Old South Carolina State Road

United State] [[Image:Gotoarrow.pn]  [[United States Migration Internal|Migratio]  [[Image:Gotoarrow.pn]  [[US Migration Trails and Roads|Trails and Road]  [[Image:Gotoarrow.pn]  [[South Carolina Genealogy|South Carolin]  [[Image:Gotoarrow.pn]  [[Old_South_Carolina_State_Road|Old South Carolina State Road

The Old South Carolina State Road connected the colonial seaport of Charleston with several important internal South Carolina towns as well as the Catawba Trail and Old Cherokee Path on South Carolina's northern border near Landrum in Spartanburg Count]. Charleston was the largest European settlement in South Carolina, its capital, on the [[King's Highway|King's Highwa], and the start of several other trails. The [[Catawba Trail connected the Old South Carolina State Road to Asheville, North Carolin] and to the [[Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap from Virgini] and [[Tennessee Genealogy|Tennesse] into [[Kentucky Genealogy|Kentuck]. The [[Old Cherokee Path connected the Lower Cherokee Indian villages in South Carolin] and [[Georgi] with several Indian trails, especially the [[Great Valley Road an important migration route through [[Virginia Genealogy|Virgini] to [[Tennessee Genealogy|Tennesse]. The Old South Carolina State Road was opened to European settlers in 1747. The Old South Carolina State Road began in [[Charleston County, South Carolin] and ended near [[Spartanburg County, South Carolin]. The exact route is uncertain and may have varied over the years. The length of the road was about 180 miles (290 km).

Historical Background
From the first contact with Europeans the [[Cherokee Indians|Cherokee Indian] had settlements called the Lower Cherokee Village in the northwest part of [[South Carolina Genealogy|South Carolin and part of [[Georgia Genealogy (state)|Georgi]. The most prominent was the town of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keowee Keowe. Several important Indian trails radiated out from these villages. These trails would eventually become migration routes for European settlers. The Cherokee resisted most European settlement near their villages. The Cherokee sided with the British during the American Revolutionary War. By 1777 Patriot forces attacked and drove the Cherokee from South Carolina. Patriot veterans soon began to settle in former Cherokee areas.

[[Charleston County, South Carolina|Charlesto] was founded in 1670 by English and African immigrants from the Caribbean island of [[Barbados Genealogy|Barbado]. It became the largest city and capital of the South Carolina colony. Many trails and roads radiated out from Charleston. In 1747 the Old South Carolina State Road was opened and settlers began pouring north along it into the interior. In 1753 the British colony of South Carolina built [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Prince_George_(South_Carolina) Fort Prince Georg across the river to the east of the Cherokee town of Keowee. It is likely that a branch of the Old State Road went to Fort Prince George.

As roads developed in America settlers were attracted to nearby communities because the roads provided access to markets. They could sell their products at distant markets, and buy products made far away. If an ancestor settled near a road, you may be able to trace back to a place of origin on a connecting highway.

Route
The first European colonists settled in counties along this trail (south to north) as follows:


 * [[Charleston County, South Carolina|Charlesto] 1670 by English and African Barbadians
 * [[Dorchester County, South Carolina|Dorcheste] 1696 by New Englanders from Massachusetts
 * [[Orangeburg County, South Carolina|Orangebur] 1731 by Reformed Swiss, German Lutherans, and French Huguenots
 * [[Calhoun County, South Carolina|Calhou] 1730s by Scots-Irish (that is Ulster-Irish), Germans, and French Huguenots
 * [[Lexington County, South Carolina|Lexingto] 1730s by Germans, and French Huguenots
 * [[Newberry County, South Carolina|Newberr] 1750s by Germans, English, and Scots-Irish
 * [[Laurens County, South Carolina|Lauren] 1753 by Scots-Irish
 * [[Spartanburg County, South Carolina|Spartanbur] 1755 by Scots-Irish
 * [[Greenville County, South Carolina|Greenvill] 1777 by Scots-Irish, and Revolutionary War Veterans
 * [[Pickens County, South Carolina|Picken] 1753 by English, and Scots-Irish
 * [[Oconee County, South Carolina|Ocone] 1784 by Germans, and Revolutionary War Veterans


