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\V1TH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO
AIKEN AND VICINITY,
AS A DESIRABLE LOCATION FOR ACTUAL SETTLERS.
" Tlxc varieties of climate, soil and capacities of different countries induces
nations as well as individuals to select those pursuits for which they have some
natural or acquired advantage, and by this division of labor the aggregate
production is largely increased.
John Stuart Mills.
J^ussell's ^merican Steam Printing J^ou.se, \
28, :tO, ANn 32 Centre Stheet.
1867,
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WITH SrECIAL REFERENCE TO
AIKEN AND VICINITY,
AS A DESIRABLE LOCATIOX FOR ACTUAL SETTLERS.
^-1
JR.ussell's American Steam Printing J^ouse,
28, 30, AND 32 CEmiBK Street.
1867,
Ad-S
AIKEN AND ITS YICINITY
IN'
SOUTH CAROLINA..
The great variety of climate and soils embraced within the
area of the United States has frequently been the theme for the
panegyrists of our country. Each section and each State has
some special aptitudes for particular employments : some special
advantages over others, which render it peculiarly adapted for
certain productions or appropriate pursuits. In general terms,
much has been said and written of the immense undeveloped
resources of the South ; still the ideas of the citizens of other
sections are quite frequently vague and undefined, or ridiculous
and absurd. Erroneous ideas prevail as to the actual condition
of the physical characteristics of the country, as well as of the
moral and intellectual characteristics of the people. Statements
the most opposite and contradictory, by newspaper correspond-
ents, bureau officials, or transient visitors; some representing
everything as '■^ couleur de rose,^^ whilst others can hardly find
language to express their hatred and dislike of their recent foes.
In a country as vast, extensive and populous as the Southern
States, there must necessarily be great diversity in regard to the
characteristics of both the people and the country, and what may
be true of one section may be inapplicable to another.
Believing that reliable information respecting a district in
South Carolina, which offers peculiar attractions to Northern
men who desire, now that slavery is abolished, to locate in the
" Sunny South," as well as to the thousands of consumptive
invalids who are annually forced to migrate, will prove interest-
ing, we propose to give, in the following pages, some account of
Aiken and its vicinity, and the data upon which to found a
rational opinion of its advantages.
/ Th^ reputation of Aiken as a resort for invalids affected with
pulmonary diseases has extended even beyond the limits of the
United States ; but there are few who are aware of the resources
4 AIKEN AND ITS VICINITY.
or the advantages offered by this vicinity to those seeking per-
manent homes.
In order to have a proper understanding of the opportunities
afforded to enterprising and energetic men, by the results of the
war, some of the customs and habits of the residents should be
borne in mind. The disparity between different classes was
more marked and well defined in the Southern States than in
the Northern. The sons of the wealthier classes were taught
that it was derogatory to enter pursuits requiring manual labor ;
consequently, those having an opportunity of acquiring an edu-
cation were ambitious of being planters (in contradistinction' to
farmers), physicians, lawyers, merchants, school teachers, &c. ;
thus there is a superabundance of the non-productive classes and
a corresponding want of educated farmers, mechanics, artizans, &c.
The employment of slaves in other than agricultural pursuits,
or as domestic servants, having been very generally discounte-
nanced, dependence was had for all manufactured goods — even
the most bulky and difficult of transportation, on importations ;
consequently, but few mechanics were to be found. If a watch
needed a crystal, or a knife a rivet, or even a tin pan needed
mending, it had to be sent to the cities, often more than one
hundred miles distant.
Another exemplification is to be found by entering any well-
stocked Southern country store, where may be found bacon and
lard from the West ; butter, cheese and hay from New York ;
onions, beets, and potatoes from Pennsylvania and New Jersey ;
cotton goods, shoes, tin- ware, wooden- ware and notions from
New England, In short, ten thousand articles which might
as well, or better, be made on the spot, and for no other
reason than the neglect of applying the proper skill, energy and
capital to their production ; for, as to the manufactured articles,
the raw materials of many of them are at hand, and are shipped
North to be manufactured and tlien returned ; and as to the
animal and vegetable products, the soil and climate is better
adapted to their production than the colder climate of the North.
