Camden-Charleston Path



The Camden-Charleston Path connected the South Carolina pioneer towns of Camden and Charleston. Charleston was the largest European settlement, the capital, on the King's Highway, and the start of several other trails. Camden was at a crossroad on the southwest portion of the Occaneechi Path. The southwest part of the Fall Line Road overlapped the Occaneechi Path from Camden to Augusta, Georgia. Part of the south fork of the Great Valley Road also overlapped the Occaneechi Path from Salisbury, North Carolina to Augusta, Georgia. The Camden-Charleston Path was opened to European settlers about 1732. It began in Charleston County, South Carolina and ended in Kershaw County, South Carolina. The length of the path was about 150 miles (240 km).

Historical Background
Camden was settled in 1732 by a few English colonists from Charleston. It was the first inland town in South Carolina. It was built on the "fall line" of the Wateree River. The Camden-Charleston Path probably followed older Indian trails. A number of Quakers were the next to settle along the river.

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 path (north to south) as follows:


 * Kershaw 1732 by English from Charleston
 * Sumter 1740s by English, and French Huguenots
 * Calhoun 1730s by Scots-Irish, Germans, and French Huguenots
 * Orangeburg 1730s by Reformed Swiss, German Lutherans, and French Huguenots
 * Dorchester 1696 by New Englanders from Massachusetts
 * Charleston 1670 by English and African Barbadians

Connecting trails. The Camden-Charleston Path links to other trails at each end. The migration pathways connecting in Charleston include:


 * the Atlantic Ocean 1670
 * Fort Moore-Charleston Trail about 1716
 * Camden-Charleston Path 1732
 * King's Highway built 1732-1735 in SC
 * 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 routes connecting in Camden include:


 * Occaneechi Path pre-historic
 * Camden-Charleston Path 1732
 * Fall Line Road about 1735
 * Great Valley Road (south fork) 1740s

Modern parallels. The modern roads that roughly match the old Camden-Charleston Path start in Charleston. Follow I-26 north to the Orangeburg. Take State 601 north to Camden.

Settlers and Records
Most of the early colonists along the path and in Camden were Englishmen from Charleston. Later settlers included Quakers, and eventually immigrants from the Ulster part of Ireland.

No complete list of settlers who used the Camden-Charleston Path is known to exist. However, local and county histories along the road may reveal first pioneer settlers who were candidates to have travelled the Camden-Charleston Path from the Charleston area. Later pioneers also may have used other connecting trails such as the Occaneechi Path, King's Highway, Fall Line Road, and Great Valley Road.

For partial lists of early settlers who probably used the Camden-Charleston Path, see:

in Kershaw County:


 * "Early Settlement of the Area Now Kershaw County" in Kershaw County Historical Society Blog at http://kchistory.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html (accessed 22 March 2011).

in Sumter County:


 * Anne King Gregorie, History of Sumter County, South Carolina (Sumter, S.C.: Library Board of Sumter County, 1954) WorldCat entry.
 * Cassie Nicholes, Historical Sketches of Sumter County (Sumter, S.C.: Sumter County Historical Commission, 1981) WorldCat entry.

in Calhoun County:



in Orangeburg County:


 * "The First Families of Orangeburgh District, South Carolina" in Orangeburgh German-Swiss Genealogy Society at http://www.ogsgs.org/ffam/ff-intro.htm (accessed 23 March 2011).

in Dorchester County: