I had really hoped to be back on track with ghost towns, but things just haven't worked out.  We're still in temporary housing after Hurricane Helene over a year ago.  It's been frustrating.  I put the podcast on hold because I thought we would be busy moving back in, but it's been one delay after another. I have done lots of research and I've got a long list of potential episodes, so there's lots more content and places to explore.

Jewish workers in the Socialist Commune of Happyville, Aiken, SC Happyville was a short-lived agricultural commune near Montmorceni in Aiken County, South Carolina.  The community was based on socialist concepts, and was sponsored by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture, which wanted to bring in Eastern European Jewish immigrants to work the farmland.  The project was purely racist, with the intent of replacing "less desirable" black farmworkers with Jewish workers. The Happyville residents didn't succeed.  Unusually harsh weather, inexperience, and racial troubles of their own eventually doomed the colony.   Here are some of the resources used in this podcast: Wikipedia Article The Sharing Project - Joel Tauber film Interview with Rose Rudnick Rubin H Is for Happyvile - Walter Edgar

Kingdom of the Happy Land by Gary Carden. Acrylic on canvas, 36”x24”. Source The Kingdom of Happy Land was a settlement of freed slaves on the North Carolina/South Carolina border near Tuxedo, North Carolina.  The Kingdom had a King and Queen, and was operated as a socialistic society with all sharing equally.  Resources: Blog Post - Seeking the Kingdom of Happy Land Happy Land - Dolen Perkins-Valdez Interview with Dolen Perkins-Valdez Happy Land Liniment Serepta Merritt Davis Grave Google Search

Mitchelville on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, was the first town in the United States governed by freed slaves.  It was part of the Port Royal Experiment. Partial list of links: Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park Archeology at Mitchelville Mitchelville: Experiment in Freedom The archaeological manifestations of the "Port Royal Experiment" at Mitchelville, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina    

Instead of towns that disappeared, today we look at towns that never existed. Through my research I’ve found four categories of these so-called Paper Towns A town planned out on paper that never really took off. A town that was never meant to exist, but was advertised simply as a scam for investors. An area incorporated for political reasons, such as a town on the edge of a larger town incorporated to prevent annexation into the larger town.  The town provides no services, but exists on paper only. A copyright trap.   Links to more information: Kingsberry Find-a-Grave Kingsberry article by Louise Pettus Landsford Canal Lock Keeper's House - Library of Congress Paper Town Copyright Traps Phantom Settlements What Is a Paper Town?  

The colonial town of Dorchester is located on the Ashley River, just north of Charleston.  Settled by Congregetionalists, it was once the third largest town in South Carolina. Now only the old bell tower of the St. George's Church and the tabby fortifications remain.  Old Dorchester is now a historic site and part of the South Carolina Parks System. Here are some of the resources used in this episode: Office SC State Park Website for Dorchester Wikipedia Entry Old Dorchester Visitor's Guide National Register Entry for Dorchester National Register Entry for White Meeting House The Town of Dorchester:  A Sketch of It's History KnowItAll Video - Dorchester South Carolina Picture Project

Merrittsville was a community in norther Greenville County in what has become known as The Dark Corner.  Once a stopover for travelers, the region was notorious for moonshining and other illegal activities.  Now.  The town lies under the Greenville Watershed Reservois. Resources: Blog Post - Remembering Merrittsville Benjamin Merritt Genealogy Poinsett Bridge National Register Merrittsville - Now Only a Memory Below the Surface Mann Batson Videos Poinsett Bridge Traffic Poinsett Chimney Ruins State Road Anne Blythe Videos Stagecoach Travel Bishop Asbury Reverend Malet Dean Campbell Videos Greer Museum Presentation Introduction to Dark Corner  

This week we look at three ghost towns.  These towns featured academies that played a large part of the town.  When the academies closed down, the towns went into decline.  This episode looks at the towns of Minervaville in Richland County, South Carolina, which had the Minerva Academy, Slabtown in Anderson County, which had the Thalian Academy, then the Slabtown Academy, and Sievern in Aiken County, which had the Edisto Academy. Some of the resources I used in podcast are listed below: Blog Posts Lower Richland and the High Hills of the Santee Slabtown, Equality, and the Thalian Web Chasing the Swamp Rabbit, Part 3 - Sievern and the Edisto Academy

Ellenton, Dunbarton, Meyers Mills, and Leigh were small towns in Aiken and Barnwell Counties that were uprooted to make way for the Savannah River Plant to make atomic and hydrogen bombs. I used lots of references and audio clips in this episode.  Here are the clips that I used in putting together this story. Blog post - Hamburg and the Atomic Towns "I Don't Live there Anymore" - Lawrence Holofcener Dr. Walter Edgar, South Carolina from A to Z - E is for Ellenton Acts and Joint Resolutions of the General Assembly, 1880 Samuel Ritchie - That Others May Live:  The Cold War Sacrifice of Ellenton, South Carolina WJBF - Hometown History, The Forgotten Town of Ellenton Displaced - The Unexpected Fallout from the Cold War Ellenton Heritage Trail Opens for Tours Song - Jesus Hits Like an Atom Bomb Song - The Death of Ellenton