Durino: the war the want of skilled mechanics was felt and
acknowledged to be seriously detrimental to our cause, cut off
as we were by the blockade from our former sources of supply.
Now, there is a disposition to encourage and support indus-
UNIFORM AND PLEASANT TEMPEIUTURE.
trious aud competent citizens, and it will take many bands and
many years to replace the thousands of articles destroyed by the
soldiers or worn out during the great struggle.
The climate of South Carolina corresponds with that of the
South of France, Italy, Middle Asia and China, which are con-
sidered as among the most favored parts of the globe, being a
medium between the tropical and cold temperate latitudes ; and
the position, exposure and descriptions of soil in this vicinity
correspond almost exactly with the places, where, according to
French authors, the finest vineyards are situated.
Ilere it is a rare occurrence to see ice a quarter of an inch
thick, the thermometer not falling as low as 30 degrees Fahren-
heit more than eight or ten days in the year ; and delicate plants
like the fig, the pomegranate, the azalias and the jasmine flourish
in the open air, aud in summer the thermometer as seldom rises
as high as 95 degrees during the day, and at night it is requisite
to have a blanket convenient for use. Vegetation generally lies
dormant about eight or nine weeks. Early fruits, such as
peaches, plums, apples, &c., blossoming about the middle of
Februar\% and the first frosts about the latter part of November.*
In colonial times, when there were but few slaves, South
Carolina was a flirming state. In 1747, its exports were rice,
corn, barley, oranges, peas, potatoes, onions, live stock, butter,
bacon, beef, pork, pitch, tar, turpentine, rosin, masts, booms,
oars, indigo, potash, skins, tallow, lard, silk, wax, leather, pot-
* TABLE PREPARED FOB THE AIKEN VINE GHOWIXG ASSOCIATION, SHOWING THE QUANXITY OF BAIN,
NUIIIIER OF RAINY DATS, AND MEAN TEJIPERATURE, DURING THE FRUIT GROWING SEASON.
185S.
1859.
1860.
1861.
1862.
1863.
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6 AIKEN AND ITS VICINITY.
ash, sassafras, cooper's ware, soap, candles, bricks, and only
seven bales of cotton.
Gradually tbe production of cotton, rice, and naval stores
absorbed tbe attention of the people to such an extent that these
articles were almost the only exports. The abolition of slavery,
with the consequent breaking up of the plantation system,
necessitates a return to the opposite plan ; and as a competent
mechanic can command higher wages than an apprentice, so can
the Northern man, whose wits have been sharpened by active
competition with the various labor-saving contrivances of the
North, have a decided advantage over the Southerner who has
only employed a system which is now extinct.
As illustrative of our argument, we would call attention to
the immense quantities of butter and cheese which are annually
received from the North. At the South, not one farmer in a
thousand ever thinks of building a house to shelter his cattle,
nor makes provision for feeding them regularl}'', during the
winter. They are expected to subsist themselves on the indige-
nous grasses and shrubs to be found in the wild woods, until
the season when the crops are gathered, when they are allowed
to glean the fields ; and in the winter a scanty allowance of
fodder, or corn shucks, are thrown on the ground for them,
when they come up at night.
Under such a system it would be supposed that the beef would
be of a very inferior quality. On the contrary, strangers often
express their admiration of the tender, juicy steaks on which
they are regaled. It is evident that a moiety of the care be-
stowed on animals at the North, would, under the more favor-
able circumstances at the South, prove a most remunerative
business, independent of the value of the manure.
The vast variety of the manufactured articles imported from
abroad also shows what a fiield is open for competition. It is
not only such as require complex machinery, but even those of
the simplest construction, requiring but few tools and which are
made of indigenous materials. Lumber is shipped from this
vicinity to be returned as furniture, carriages, wagons, mould-
ings, sashes, blinds, «fec. The kaolin of this section is forwarded
to be returned as crockery ware — the cotton as cloth — the
hides as shoes, &c., &c., ad infinitum.