 * [[Polk County, North Carolin] about 1767 by Scots-Irish


 * [[Stephens County, Georgi] about 1777 by Revolutionary War Veterans

There are three possible routes the Old South Carolina State Road may have taken to exit the state. Over the years the route may have shifted:


 * from Newberry to Union to Spartanburg to Landrum in [[Spartanburg County, South Carolin] on the route that would become the old Appalachian Highwa or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_176 U.S. Route 176 to [[Polk County, North Carolina|Polk County, N].
 * from Laurens to Greenville to Travelers Rest in [[Greenville County, South Carolin] north along what became U.S. Route 25 to [[Polk County, North Carolina|Polk County, N].
 * from Greenville west to Clemson and Seneca (earlier Fort Prince Georg and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keowee_(Cherokee_town) Keowe) in [[Oconee County, South Carolin probably overlapping the [[Old Cherokee Path]] west to Toccoa, [[Georgi] (earlier Tugalo) via what became [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_123 U.S. Route 123.

Connecting trails. The Old South Carolina State Road linked to other trails at each end. Other trails also crossed it in the middle.

The migration pathways connected at the south end in Charleston included:


 * the Atlantic Ocean 1670
 * Fort Moore-Charleston Trail about 1716
 * Camden-Charleston Path 1732
 * [[King's Highwa] built 1732-1735 in SC connecting seaport towns from [[Boston, Massachusett] to [[Charleston, South Carolin] and eventually [[Savannah, Georgi]
 * Charleston-Savannah Trail late 1730s
 * Secondary Coast Road late 1730s or early 1740s
 * Old South Carolina State Road 1747
 * Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail about 1765

The migration pathways connected at the north end near [[Spartanburg County, South Carolin] included:


 * Catawba Trail a pre-historic path from the Lower Cherokee Village to [[Kentucky Genealogy|Kentuck via the Cumberland Gap
 * Old Cherokee Path a pre-historic trail from the Lower Cherokee Village to [[Washington County, Virgini on the [[Great Valley Road]] (also known as the Great Indian Warpath)
 * Old South Carolina State Road 1747

The possible fork that went to Tugalo, [[Stephens County, Georgi would have connected to the following trails in that area:


 * Savannah River
 * Coosa-Tugaloo Indian Warpath was a pre-historic path that went toward [[Birmingham, Alabam]
 * Tugaloo-Apalachee Bay Trail was a pre-historic trail headed for the Florida panhandle and probably [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Luis_de_Apalachee Mission San Luis de Apalache
 * Augusta and Cherokee Trail was a pre-historic trail from Tugalo originally to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah_Town,_South_Carolina Savannah Town, South Carolin and later [[Augusta, Georgi
 * Old South Carolina State Road 1747
 * Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path after 1765 followed the northeast side of the Savannah River down to old Fort Charlott in northwest [[McCormick County, South Carolin
 * [[Unicoi Trail|Unicoi Turnpik] opened to a few European traders 1690, but the wagon road was not opened to settlers until 1819 from near Tugalo headed northwest to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overhill_Cherokee Overhill Cherokee village and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knoxville,_Tennessee Knoxvill in [[Tennessee Genealogy|Tennesse

Between those ends the Old South Carolina State Road also crossed several other important migration routes:


