Early History of Lancaster, South Carolina.

The Scots-Irish began settling in this area in 1760’s. After living in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Ireland for a generation, they sought out a better life in the New World. Their parents previously left Scotland after being recruited by the English king to “civilize” the land of Catholics. Soon after they found themselves being mistreated by the Crown. This was the region of the famous House of Lancaster which had opposed the House of York in the struggles of 1455-85, known as the War of the Roses in England. The House of Lancaster chose the red rose as their emblem while their neighbor, York County, boasts the white rose. Their children crossed the Atlantic and settled in what are now Lancaster and Chester counties, Pennsylvania for a time. Unhappy with Pennsylvania, these hardy, quick-tempered, fiercely loyal settlers journeyed South to find a place where their religious sensibilities would not be compromised. They journeyed along the Great Wagon Road, which began in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and wound its way through the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, the Piedmont of North and South Carolina, and into Georgia. One of our most famous Scots-Irish residents, Andrew Jackson of LancasterSC probably explored and hunted in the wilderness that would become Van Wyck.

The Catawba Indians claimed all the present Lancaster County when the first pioneers came in the early 1750s and settled between Rum Creek and Twelve Mile Creek. Waxhaw Creek within this area had taken its name from the Waxhaw Indian tribe. The majority of the new settlers were Scots-Irish from Pennsylvania; others from North Carolina and Virginia joined them. A second settlement was made in the lower part of the present Lancaster County on Hanging Rock Creek. The first grant was made there in 1752, and included the huge overhanging mass of rock from which the creek takes its name. About the time this section was opened up, others came in and settled along Lynches Creek, Little Lynches creek, Flat Creek, Beaver Creek, and lower Camp Creek. In coming to the Lancaster area, the first settlers had to follow old Indian paths, which became traveled so frequently, they were coming to be known as roads.

The Rocky River Road is an old route that originated as an Indian path. Along there in the American Revolutionary War, Colonel Abraham Buford fled from Tarleton and was overtaken a few miles south of the N.C. state line. Today, the Rocky River Road is part of South Carolina Highway 522, the latter following the old thoroughfare very closely.

Our Sims' family came from Culpeper Va, and settled on Beaver Creek in Lancaster, South Carolina near Hanging Rock. This was the far Southwest region of Lancaster county bordering Fairfield, and Chester counties. Hence our Sims' family lived in all three counties.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancaster_County,_South_Carolina

Additional History of Lancaster, South Carolina.

The Lancaster area was, in its day, literally a Garden of Eden for the Native Americans, including the Cherokee, Catawba and the Waxhaw tribes. The arrival of Scotch-Irish settlers, mostly from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, ushered in an era of drastic change. The newcomers named the area for their homelands in England, the region of the famous House of Lancaster that opposed the House of York in the legendary War of the Roses. Today, the citizens of the City of Lancaster proudly claim the red rose, the traditional coat of arms of the House of Lancaster, as their emblem.

In 1759, the Waxhaw Presbyterian Church was established as a center of faith and society. It’s pastor, the Reverend William Richardson organized the Waxhaw Academy were many South Carolina notables were educated. The short list includes: Andrew Jackson, Lancaster native and the seventh president of the United States; Stephen D. Miller, the state’s twenty-fifth governor; and William R. Davie, ambassador to France and founder of the University of North Carolina.

The independent spirit of Lancaster’s Scotch-Irish settlers drew unwelcome attention from the British during the Revolutionary War, and several skirmishes were waged in the immediate area in 1780, including Buford’s Massacre and Hanging Rock.

The Town of Lancaster was founded in 1802 and by 1825, its jail and courthouse were erected. Both were designed by Robert Mills, the renown American architect who studied under Thomas Jefferson and later designed the Washington Monument. During the Civil War, troops under General William Tecumseh Sherman occupied the town on their way to Virginia after the Southern campaign in 1865. Although the Union soldiers burned a number of structures, they were impressed with the town’s hospitality and spared many of the original homes in and around Lancaster, allowing it to maintain much of its original charm.

In the period of recovery following the war, Col. Leroy Springs founded Springs Cotton Mill in 1895, an industrial enterprise that grew to become the -largest textile plant in the world.” Global in scope, Springs Industries shaped the fortunes of Lancaster and its citizens for more than 100 years. The -Springs Block” along Main Street is evidence of Springs’ tremendous influence.

Today, Lancaster’s mills are silent, yet the town retains its character and vitality. Close to the Charlotte, NC, metropolitan area, this quiet, quaint -garden spot of the world” is attracting new visitors, businesses and residents with its allure. Some things never change. Welcome to Lancaster, the Red Rose City

source: http://www.lancaster.sc

WHAT IS THE "WAXHAWS"?

The Waxhaws settlement dates back to May 1751 when six or seven families, all Scots-Irish Presbyterians, arrived to clear the rich land between two creeks they named Waxhaw and Cane whose headwaters rise in present Union County, North Carolina and flow westward through Lancaster County, South Carolina into the Catawba river. The area, often referred to as the "Garden of the Waxhaws", had previously been occupied by the Waxhaw tribe which had fallen apart from the forces of smallpox and war. The newcomers of the 1750s mostly came from the western areas of Virginia and Pennsylvania.

By 1755 the newcomers had built a meeting house, still in existence and known today as the Old Waxhaw Presbyterian Church. It was the first church in the Upcountry of South Carolina.

In 1867 Daniel Stinson was quoted in the Southern Presbyterian describing the "Scotch Irish" first settlers in this fashion: "Many were in possession of considerable wealth. Many were aged, with children grown up. Their families were often intermarried. The Whites, Fosters, Simpsons, were so connected. There were several families of the name of Dunlap. There were the names of McClanahan, Crocket, Barnett, Miller, Stephenson, the McKees, McIlhennys, Thompsons, Sims, Ramsays and Lattas."

For nearly a century the Waxhaws settlement produced wealth and outstanding state and national leaders but by the 1830s cotton planting had worn out the soil that made them wealthy. Most of the early families abandoned their Garden for more productive soil to the west but while it lasted the history of the Waxhaws settlement is a fascinating story that we are pleased to share.

By Historian Louise Pettus