STRANGERS INVITED TO LOCATE THERE. 7
In March, 1866, the Town Council of Aiken passed a resolu-
tion appointing a committee of prominent citizens to adopt such
measures as would bring to notice the advantages of the vicinity,
and thereby encourage immigration. The committee accordingly
submitted a comprehensive report, which was ordered to be
printed, and subsequently circulated through the press. The
following extract is from that report :
" Desirous of again seeing our native State advancing in wealth and prosperity,
and confident that, by a proper use of the opportunities at our disposal, remunerative
employment can be afforded to both capital and labor in this immediate vicinity,
we would invite attention to and consideration of the advantages hero enjoyed.
" The specialties we claim for our district, and to which wo invite attention cf en-
terprising and intelligent men, are —
" First. Unsurpassed salubrity of climate, noted for its beneficial effects on pulmo-
nary diseases, and enabling the white man to labor, without fe eling that lassitude
and debility common to low latitudes, and yet enjoy the productions of a Southern
clime, with exemption from that pest of the "West — Fever and Ague.
" Second. Adaptation of soil and climate to the production of tho finest silks,
fruits, wines, and vegetables.
" Third. Combination of advantages as a manufacturing district, but most especi-
ally for the establishment of potteries.
" Taking into consideration the locality of Aiken, the superiority of its climate, as
attested by the celebrity it already enjoys as a resort for invalids ; its intimate con-
nection with the commercial centres of the South by means of the various rail-
roads and water courses alluded to ; the extensive power of the cheapest kind
afforded by the creeks and streams ; tho immemse deposits of the purest kaohn
and other clays, granite and buhr mill-stones ; the valuable woods and timber which
abound in our forests ; the vast demand that exists throughout the South for thou-
sands of articles of every day necessity, aa well as of ornament and luxury, which
have now to be brought a distance of hundreds, if not thousands of miles ; tho ad-
vantages incident to locating factories where the raw materials are produced, and
as near as possible to the consumers, thereby saving the cost of transportation to
and fro ; and the high protective tariff which must be levied for many years to
come, indicate this place as offering inducements and advantages rarely to be foimd."
The fact of such action by the Town Council and citizens of
Aiken, should be a refutation, at least in regard to this section,
of the oft-repeated statements, that Northern men are not safe
in the South. The want of capital and labor to resuscitate the
South after the exhaustion of the late war, is generally felt and
acknowledged. Strangers are invited and urged to come and
settle in their midst. Gen. Wagener, in his report, says :
" As a law-abiding and orderly community, South Carolina can have no superior ;
and to her the report of Hon. Mr, Peters, the great agriculturist of New York,
S AIKEN AND ITS VICINITY-
on the condition of the South, peculiarly applies, that 'here the enforcement of the
laws is as rigid as in any other State, and' property and persons quite as safe ; and
that in none of the other States of the Union — not excepting any — are the people
better protected, or the laws more impartially enforced.'
" As a religious community, South Carolina can proudly refer to her hundreds of
churches, that point their spires to heaven from her hills and dales everywhere.
And not in pharisaical self-righteousness, but with the truly Christian liberahty
that knows no difference whatever in sect or creed, but appreciates the good in all.
" As a prosperous and progressive community, South CaroUna, although having
every element of wealth within reach of her grasp, is just now in a less liappy posi-
tion than might be desired. This must be candidly confessed. But, at the same
time, the causes thereof may be as candidly indicated, and the sure and effective
remedy suggested. Heretofore, the State relied for her prosperity exclusively upon
tlie rich results of her agricultural pursuits. Her system of African slavery enabled
her opulent planters to do without every other branch of industry but that of cul-
tivating the soil. And even in that, their whole attention was given to the raising
of the great staples of commerce, and very often even their bread and meat were
imported from other parts of the world. Their tools and implements, their wagons,
plows, harrows, spades, axes, &c., their boots and shoes, their wearing apparel — all
were imported from the North or from Europe. In this manner slavery, which ap-
parently enriched the people by means of the great profits of their staple produce,
yet in reality impoverished them by their dependence on others, and by preventing
that universal and close industry which enables human society to create within itself
all that is requisite to the necessities, comforts, and luxuries of life. But now, slavery
has been forever abolished. The African has become free and his own master.
