Darlington County Historical Commission & Museum

Butler School, located on 6th Street in Hartsville, was formerly known as the Darlington County Training School until 1939. It was renamed after Rev. Henry H. Butler, its principal from 1909-1946. Butler School was a junior high and high school when it closed in 1982. Butler High School was the second school to serve Hartsville’s African American community. 

Butler School, located on this site since 1921, was the second public school to serve Hartsville’s black community and operated for over sixty years. Known as the Darlington Co. Training School until 1939, it was renamed for Rev. Henry H. Butler, its principal 1909-1946. The first building on this site burned in 1961; extant buildings date from 1936 to the mid-1960s. Butler School was a junior high and high school when it closed in 1982.

Erected 1996 by Hartsville Centennial Commission. (Marker Number 16-35.)

Location 34° 21.539′ N, 80° 4.207′ W. This Marker is in Hartsville, South Carolina, in Darlington County. It is on Sixth Street, close to Cooley Street, on the left when traveling south.

Rosenwald Consolidated School in Society Hill was a combined elementary and high school until 1953. The school was one of almost 500 in South Carolina, partially funded by the Julius Rosenwald Foundation. Arthur A. Prince was the first principal of the school, which taught students in Grades 1-10; Grade 11 was added in 1939, and Grade 12 in 1948. The school received accreditation after World War II and became Rosenwald High School. Despite being a high school, the school continued to educate elementary students until 1954, when Rosenwald Elementary School was built. The high school closed in 1982.

(Front) The Julius Rosenwald Consolidated School, built in 1930, was a combined elementary and high school until 1953 and a high school until 1982. It brought in African-American students from three
rural schools in and near Society Hill. A brick school built at a cost of $11,150, it was one of almost 500 in S.C. funded in part by the Julius Rosenwald Foundation 1917-1932. Arthur A. Prince was its first principal.

(Reverse) The school opened with pupils in grades 1-10; grade 11 was added in 1939 and grade 12 in 1948. A frame industrial education building
was built in 1936. The school, accredited after World War II, became Rosenwald High School, though it
continued to include elementary pupils until 1954, when a new Rosenwald Elementary School was
built in Society Hill. The high school closed in 1982. Sponsored by the Rosenwald School Reunion, 2014.

Erected by Rosenwald School Reunion, 2014. (Marker Number 16-73.)

Location 34.477455, -79.85912

This Marker is at 412 Rosenwald Street, Society Hill, South Carolina

Edmund H. Deas House, located at 229 Avenue E in Darlington, was named after Edmund H. Deas. Deas moved to Darlington in 1870. Known as the “Duke of Darlington,” Deas was a very active Republican who served as the county chair of the South Carolina Republican Party in 1884 and 1888. He was delegated to the Republican National Conventions in 1888, 1896, 1900, and 1908. He lived in the home until his death in 1915. The West Broad Street Historic District is a collection of houses along West Broad Street in Darlington built between 1890 and 1928. 

After moving to Darlington County in the 1870s, Edmund H. Deas served as county chairman of the Republican Party for a number of years and was a delegate to four national conventions. A black candidate for Congress in 1884 and 1890, Deas was Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue in S. C., 1889-94 and 1897-1901. This house was his residence at his death in 1915.
 
Erected 1977 by Darlington County Bicentennial Committee for Ethnic Participation. (Marker Number 16-18.)
 
Location. 34° 17.727′ N, 79° 51.751′ W. This Historical Marker is in Darlington, South Carolina, in Darlington County. It is on E Avenue, on the left when traveling east. Between 1st and 2nd Streets. 

Darlington Memorial Cemetery, located on Avenue D and Friendship Street in Darlington, was the first cemetery created for African Americans in the community. The cemetery began in 1890 as a five-acre cemetery established by Macedonia Baptist Church and African American citizens of Darlington. In 1946, Bethel A.M.E Church and St. James Methodist Church established cemeteries across from Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery. The three cemeteries are collectively known as the Darlington Memorial Cemetery. The cemetery includes graves dating back to the late 19th century and includes graves of many prominent and well known African American residents of the town. Notable citizens such as Rev. Isaac P. Brockenton, D.D. (1828-1908), minister and public servant; James Lawrence Cain (1871-1944), principal of Mayo Grade School and Mayo High School; Edmund H. Deas (1855- 1915), a prominent politician; Lawrence Reese (1864-1915), a merchant and self-taught designer and master craftsman; and Dr. Mabel K. Howard (1876-1963), an educator. 

