Blackville Area Historical Society
PO Box 277, Blackville, SC 29817
 

A Brief History....to read the full history CLICK HERE.

Blackville was in the part of South Carolina called the "Back Country."  Due to a plentiful supply of water for drinking and transportation, settlers came to the area prior to the Revolutionary War.  The battle of Slaughter Field was fought north of Blackville near the Mennonite church.

When the railroad was built between Charleston and Hamburg, John Black chose this area as an overnight stop for the train.  Several hotels sprang up, as did a bustling railroad town.  Blackville was established in 1833 and chartered in 1837.

Blackville became a marketing and transportation center and thrived until the Civil War.  By February of 1865, sixty thousand Union troops had passed through the town.  General Sherman met with his generals here, burned much of the town, looted, demolished the railroad, and continued on his march.

After the Civil War most of the former slaves remained in the area and began a system of farming known as "sharecropping."  The agricultural industry continued to thrive and Blackville was at one time called the "cucumber capital of the world."

Blackville survived General Sherman as well as burnings in 1887 and 1888.  Homes and buildings from that era still stand.