And where is now the hope ? The hope — the sure guaranty — of success is in the
elasticity, determined courage, and manly fortitude of the Carolinians. Instead of
repining and sorrowing over the lost comforts and riches of the past, they are
boldly and manfully grappling with their necessities of the present, and not unfre-
quently the planter of former days may be seen guiding his plow or wielding
his axe, with an energy which will ensure his future prosperity. It has been re-
ported that manual labor was not honorable in the South. If this ever was a truth,
hard work and steady employ have now become fashionable ; and whoever culti-
vates his fields best, and is personally most industrious, is the most successful and
the greatest gentleman. And the immigrant, as a brother workingman, will bo
heartily welcomed, and will meet with encouragement and friendly ofiSces wherever
he exhibits habits of industry, frugality, honesty, and thrift. And the Carolinian,
furthermore, instead, as formerly, preferring goods from abroad, will now prefer an
article made at home, and feel proud of his choice. Whal an opening for ■ me
chanics of every trade! Every town, every village in the State, has need of such,
and will afford them a competency. Let them come !"*
Here arc' lands susceptible of indefinite improvement — a cli-
mate unsurpassed for salubrity — raw materials of various kinds
and manageable water-powers for the manufacture — home mar-
kets and facilities for transportation — a large class of customers,
* From report of Gen. John A. WaRenor, 8. C. Commissioner of Emigration.
fUTURE niPORTANCE OF AIKEN. V
accustomed to the refinements and luxuries of life, who have
depended on foreign markets for their supiDlies — another class,
needing employment, and whose average wages are far less than
in the Northern or Western States — schools, churches and
courts already established — railroads already constructed — ex-
emption from the extremes of heat and cold — where the ears
are daily regaled with the melody of the mocking-bird (than
which even the far-famed nightingale's notes are not clearer,
sweeter, or more varied), and where the homestead can be per-
petually surrounded by fruits and flowers, that in less favored
climes are only to be enjoyed by the wealthy, as they require
forced temperatures and constant care : such as the fig, the
pomegranate, the passion flower, andromeda plumata, red aza-
lias, spiglia, cacti, magnolia or lamel, kalmia latifolia, yellow
jasmine, &c.
The town of Aiken is located partly in Barnwell and partly
in Edgefield districts — the two largest judicial divisions of the
State — comprising, in the aggregate, 3,200 square miles. It is
proposed to divide the adjoining districts of Barnwell, Edgefield,
Lexington, and Orangeburg, so as to form a new district, to be
called Calhoun, in honor of Carolina's great statesman, with the
court house at Aiken, which will contain about 600 square
miles and a population of 10 or 12,000. The growing import-
ance of this section demands that additional judicial facilities
should be afforded the inhabitants, and steps are now being
taken to consummate the measure, which it is confidently antici-
pated will prove successful.
As remarked by the Aiken Committee :
" This will add much to the worth of real estate, and supply what has long been
needed here — a centre to the peculiar interests of this part of the State. "With this
impulse and motive, the growth of the town cannot bo chocko4, and the rapid
development of the natural resources of the land, which he in such abundance on
every side, will be its legitimate result.
"With regard to facihties for communicating with the outer world, there are
advantages here which will give this section additional value. The town of Aiken,
lying as it does directly on the line of the South Carolina Railroad, a trip of a few
hours conveys the produce of the year to Charleston, from whence it can be
exported to Northern cities, or, on the other hand, to Augusta, from whence it
can be distributed to the interior towns of the South. The Columbia and Hamburg
Railroad, which will constitute one of the links of the ' Great Seaboard Mail Line'
from New York to New Orleans, runs within five miles of the town.
2
10 AI^EN AND ITS VlClNITY.
"The Aiken and Ninety-Six Railroad has been surveyed and located, and even-
tually will be built to afford an outlet to the produce of the Groat "West that will
pour over the Blue Ridge RaUroad ; the Port Royal Railroad, which joins the City
of Augusta to the deep water of Port Royal — one of the finest harbors of the world
— has also been fully surveyed, laid out and partially graded, and runs but a few
miles south of the town. So that the place will bo surrounded on all sides by tho
most ample facilities for transportation by rail, to say nothing of tlie abundant
carrying moans afforded to the lumber trade by the natural channels of the Edisto
and Savannah rivers.