Manchester is a ghost town in Sumter County, on the east side of the Poinsett Electronic Warfare Range.  It was settled in the 1700s, but disappeared in the mid-1800s. Resources: Archeological Studies Wilmington and Manchester Railroad from Wikipedia Blog Post

  Willtown Black Mingo was on Black Mingo Creek in Williamsburg County.  The terms "Willtown" and "Black Mingo" were used interchangeably.  It was also the site of an important battle in the Revolutionary War. Resources: History of Williamsburg County Black Mingo Historical Marker  

Willtown on the Edisto River was first known as New London.  It was the second planned town in South Carolina, after Charleston.  The remaining buildings are now on the National Register of Historic Places.   Here are the resources I used in this episode... Willtown:  An Archeological and Historical Perspective Willtown Bluff Study Historical and Archeological Study Willtown Past and Present Blog Post - Paddling to Willtown on the Edisto

The ghost town of Shelton is located in northwest Fairfield County, South Carolina, along the banks of the Broad River.  The early settlement featured a ferry, but grew into a town with the coming of the railroad.  The major industries were shipping for the surrounding and the Shivar Springs Bottling Company, located just south of the town.Resources used in this episode: Blog post on RandomConnections Shelton photos from 1960s - State Newspaper interview with Tom McConnell Ron Chicone's History of Shelton Shivar cisterns on SC Picture Project National Register Listing for Shivar Shelton Cemetery McConnell Cemetery

Henry Martyn Robert - author of Robert's Rules of Order Robertville is a small farming community in South Carolina, named for a family of French Huguenots that settled in the region.  The community was the birthplace of Henry Martyn Robert, author of Robert's Rules of Order, and Alexander Robert Lawton, Confederate General and one of the founders of the American Bar Association.  Robertville Baptist Church is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Ellenberg Homesite The modern town of Ninety Six hold close connections to my family.  It's where my grandparents lived, as well as some other, more notorious relatives.  Before modern Ninety Six came the college town of Cambridge, named with aspirations of reaching the lofty status of its namesakes in Massachusetts and England. Resources for this episode: Finding Your Roots - Season 5, Episode 10 "All in the Family" Samuel Campbell Clegg From a National Park Service report - Ensign Samuel Clegg Samuel Clegg (ca. 1740-1779) was a prominent Loyalist and plantation owner in Craven County and Edgefield District, South Carolina. He was living in South Carolina by 1766 and owned land by 1768. By the late 1770s Clegg owned more than 1,400 acres in South Carolina. At the time of the American Revolution was married to Barbara Marie Flick and they had four children. Clegg served an Ensign in Colonel Boyd’s regiment and he helped to raise recruits and he participated in the battle of Kettle Creek. Clegg, who was considered by the Patriots to be a “ring leader” of the Loyalist uprising, was captured in the battle and marched as a prisoner to Ninety-Six. Clegg was tried for sedition and treason, and hanged at Ninety-Six in late April, 1779 (S.C.D.A.H. 2009; Cann 2004:4-7; Davis 1979b:172-181). Star Fort - National Park Service Cambridge Hash blog post Siloam Baptist Church Cambridge Tavern: Cambridge Hall, later Siloam Baptist Church: AI voices by ElevenLabs

Merry Christmas from Carolina Ghost Towns!The new season starts January 14, 2025, with new episodes every other Tuesday.  Be sure to tune in!

This bonus episode is a lecture I gave for the Mauldin Branch of the Greenville County Library.  The lecture was on Monday, November 11, 2024, and featured several of the towns that have appeared on previous episodes.

The community of Cashville is located in southwestern Spartanburg County.  It is home to Hurricane Tavern, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.  It's also home to Antioch Presbyterian Church.  Earlier this month Debbie Weekes invited me to join her and Len Strozier for a survey of the Antioch Cemetery using ground penetrating radar, or GPR.  Len then gave a presentation to the general public about the technology. In this episode I've included Len's entire presentation, so it's a bit longer than usual. Here are the links to information shared in this episode... Blog post Omega Mapping Systems Antioch PCA Upstate Cemetery Presentation Alliance  

Pinckneyville was a town in Union County, South Carolina.  The town was established in the 1790s as the seat of Pinckneyville District.  It was envisioned as the "Charleston of the Upstate."  When Pinckney District was divided into smaller districts, the courthouse was moved to Union.  Pinckneyville started to die out. National Register Listing Pinckney District on Carolana Wikipedia Research Pinboard AI Voices by Eleven Labs

The Cataloochee Valley is a remote area in Western North Carolina, now part of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  It was never really a town, but is included on most lists of Ghost Towns in North Carolina. Cataloochee:  Center of the World - National Park Service Video NPS Cataloochee Basin Cataloochee Reunion Serena, by Ron Rash Research Pinboard AI Voices by Eleven Labs