Side A
This cemetery, established in 1890, was originally a five-acre tract when it was laid out as the cemetery for the nearby Macedonia Baptist Church. The first African American cemetery in Darlington, it includes about 1,900 graves dating from the late 19th century to the present. In 1946 Bethel A.M.E. Church and St. James Methodist Church, both nearby, established their own cemeteries here as well.

Side B
Among the prominent persons buried here are Rev. Isaac Brockenton (1829-1908), the founding pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church; Edmund H. Deas (1855-1915), prominent Darlington County politician; and Lawrence Reese (1864-1915), a self-taught designer and master craftsman who designed and built several houses on West Broad Street. This cemetery was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

Erected 2006 by the Darlington Memorial Cemetery Association. (Marker Number 16-54.)

Location. 34° 18.084′ N, 79° 51.38′ W. This Historical Marker is in Darlington, South Carolina, in Darlington County. It is on Friendship St., close to Ave. D, on the right when traveling east. 

John Wesley Methodist Church, located at 304 E. Main Street in Lamar, was founded in 1865. Known as Lamar Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, this was the first African American church in Lamar. Organized by Rev. John Boston, a former slave and its first minister, the church held its first service in a brush arbor. In 1866, a frame sanctuary was built; however, in 1906, it burned down and was replaced with the present structure, a Gothic Revival building. 

This church, founded about 1865, is the first African-American church in Lamar and was long known as Lamar Colored Methodist Episcopal Church. It was organized by Rev. John Boston, a former slave who was its first minister, serving here 1865-67. Boston, who also represented Darlington Co. in the S.C. House 1868-70 and 1872-74, is buried in the church cemetery. The old Boston Township was named for him.

The church held its first services in a brush arbor, but completed a frame sanctuary here about 1866. That church burned in 1906 and was replaced later that year by the present frame sanctuary, a Gothic Revival building. In 1916 trustees donated a half-acre for the Lamar Colored School, later Spaulding High School. Electricity replaced gas lights in 1935 and the exterior was covered in brick veneer in the 1950s.

Erected 2011 by South Carolina State Historic Preservation Office, sponsored by the Darlington County Historical Commission. (Marker Number 16-66.)

Location. 34° 9.822′ N, 80° 3.647′ W.

This Historical Marker is in Lamar, South Carolina, in Darlington County. It is at the intersection of East Main Street and Pearl Street, on the right when traveling south on East Main Street. 

Round O Baptist Church, located in Darlington, was founded in 1883 by a group of individuals who withdrew from Flat Creek Baptist Church. The land for the original church was donated by Major Jonathan Lucas. The current sanctuary was built in 1999. It is believed that Round O got its name from a meteor or a falling star that fell on the cleared land and burned a big round hole in the ground. 

(Front) In c.1883, freed African Americans and their descendants living on Round O Plantation withdrew
from nearby Flat Creek Baptist Church and formed Round O Baptist Church. They built their first church here in 1895, when Rev. Isaiah Walter Williams
(c.1873-1932) was pastor. Major James Jonathan Lucas, the owner of Round O Plantation, provided the land for the church. (Reverse) Soon after moving
to this site, Round O Baptist Church organized a public school for Black children, which later moved across the road. The first church burned in 1903 and was replaced with a white, wooden structure with a central tower. That second church was removed in c.1967 to construct the building on the south side of the site. The current church was built adjacent in 1999.

Erected by Round O Missionary Baptist Church and WeGOJA Foundation, 2021. (Marker Number 16-83)

Location. 34°22’56.4″N 79°50’14.8″W.

This Historical Marker is in Darlington, South Carolina, in Darlington County. It is located at 1900 Society Hill Road, on the right side of the Church. 

Much of the land in this vicinity was once part of Thomas Smith’s Round O Plantation. The name derives from a large Carolina Bay in the area known
as The Round Owe. Round O was birthplace of former S.C. Representative (Dist. 73) and Senator
(Dist. 19) Kay Patterson, who was among the first African Americans elected to the S.C. legislature since 1902 when he won election in 1974.

Erected by South Carolina African American Heritage Foundation, 2016. (Marker Number 16-73.)

Location. 34°22’53.1″N 79°50’14.6″W.

This Historical Marker is in Darlington, South Carolina, in Darlington County. It is located at 1900 Society Hill Road, on the left side of the Church. 

Macedonia Baptist Church, located at 400 South Main Street in Darlington, is a house of worship started in the home of Laura Brown. Originally constructed on the N.E. corner of South Main and Hampton Streets, the land was purchased between 1866-1874. Macedonia Baptist Church was organized on Feb. 11, 1866, when a group of African American members withdrew from the Darlington Baptist Church. The present location was acquired in 1922. 