"The markets of all sections arc thus laid open to our producers, and the demand
for the produce will be steady and increasing. Communications with the teeming
prairie lands of the Northwest, by means of a short and direct route to the Atlantic
coast, will be such an advantage to them as to insure its early completion, and tho
great towns of Cincinnati, Memphis, and St. Louis, will transact their foreign
business along a hne of road on which our town ig advantageously situated.
" The town of Aiken is pleasantly situated on the high ridge of land that sepa-
' rates the head-waters of the Edisto River from the streams that fall into the
Savannah, and is remarkable for its elevation above tide water ; being located at
that happy means which combines most beneficially tho advantages of a pine
growing region with the bracing and invigorating air of a mountainous country.
Free from the miasmatic influences which so frequently attend the moist climate of
a lower section, it is equally devoid of the deleterious eflFects of the thin, cold
atmosphere of a higher range ; and tho pure dry nature of its air, acting like a
healthful tonic upon the exhausted lungs, and causing the blood to course with
renewed and delightful vigor through the fevered veins, has often been productive
to the invalid of the happiest results.
/ "Ascending gradually from the seaboard, along the line of tho South Carolina
Railroad, the country presents an apparently level surface to the eye of the
traveller, and he is surprised to find himself at an elevation of six hundred feet
when he reaches the plateau upon which Aiken is situated.
" The town itself is laid out in a neat and pleasant manner, with wide streets,
shaded by large trees. It is built upon a diCFerent plan from that which has in
general governed tho growth of our inland towns ; and tho houses, instead of being
gathered together around one common centre, are in detached groups and villas.
The stores, however, are all arranged on tho main street, which is at right angles
to the Railroad Avenue, and are commodious and well .supplied witli wares. It
may not bo out of place to remark that the appearance of the town has attracted
the admiration of the numerous officers and strangers who have passed through it,
and it has always been contrasted most fixvorably with other portions of the State.
"Westward the country falls away rapidly towards tho Savannah in a series of
broken hills and undulating slopes, that furnish to the lover of the picturesque
many scenes of the wonderful beauty of nature, while evidences lay strewn around
him, thick 'as autumnal leaves in Vallambrosa,' that he is traversing one of those
peculiar geological formations of tho State which bears unmistakable evidence of
marine productions and deposits.
" Tho aluminous formations that occur in immense beds of tlio finest porcelain
clay.s, are here exposed by the denuding effects of water, and lio in rich strata upon
tho very surface, ready to tho liand of tltc manufacturer. Between Aiken and
RESOURCES A^'D ADVANTAGES OF AiKE>;. 11
Granitovillo tlie bads aro iu many cases sixty feet tLick, wliilo tlioso ou tho
Savauiiali River, near Hamburgh, aro from ton to liftocn, and aro of unsurpassed
purity. (See Tuomcy's Geology of South Carolina, p. 141.)
" Eastward and Northward from Aiken tho land decline.s gradually toward tho
sparsely wooded black-jack region of tho surrounding districts, and presents uo
features of peculiar interest. A few miles to tho south of tho town, on Cedar
Creek, lie, in considerablo thickness, tho very valuable beds of buhr stone which
form so rich a part of tho mineral wealth of this section,
" Its accessibility to travelers from all directions, and tho well-known salubrity
of its situation, has given to tho place in all quarters of tho United States and
Canada that reputation to which it is so well entitled, and which must continue to
increase as its merits as a resort for consumptive patients become more widely
known. As a natural result from the iiiflux of persons in quest of that greatest
boon of nature, good health, the tone of society in tho town is much superior to
that usu:xlly found in country places of the same population, and tho social standard
is much elevated by. continued additions from the better class of persons, who
finding the climate so admirably adapted to tho wants of their physical nature,
settle here and become permanent residents.
'' Various denominations of religious belief find their appropriate places of worship
here, and are well represented in the several Churches scattered throughout tho
town. Educational interests have always boon well attended to. There aro at
present several excellent schools for the primary education of children, and an
institution for boys preparing for college, which is ably conducted by competent'
teachers, in the commodious building erected by the corporation for the purpose."
