History of Edgefield County from the Earliest Settlements to 1897

While most every county has a county history which was a life-long labor of love for someone and is generally of little interest beyond inhabitants of the county, Edgefield County, SC is unique for several reasons: 1. It was the end of the Great Wagon Road which stretched from New England all the way down the east coast. 2. Edgefield District once comprised much of the upstate of South Carolina. Augusta, GA at the navigable head of the Savannah River became the major trading post for the Indians and later the corridor for shipping products to market through Savannah. 3. Edgefield has played a key part in the politics of South Carolina and indeed for the entire country. From the earliest times before the Civil War, James Henry Hammond's "Cotton is King" set the narrative for much that followed leading up to Secession. Sen. Strom Thurmond dominated the political scene for most of the 20th Century. Edgefield County boasts 8 governors and 6 senators.