Side A
Tradition says first meetings of this Baptist Church were held in the home of Laura Brown. A house of worship was constructed on the N.E. corner of present S. Main and Hampton streets on land purchased during 1866-1874. The present site was acquired in 1922 and the building occupied Feb. 3, 1935.

Side B
This Baptist Church was constituted when a group of black members led by Rev. Isaac Brockenton withdrew from the Darlington Baptist Church on Feb. 11, 1866. Brockenton became the first pastor and served until his death in 1908. The first trustees were Evans Bell, Peter Dargan, Lazarus Ervin, Antrum McIver, Samuel McIver, Samuel Orr, and Samuel Parnell.

Erected 1977 by Darlington County Bicentennial Commission for Ethnic Participation. (Marker Number 16-15.)

Location. 34° 17.872′ N, 79° 52.048′ W.

Marker is in Darlington, South Carolina, Darlington County. It is at the intersection of U.S. 52 and Lee Street.

Mt. Zion Baptist Church, located at 3208 N. Governor Williams Highway, was founded in 1869 by 36 members of nearby Black Creek Baptist Church who were dismissed to form their own congregation. Its first minister was Rev. William Hart, who served until his death in 1872. Rev. William Hart was succeeded by his son, Rev. Alfred Hart, who served from 1872-1879. The church held its first services in a brush arbor, which its trustees bought from James C. McCallman in 1872. Mt. Zion built its permanent structure in 1890. After years of growth, a second-frame church was constructed in 1908. The present brick structure was dedicated in 1979.

Side A

This church, founded in 1869, was organized by 36 black members of nearby Black Creek Baptist Church, who received letters of dismissal to form their own congregation. Rev. William Hart, its first minister, served until his death in 1872. He was succeeded by his son, Rev. Alfred Hart, who served here 1872 – 79, after representing Darlington County in the S.C. House 1870 – 72.

Side B

The church held its first services in a brush arbor on this site, which its trustees bought from James C. McCallman in 1872. After worshiping under a frame shelter for several years, Mt. Zion built its first permanent sanctuary, a frame building in 1890. The congregation grew enough to build build a second frame church in 1908. The present brick sanctuary was dedicated in 1979.

Erected 2011 by The Darlington County Historical Commission. (Marker Number 16 ~ 64.)

Location. 34° 23.786′ N, 79° 54.096′  

This Historical Marker is near Dovesville, South Carolina, in Darlington County. It is on North Governor Williams Highway (U.S. 401), on the right when traveling south. 

New Hopewell Baptist Church, located at 3500 New Hopewell Rd near Hartsville, began after the Civil War. It was founded in 1869 by 20 African American members of Antioch Baptist Church who received letters of dismissal from their congregation to form their own church. The church held its first service in a brush arbor. In 1871, Lottie Cosom donated an acre of land, which expanded into four acres for the church and cemetery. In 1886, New Hopewell built its first permanent church. 

Side A

This church was formally organized soon after the Civil War. It was founded by 20 black members of Antioch Baptist Church, who received letters of dismissal to form their own congregation in 1869. Slaves and free blacks had belonged to Antioch Baptist Church since its organization in 1830.

Side B

This church held its first services in a brush arbor. In 1871 Mrs. Lottie Cosom donated an acre on this site, later expanded to four acres for the church and cemetery. New Hopewell built its first permanent church here in 1886, renovated in 1887 and 1917-18. The present sanctuary was built in 1962.

Erected 2013 by The Darlington County Historical Commission. (Marker Number 16-71)

Location N 34° 26.877 W 079° 56.958  

This Historical Marker is near Society Hill, South Carolina, in Darlington County. It is at 3500 New Hopewell Road, Darlington, SC 29532. 

St. James United Methodist Church was originally named Pearl Street Methodist Episcopal Church. The first trustees were Henry Brown, Abner Black, Wesley Dargan, Zeddidiah Dargan, January Felder, Randolph Hart, and Rev. B. Frank Whittemore. Tradition says federal occupation troops supplied the church bell, which they had taken from nearby St. John’s Academy.

Side A
This United Methodist Church was originally named Pearl Street Methodist Episcopal Church. The first trustees were Henry Brown, Abner Black, Wesley Dargan, Zeddidiah Dargan, January Felder, Randolph Hart and Rev. B. Frank Whittemore. Tradition says Federal occupation troops supplied the church bell, which they had taken from nearby St. John’s Academy.