" Among the resources of Aiken your committee would place most prominently
tho remarkable effects of its climate ou pulmonary disorde'rs, as already incidentally
referred to ; believing that a more favorable combination of the essential requisites
for tho successful treatment of consumption cannot be found, embracing opportu-
nities for profitable employment and social and educational privileges for the vari-
ous members of a family with the sanitary efforts of the climate on the invalid.
" A more extended publicity of the facts of such a conjunction of favorable cir-
cutiistanccs would, undoubtedly, be the means of alleviating the sufferings and pro-
longing the lives of no inconsiderable number, who would gladly avail themselves
of the knowledge when brought to their notice.
" A glance at the bills of mortality of the Northern States will show how general
and wide-spread is this fell disease, under its various modifications of asthma,
bronchitis, pneumonia, emphysema, tubercles, hermorrhage of the lungs, etc.
Hereditary predisposition to consumption hangs liko an incubus over the heads of
many, paralyzing their energies, destroying their usefulness and embittering their
lives. By it , thousands are annually driven forth from their homes to seek relief
in more congenial climes, as it is now conceded that the medicine capable of arrest-
ing its progress is, as yet, undiscovered.
" The preventive treatment consists in attention to tho various functions; exercLso
in tho open air ; freedom from mental anxiety or physical exhaustion ; a liberal
and nutritious diet; a residence in a dry, light, and elastic atmosphere, which in-
vigorates the lungs and air passages without irritating them ; and some pleasant
and agreeable employment, which will induce tho patient to exert himself and pre-
vent the mind from dwelling on tho ailments of tho body. At no place can these
12 AIKEN AND ITS VICINITY.
indications bo better carried out than in this vicinity, where the hygromotric con-
dition of the atmospliere is such as to challenge comparison with any of the usual
resorts of consumptives — even of the famed table-lands of Mexico, and excelling
that of the Islands of Cuba or Madeira, or the cities of Italy. This pecuUarity is
attributed to the porous nature of the sandy soils, which readily permits the water
to percolate through and discharge itself at a distance, and to its situation on the
summit of a ridge at such an elevation as to rarify the atmosphere, and at the same
time gives a most thorough system of drainage to the neighboring country. Being
surrounded by immense pine forests, it has also the advantages incidental to pine
regions.
" In regard to the beneficial effects of the climate, your Committee can speak from
personal knowledge as well as from observation of its ell'ects on others, as several
of them have been induced to locate here on account of ill health, either of them-
selves or some member of their family, and most cheerfully do they bear testimony
to the good result. Many eminent medical practitioners who are acquainted with
this locality recommend their consumptive patients to try this climate.
" The reputation of Aiken is not based on a few isolated cases, but on the fact that
hundreds of invalids, in various stages of their several complaints, have been bene-
fitted by a residence here. The piney woods roads, covered with the fallen straw,
will tempt him to ride or drive. If a disciple of Walton, the trout, jack, bream
and perch, with which the mill-ponds and creeks are stocked, will furnish sport ;
and if fond of gunning, many an hour can be whiled away shooting quails, par-
tridges, squirrels, pigeons, &c."
In the Richmond Medical Journal (Jli13", 1866) may be found
a well digested article on " The Climate and Topography of
Aiken, S. C, in their relation to Phthisis, by E. S. Gaillard,
M. D,, Eichmond, Va." We take the following abstract :
********
" Until comparatively recent years the influences and adaptation of climate and
topography, in their relations to phthisis, have never received the adequate inves-
tigation of competent observers. Patients have been sent indilferently and indis-
criminately to the dry, cold atmosphere of Spitzbergen, or to the warm, moist air
of Bermuda and Jamaica ; to the temperate climate of Madeira, Florida or the Me-
diterranean, or to the dry and warm atmosphere of Cairo and Sierra Leone.
"It is for the general welfare of this class of patients, in all sections, that the
climate and topography of Aiken is now brought to the attention and consideration
of the profession.
" The country immediately adjacent to Aiken is drained by Shaw's Creek and
Ilorso Creek, with several smaller streams emptying, some into the Savannah and
some into the Edisto River. This drainage is most thorough and complete, as the
village is built near the centre of an elevated plateau or table-land, possessing an
area of about twenty square miles. The character of the soil is sandy, with a sub-
soil of red clay, silex entering largely into its composition. The soil is exceedingly
dry; water not being found at a less distance than from 80 to 125 feet below
the surface. This water is of a superior character, being transparently clear, with
a temperature varying from C2" to 65° Fahrenheit; it is generally impregnated v/ith
AIKEN FREE \ FROM DISEASES. 13
the salts of iron and magnesia, but not sufficiently so to render it deleterious to the
invalid.
