As you travel away from the South Carolina coast, you immediately find yourself in one of largest cotton growing areas in the U.S. The fields are coming into bloom and the blossoms are lovely.
The little town of Salter is nearly a ghost town now but when cotton was king it was a thriving community.
The Atlantic Coast Line railroad built a depot in the 1850s and Salter became a town on the map. The depot served the town for over 100 years and on the other side of the tracks, Salters first cotton gin was built. The Salter gin is gone, closed in 1970 and torn down in 2015.
This building served as a store for over a century. Its first proprietor, James Alurid Ferrell, opened a small mercantile in his home in 1880. After building this structure on the corner of his property, he moved his business here and operated the store until his death in 1918.
The Mosely store opened in 1921 and was run by several generations of Moselys until 1990. Very faintly above the door you can still see the store name in faded letters.
The old brick school is the only other old building left in Salters. It was built in 1924 and housed three classrooms on the ground floor and a classroom and auditorium with a stage upstairs. In 1925 there were 100 students in grades 1-11 and the school owned its own school bus.
Williamsburg County's new cotton gin
That was a beautiful town full of people.. now sadly it is almost a host town.. :(
ReplyDeletelovely town with rich history
ReplyDeleteThanks for the bit of history.
ReplyDeleteWhen young my mother picked cotton and she said it was the most God-awful, back breaking job she ever had. Her Uncles owned a general store not unlike the one in your picture.
ReplyDeleteInteresting piece of Southern history.
ReplyDeletePity about the Cotton Gin being pulled down.
Cheers
Colin
PS: Tennis reigns supreme at my residence at present!!!!!
For some things time leaves them behind but does leave a great history.
ReplyDeleteMmmmm that gin would go down well with your home grown lime - which looked huge! Lots of history surrounding that town but sad it will all have disappeared before too long.
ReplyDeleteIts a joy to visit and come along on your tour. Some interesting facts but I imagine a hard life.
ReplyDeleteIts always sad to see a town die but obviously the industry has survived.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lot of interesting history, Cynthia. It's always sad though, to see former flourishing towns/communities die, but I guess it's a fact of life.
ReplyDeleteSo nice to travel with your as a guide through your country and read the histories.
ReplyDeleteCynthia, you hit my soft spot with sleepy towns and derelict buildings. I don't know why but I love them, so thanks!
ReplyDeleteWow! I liked the way you narrated its history
ReplyDeletewhat a great little piece! love the rustic buildings!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely town. Those little stores caught my attention right off as lovely places that could be fixed up into nice little homes. It's sad what we've done to our towns through moving our jobs overseas.
ReplyDeleteOh goodnipess! The photo of the RR Xing looksmlike my home town. The train came through at noon every day and when we weren't in school, we would watch from the station side of the tracks so we could see the mail being grabbed off the hook and it passed the mail pole. Sweet little school building.
ReplyDeleteCotton is such a pretty plant! The town looks like a fun place to be a few years back:)
ReplyDeletethank you for this your broadcast provided bright clear concept..
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