Side B
In 1866, this United Methodist Church was founded by freedmen with aid from the Methodist Episcopal Church Missionary Society. The first minister was Rev. Liverus Ackerman, and the first building, also used as a school for freedmen, was completed by April 1866. The second house of worship dates from about 1883; the present building was completed in 1960.

Erected 1976 by The Congregation. (Marker Number 16-16)

Location. 34° 18.059′ N, 79° 52.484′ W. Marker is in Darlington, South Carolina , in Darlington County. It is at 312 Pearl Street.

South Carolina Western Railway Station

National Register Listing

Street Address:

129 Russell St., Darlington, SC (Darlington County)

Alternate Name:

Seaboard Air Line Railroad Station

NRHP Nomination

Record Number:

S10817716024

Description and Narrative:

(Seaboard Air Line Railroad Station) The South Carolina Western Railway Station is significant for its association with several railway companies that played major roles in Darlington’s economy in the first half of the twentieth century. The station was completed in 1911. Rectangular in plan, the brick building has projecting rectangular bays at the center of its north and south sides. The hipped roof features a bell-cast profile, red clay tile, and wide bracketed eaves. On the north and south slopes of the roof are intersecting gables, each containing a Palladian window and wood shingle siding. Piercing the roof at the ridgeline are two brick interior chimneys, which are paneled. Windows are double-hung, one-over-one, with sandstone sills and lintels. Doors of the asymmetrical north and south elevations are paneled and have operable transoms. The South Carolina Western Railway was chartered in Darlington on August 26, 1910. The rail line from McBee to Darlington was open to service on May 15, 1911, and the passenger station was completed shortly thereafter. Lawrence Reese, a black master carpenter who had constructed many houses in Darlington, built the station. Listed in the National Register February 10, 1988.

Period of Significance: 1911

Level of Significance: Local

Area of Significance: Architecture; Transportation

National Register Determination: listed

Date of Certification: February 10, 1988

The City of Hartsville, with the assistance of the ODDC SCGS, has begun a project to restore and preserve the historic Marion Avenue Cemetery located within the Hartsville city limits. The cemetery (established as a private entity) dates from 1904 and was a primary burial site for African – Americans for the first half of the 20th century. Numerous prominent Hartsville citizens and veterans were buried here prior to the establishment of Greenlawn Cemetery by the City of Hartsville. In recent years, with the original trustees deceased, the cemetery gradually fell into disuse and neglect. Vegetation overran the area and many local residents were unaware that the cemetery even existed.

For several years Councilwoman Adlena Graham led the efforts to preserve this historic cemetery. In 2015 the City asked the Chicora Foundation to undertake a study of the cemetery and make recommendations for its restoration and preservation. Using the resulting Chicora study as guidance, Hartsville City Council established a committee to increase local awareness, document burials, and to raise funding for the restoration and preservation of the cemetery.

Click here to view more information provided by the City of Hartsville and its efforts to restore this historic site.

The cemetery was founded by two mutual aid associations representing Hartsville’s African American Community. The first acre was acquired in 1904 by the Hartsville Colored Cem. Association. A second acre was acquired In 1931 by the Mutual Cem. Association. The burials chronicle former slaves and local residents, including professionals and veterans who served from the Spanish-American War to the Vietnam War.

Erected 2017 by The City of Hartsville. (Marker Number 16-78)

Location. 34°21’51.9″N 80°04’45.9″W 

This Historical Marker is in Hartsville, South Carolina, in Darlington County. It is located at the end of Marion Avenue.

Side A

Hough’s Hotel, a two-story, 16-room hotel for African Americans, opened at this site in Established at a time when Black lodgers often struggled to find safe and convenient accommodations, the hotel was a valuable resource for travelers passing through Hartsville,
many along U.S. Highway 15. It was opened and originally operated by Frank Hough (1888-1954), a former farm laborer who grew up west of Hartsville in a rural section of neighboring Lee County.

Side B

In addition to lodging, Hough’s Hotel also included a grocery store and restaurant patronized by guests and local residents alike. Upon Frank
Hough’s death, his wife Tera, son Theodore (Doc), and immediate family members ran the hotel. A well-known local institution, Hough’s Hotel stayed
in business several decades before closing c.1989. The hotel building, which featured white siding and
striped awnings, remains but has been significantly altered.

Erected 2020 by Hough Descendants and WeGOJA Foundation. (Marker Number 16-84.)

