settle differences, too ready some
times, at the point where the differ
ences arose, and without awaiting
the slow Intervention of courts and
judges and juries. These men had
lust come out of q great war-the
most terrible war of all times, then
and they had been taught in that Sc
we're school that might is right.
Edse6eld of Today.
But in these later days the people
of Edgefeld are as free from per-
sonal encounters as the people OF
any other county in the state we be-
lieve. And We do not wonder that
this is true. If you will 60 to Edge
field and meet the men of the county
you will understand why. They have
no influx of people from other Sec
tions. They are the descendants of
the men who came to America to
seek homes and who settled in that
section, and who have an interest in
making the homes of their fathers
and their own the best in the land.
We saw a great many men from
the county during our stay there.
We met the nea of the town, and
the farmers from the distant points
in the county. We saw not a single
man in that town under the influence
of liquor. We saw no man seeking
trouble, but on the other hand, we
met kindly. courteous, neighborly,
gentlemanly set of men, who were
looking for tho better things in life.
Tho Fertile Lands.
And we had thought too that Edge
field county was made up Of red hills
and sandy plains and that lands in
that county went begging, and the
people lived easily and did not allow
business to interfere with pleasure.
But we found We were mistaken. The
farmers of tho county ride to the
court house in He best makes of au-
tomobiles, wear 6ne clothes, and bear
all the marks ~ being prosperous.
On one of the juries in the court
then in session were three farmers
stated to me b be worth more than
fifty thousand dollars each, several
college men, saA the others represen-
tative ycitizens, he owners of their
own homes and evidently in prosper
GUS circumstances.
We rode viii Senator Nicholson
from Edgefeld to Trenton and pass
ed through FARM lands making
bale of cotton 10 the acre. We asked
the Senator If the lands would sell
for hundred dollars per acre and he
stated to US that two hundred dol
lars per acre would not buy many
farms in that section. The testimony
of witnesses in the court satisfied me
that the lands in the county, in other
parts and in every part, are valuable
and that man who buys them gener-
ally pays a good price.
In the City.
The stores in the town may not
look quite as up-to-date from the out
side as the stores in some of the
newer towns, but they are rapidly
putting on city airs, and many of
them now have modern fronts. In
side the stores you find all the latest
goods, merchandise, clothing, etc.,
and as General Hemphill was wont
to say, you conclude pretty soon. that
a merchant in Edgefeld is "no
Slouch."