" Tho annual rain fall, as tested by the rain guage, is usually about tiiirty-sevon
inches ; the heaviest uniform fall being in the months of June, July and August
and the smallest fall in the autumn.
"Tho earliest frost usually occurs from the 10th to the 15th of November, and
tho latest from the 1st to the 10th of April, tho average duration of the period
without frosts being from 200 to 225 days, or two-thirds of the year. This fact is
deserving of especial attention. Tho mean annual temperature is from 50" to 54"
Fahrenheit; tho mean temperature of the winter months being from 42° to 46'
F. ; that of tho spring months 58' F., summer months 11'^' F., and autumn
62° F,
" Attention is directed to tho very gradual and equable variations of these tem-
peratures. The extremes of temperature for one year are as follows: January,
60°-40° F.; February, TC-SS" F. ; March, 82°-24° F. ; April, TS'-SS' F. ; May
86°-50° F. ; June, 92°-66° F. ; July, 86°-64 F. ; August, 92°-69° F. ; September,
90°-53° F. ; October, t8°-40° F. ; November, l3°-29° F. ; December, T4°-31° F.
" The prevailing winds are from the south and south-west. The dew-point is in-
variably low. The hygrometrical condition is here characteristic. The ordinary
long moss (tilandsia) of the Gulf States, as has been frcquentl}'- tried by experiment,
will not grow here ; the cryptogamous plants are but feeblj'' represented, and those
only grow that are usually found flourishing in dry atmospheres. Tho atmosphere
is decidedly terebinthinate. Endemics are unknown, and epidemics rare. The
country is entirely free from malarial diseases. The climate and water together
have produced very conspicuous results in the health of those suffering from gastric
and intestinal complications."
Dr. Gaillard then proceeds quoting high authorities to show
that the supplementary action of the shin is in an indirect ratio
with tlie hj^grometric condition of the atmosphere, and that the
skin is physiologically the chief supplement in respiration, and
vitally important in phthisis. He describes and compares the
various climates Avhich patients are advised to try, remarking
that—
" It will be observed in this summary that no air is more frequently appropriate
and beneficial than that of Aiken, S. C, resembling, as it does, that of Nice and
St. Ilemo, which are regarded at the present time with more favor perhaps than
any other sections of Europe. Aiken pososses also a virtue in the important fact
that tho consumptive residing there can with impunity exercise in the open air
tliroughout the year. * * * * The distinguishing characteristics of the Aiken
climate, then, are its peculiar dryness of the atmosphere, its freedom from sudden
and violent atmospheric changes and absence from frosts for two-thirds of the
year, its freedom from endemics and malarial diseases, and the general prevalence
of soft southern and south-western breezes. These important and interesting facts
in regard to this locality, in connection with its dry and porous soil, rendering
exercise at all times practicable, its remarkable elevation, its facility of access and
1-i AIKEN AND ITS VICINITY.
removal from the crowded centres of population, with their irregular hours and in-
separable excitements, render Aiken especially adapted for the home of the consump-
tive."
The rich, virgin, alluvial lands of the West and South are
proverbially unhealthy, whilst this section is noted for its
exemption from malarial diseases.
Professor Tuomey, in his valuable work on the Geology of
South Cc/olina (see page 259), speaking of the tertiary formation
of this region, says: "The sandy hills in the upper part of the
region occupied by this formation, are covered with pines, the
sub-soil being sand, gravel, and clay. There are few soils more
grateful, or that yield a more ready recompense to industry ; it con-
tinues to produce as long as there is an atom left that can sustain a
2)lani.
The following analysis of a soil from the land of (the late)
J. D. Legare, Esq., at Aiken, by Professor Shepard, will show
the character of the lands alluded to :
Surface
soil. Sub-soil.
