The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-05-14
Roads Here and Elsewhere.


Salem, Black River. May 81 have
just taken a $50 mile trip by auto
to visit my daughter who is one OF
tthe teachers at Flora Mcdonald COL
j lege. Red Springs y. G. Some OF
my impressions and observations may
/ be OF interest to readers 90 the Item.
a broken s2r.ng near Mr.. w. D..
| Rhodes made it necessary to detour
by Florence. The road via Lynch
burg, Cartersville Timmonsville and
! EbeneZer is one of the worst for q
continuous succession OF bumps that
have trave:ed over in som" time OF
course there are short s; .rcheS OF
good road just this side Of Timmons-
Vile and just this side Of Florence.
| We saw the large ditchinS machine
at work between CarterSvIile and
Timm monsville; they are building 80
foot road between these two points.
! The hard surface road into Flor
| ence had men at work repairing, 1t
! in two PAGES. and We saw probably
80 places in two miles that have been
! recently repaired. 1t is not perfect
! ~ even and l look for it to go TO
pieces under heavy traffic on account
of The uneven surface.
From Florence to Darlington the
read is good, but the Florence part
| Of il is too clayey, was rough and
Will cut up into rutS and mudholeS
/ during wet weather. Darlington and
| Cheiaw 60 not seem 10 have much
travel judging by the wornout condi-
ton Of the road between the two
towns. About three miles Of good
] road leads into Cheraw.
The road from Cheraw to Bennetts-
vile and McColl across Marlboro
county IS good, but better from Nc
iColl TO Red Springs across Robins
! county, y. c.
Tuesday We took a party to Fay
etteville, 80 miles from Red Springs.
! Good road near.y all the way ana
ifine for miles into Fayetteville.
Haywood street in Fayetteville just TO
| the northwest OF the A. (. L. station
!! is che Of the prettiest residential
Sl,eetS | ever saw.
Seven miles this side Of Fayette-
Vile the road crosses Fig Rock Fish
! and little Rock Fish creeks on two
concrete bridges 20 feet above the
i water that have a continuous para
| pet on the south side, and q wide
opening on the north where the road
to Hope Mills leads off between the
! two creeks. These beautiful clear
water sand hill streams have almost
prec.pitous sand banks thirty to
sixty feet right up from the water
and have thick growth of mountain
| laurel in every place Il bush can grow.
About a mile below the creeks come
together and five miles below empty
into Cape Fear river.
Except for the sand hills near
! Fayetteville and some sand hills
about Little Pee Dee river beyond
McColl in North Carolina, the coun-
! Try and farming looks like Sumter
Florence and Darlington counties
south fthe railroad from Sumter
to Darlington. From Darlington TO
Cheraw we cross the sand hills.
| think the country around Maxton
Red Springs, McColl and Laurinburg
shows signs OF better farming than
our county. There are certainly
more fine country homes and Well
kept out buildings All dbis churches.
Coming back through Laurinburs
the Court House town Of Scotland
county we We're impressed with the
beautiful towns and fine residences.
| Numerous cotton mills at McColl ana
,I-aurinburg Several water mills on
this route We struck s or ~ miles
from Gibson toward Cheraw where
the road is being widcned, and what
we saved in distance was more than
lost in mud.
Between Gibson and McLaurin S
water naill is some Very poor coun-
try and some fine lands: the develop
ment is not anything like so advanc-
ed as on the BennettSville road.
Cheraw streets are so vide that
they viii never be more than country
avenues. and il is not so clean Il
looking town as several of the 9th
ers we saw. but it has some fine
homes. and is worth while because
of its hist ori, associations.
Darlington IS strengthening and
building a 40 or 80 foot road 10 La
mar
The corn and oat areas are larger
but there is still too much cotton
everywhere 80 or 40 bales of blue
cotton is tied up in sheets and piled
haphaZard Some in the weather
inst as hauled from the field Ia MIC
IaJn.in' : Mill. r. W. ID.
The modern girl is 10 der b IT Is
|, :