 * Occaneechi Path a pre-historic trail with a junction in [[Lexington County, South Carolina|Lexington Count] connecting the Lower Cherokee Village to [[Petersburg, Virgini
 * Lower Cherokee Traders' Path a pre-historic trail with a junction in [[Spartanburg County, South Carolina|Spartanburg Count] connecting the Lower Cherokee Village to the Catawba Indians ([[Charlotte, North Carolin)
 * Fall Line Road about 1735 (overlapped the Occaneechi Path) with a junction in [[Lexington County, South Carolina|Lexington Count] connecting [[Fredericksburg, Virgini] to [[Montgomery County, Alabama Genealogy|Montgomery, Alabam]
 * Great Valley Road (south fork) 1740s (overlapped the Occaneechi Path) with a junction in [[Lexington County, South Carolina|Lexington Count] and connected [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvani] to [[Augusta, Georgi]
 * Old South Carolina State Road 1747
 * Upper Road about 1783 with a junction in [[Spartanburg County, South Carolina|Spartanburg Count] (overlapping the Lower Cherokee Traders' Path) connecting [[Fredericksburg, Virgini] to [[Macon, Georgi]

Modern parallels. The modern roads that roughly match the old Old South Carolina State Road start in Charleston, South Carolina. Take Interstate 26 west (that is north) to Goose Creek. From Goose Creek follow U.S. Route 176 northwest to Henderson, North Carolina.

Settlers and Records
The Old South Carolina State Road from Charleston to Orangeburg was part of earlier routes and already well-traveled by the time the State Road opened in 1747. Settlers who came via Charleston may have arrived by sea, or by the King's Highwa]. Some later settlers may have joined the State Road at its junction with the [[Fall Line Road|Fall Line Road near Columbia. Especially the Ulster-Irish in the old [[Ninety-Six District, South Carolina|Ninety-Six Distric] used the State Road to reach early settlements in what became [[Newberry County, South Carolina|Newberr], [[Laurens County, South Carolina|Lauren], [[Union County, South Carolina|Unio], [[Spartanburg County, South Carolina|Spartanbur], and [[Greenville County, South Carolina|Greenvill] counties east of the Cherokee Villages. Once the Cherokee left what became [[Pickens County, South Carolina|Picken] and [[Oconee County, South Carolina|Ocone] counties during the Revolutionary War, in 1777 veterans of that war began settling on Cherokee land and probably used part of the Old South Carolina State Road to help get there.

No complete list of settlers who used the Old South Carolina State Road is known to exist. Nevertheless, local and county histories along that trail may reveal pioneer settlers who arrived after 1747 and therefore who were the most likely candidates to have traveled the Old South Carolina State Road.

For partial lists of early settlers who may  have used the Old South Carolina State Road, see histories like:

in Newberry County, SC:


 * George Leland Summer, Newberry County, South Carolina: Historical and Genealogical ([Newberry, South Carolina : s.n.], 1950) [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1523452 WorldCat entr.

in Union County, SC:


 * Mannie Lee Mabry, ed., Union County Heritage (Union, South Carolina : Union County Heritage Committee, c1981) [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/10302337 WorldCat entr.

in Spartanburg County, SC:


 * J.B.O. Landrum, History of Spartanburg County: Embracing an Account of Many Important Events and Biographical Sketches of Statesmen, Divines and Other Public Men and the Names of Many Others Worthy of Record in the History of Their County, 2 vols. (1900, reprint; Bowie, Maryland: Heritage Books, c1991) [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/213779035 WorldCat entr.

in Greenville County, SC:


 * James M. Richardson, History of Greenville County, South Carolina: Narrative and Biographical (1930, reprint; Greenville, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, 1993) [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29666586 WorldCat entr.

in Oconee and Pickens counties, SC:


 * Frederick Van Clayton, Settlement of Pendleton District, 1777-1800 (Easley, S.C.: Southern Historical Press, c1988) [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/18802872 WorldCat entr. The old Pendleton District embraced the present counties of Anderson, Oconee, and Pickens. Includes plats and their owners taken from the "State Record of Plat Books."

in Polk County, North Carolina:


 * D. William Bennett, Polk County, North Carolina, History (Tyron, NC: Polk Co. Hist. Assoc., ©1983.) [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11114930 WorldCat entr.

in Stephens County, Georgia:


 * Katheryn Curtis Trogdon, History of Stephens County, Georgia (Toccoa, Ga.: Toccoa Womans Club, [c1973]). [http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/623349 WorldCat entr.