Location. 34°21’59.3″N 80°04’33.0″W  

This Historical Marker is situated in the City of Hartsville, South Carolina, in Darlington County at 315 Jasper Avenue.

Hartsville Graded School
The first public school for the black children of Hartsville and vicinity operated on this site from about 1900 to 1921. It was renamed Darlington County Training School in 1918. A new school was built on 6th St. south of this site in 1921. Rev. Henry H. Butler (1887 ~ 1948) was principal at both sites for a combined 37 years. The 1921 school was renamed Butler School in Butler’s honor in 1939.

Mt. Pisgah Nursery School
Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church grew out of a Sunday school started on this site by Rev. T.J. James in 1922. The church was organized that same year, and a new church building was erected nearby in 1926. Rev. James also founded Mt. Pisgah Nursery School, which operated in the old graded school here for many years. Rev. James’s family later donated this property to the city for Pride Park, established in 1986.

Erected 2012 by The South Carolina African American Heritage Commission. (Marker Number 16-70)

Location.34° 21.986′ N, 80° 4.336′ W  

This Historical Marker is in Hartsville, South Carolina, in Darlington County. It is on S. 6th Street near Marion Avenue, on the right when traveling south.

Side A

This African-American church was founded in 1877, with Rev. Daniel Jesse as its first pastor. It held its first services in a brush arbor, and acquired a site about 2 mi. SE on Flat Creek Rd. in 1881, building a frame sanctuary there. The church, known through the
years as Simmons´ Flat, Summer´s House, the Grove, and Marggie
Branch, was renamed Flat Creek Baptist Church by 1927.

Side B

In 1913 Rev. Henry Hannibal Butler (1887-1948), newly ordained, came to Flat Creek Baptist Church as his first pastorate. Butler, principal of Darlington Co. Training School / Butler School in Hartsville (renamed for him in 1939), was later president of the S.C.
State Baptist Convention and president of Morris College. The
congregation moved here and built the present brick church in 2000.

Erected in 2011 by the Congregation. (Marker Number 16-68.)

Location. N 34° 21′ 41.68″ W 79° 50′ 32.37″

Marker is in Darlington, South Carolina, Darlington County. It is at 1369 Society Hill Road.

Side A

This church, organized soon after the Civil War, is one of the oldest African-American churches in Darlington County. It held its first services a few miles E under a brush arbor on Snake Branch, a creek near E. Carolina Ave. The first permanent church, a log building, was built there. Trustees acquired this site in 1898, built the present church in 1907, and chartered the congregation in 1908.

Side B

This church, built in 1907 as a frame building, was described as “a splendid achievement” when it was covered in brick veneer and rededicated in 1939. It had a congregation of more than 350 during the Depression. Rev. Henry H. Butler (1887-1948), pastor from 1932 until his death, was also for many years the principal of the Darlington Co. Training School/Butler School and later president of Morris College.

Erected 2014 by Darlington County Historical Commission. (Marker Number 16-74.)

Location 34° 22.257′ N, 80° 4.451′ W

This Historical Marker is in Hartsville, South Carolina, in Darlington County. It is on South 6th Street south of West Lauren Street, on the left when traveling south.

Mt. Rona was founded c.1903, when the first trustees
purchased this site. Early members included the
Bacote, Leek, Martin, Brock, Mills, and Moses families. Among the earliest church institutions were the
Deacons Board, Senior Choir, and Missionary Society. In 2007, a new sanctuary was built next to the original
chapel.

Erected 2019 by the Congregation. (Marker Number 16-81)

Location 34°27’16.0″N 79°50’17.3″W

This Historical Marker is in Society Hill, South Carolina, in Darlington County. It is at 245 Lumber Road, in front of the church.

(Side A)

Primus Park was formally dedicated in
1962 as a multi-purpose athletic field for African Americans. Efforts to construct the park were led by its namesake, Rev. William D. Primus (1888-1965). It was built primarily to serve nearby Butler High School, where Primus had been a teacher
and baseball coach. The Butler Booster Club later raised more than $10,000 to add facilities to the field.

(Side B)

Primus Park was an important site of
public recreation for Hartsville’s Black community. In addition to serving as home field for the Butler Tigers, it also hosted the Coastal Athletic League’s
Hartsville Blues baseball team and the Hartsville Steelers football team. The park continued to be used after Butler closed in 1982. It was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

Sponsored by Primus Descendants and WeGOJA Foundation, 2020

This Historical Marker is located in Hartsville, South Carolina, on the
East side of Blanding Road.
250 ft. N of Primus Park Road, Hartsville