Lynches River
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South Carolina has an abundance of rivers that originate from within the state or that enter from North Carolina and Georgia and drain land as far away as Virginia. These rivers flow generally from the northwest to the southeast, following the geography from high elevations in the Blue Ridge and Piedmont to the lower elevations of the coastal plain.
On November 19, 1860, at Chesterfield Courthouse, one of the first secession meetings in the state was held. At the Secession Convention, John Inglis of Cheraw introduced the resolution calling for South Carolina to secede from the Union.
With the arrival of the gin, short-staple cotton was grown extensively in Lancaster, which increased the demand of planters and farmers for slave labor. In 1800 slaves comprised only one-sixth of Lancaster’s population.
Intersected by the fall line and two rivers, the Lynches and the Wateree, the geography of Kershaw County influenced its settlement and character. The Piedmont soils of the hilly northwest contrast with the meandering river floodplains in the southeastern section and the sandhills terrain predominant in the other areas.
Although the county’s economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, Florence was home to several industries as early as the 1890s.
Throughout its existence Lee County has been an agricultural community and sometimes is referred to as the “Garden Spot of the Carolinas.”
Despite its notable industrial sector, agriculture dominated the way of life in Darlington. The long agricultural tradition in the county gave rise to the development of numerous heritage-wildlife preserves, parks, and gardens.
Cotton was the basis of the state’s agricultural economy at the end of the antebellum period, employing more than eighty percent of the slave labor force.
The dueling weapon of choice for a South Carolina gentleman was the pistol. During the colonial period cumbersome and inaccurate matchlocks and flintlocks were used, but the advent of the percussion pistol in the 1820s allowed for greater accuracy, and dueling pistols became elaborately decorated objects of art.