Water of absorption 5.500 8.000
Organic matter 8.500
Silica 77.000 81.000
Protoxide of iron 4 . 005
Alumina 5.000 5.500
Lime, with traces of magnesia and phosphoric acid. . .050
Peroxide of limo 3 . 500
Carbonate of lime . 400
Traces of ma!?nesia and loss 1 . 600
100.055 100.000
Such are the lands on the flats and iu the valleys, where from
six to fifteen inches beneath the surface is a sub-soil of what is
generally termed red clay, but which has very little alumina.
Oil au adjacent lot to the one of which the analysis was made,
the product was 40 bushels of corn and 30 bushels of wheat to
the acre, and, after cutting the wheat, a proportionate crop of
peas. Witli a growing season of 200 days, it is a2")parent that
two crops of many articles can be 'made each year; and iu
corroboration of Prof. Tuomey 's statement in regard to their
continued productiveness, instances are not unfrequent where
fields are now tilled by a class of farmers who pay little or no
attention tp manuring, which were cleared over fifty years ago.
AIKEN A GREAT FRUIT REGION.
15
During the war a refugee from the coast, and one of tlie
largest and most successful planters in the State, leased one of
these farms, and, after three years' culture, asserted that under
proper treatment they improved more rapidly and permanently,
in proportion to the manure used, than did his lands on Edisto
Island, which are considered very fertile.
However, the larger portion of the lands in the neighbor-
hood are of a more sandy character, and are preferable for
fruit culture. The cultivation of these light sandy lands
requires but little labor, farmers making up in the area tended
for the small yield, frequently jjlanting as much as forty acres of
corn to each horse, and seldom using the hoe. In the immediate
vicinity of Aiken very little cotton was planted before the war ;
but this year a considerable area has been planted, and the crops
compare most favorably with those of sections heretofore con-
sidered far superior. With such improved modes of culture
and management as are in vogue in the Nortliern States, and a
judicious selection of such varieties or specialties as are best
adapted to such soils, most of these lands would prove highly
remunerative. If, on some accounts, the prairie lands of the
West, or the alluvial bottoms of the river vallies, are preferable,
here are compensating influences that are counterbalancing.
Those who are seeking new homes would do well to consider
the question in its various bearings. In deciding on a location,
let them take into consideration the comparative salubrity of
climate, accessibility to markets, tone of society, facilities for
literary and religious instruction, the price of lands improved or
unimproved, the relative number of worhing days in the year,
t1ie comparative rates of wages and opportunities for procuring
workmen, the care and trouble incident to surrounding the
liomestead with vines and flowers and fruits, and the influence
such things have on the character of children, the probability of
the future prosperity of the countr}^ and consequent advance-
ment in the value of property, and other similar influences.
FRUIT CULTURE.*
"It is only since 1850 that much attention was attracted in this vicinity to fruit
culture. The immense returns realized by the proprietors of some of the orchards
and vineyards, from lands unfit for the profitable culture of cotton, led their
* From r('i)ort of tlic Ailtcu Coinmittcc y
16 AIKEN AXD ITS VICINITY.
neighbors to inquire into the secret of their success. Since then orchards and
vineyards have gradually but continuously increased in size and number.
" In 1858, those interested formed themselves into a society, and adopted the title
of 'The Aikex Vixe GrOwixg am) Horticultural Association,' their object
being ' to promote the culture and improve the quality of fruit in general, and more
particularly of the vine and the manufacture of wme.'
"This association has been instrumental in extending much valuable informa-
tion ; many of their reports and essays having been published in pamphlet form and
republished in the agricultural journals and Patent Office Reports. In 1860, this
society extended an invitation to the wine growers of the South to hold a Conven-
tion in this place, and to bring with them specimens of their grapes and wines for
comparison and classification. Delegates from five States accordingly met on the
21st of Aug-ust, and ex-Senator and Governor James H. Hammond y»-as elected
presiding officer of the Convention. Upon taking the chair, he remarked ' that the
exhibition this day, and the presence of these delegates, indicated that an interest
in behalf of growing our own grapes and manufacturing our own wine, was ex-
tending, and that a large belt of waste lands, capable of growing extensively these
fruits, were now about to engage the attention that should have been called to them
hitherto. Nay, more, the exhibition this day, he ventured to say, could not be
surpassed in ant part of the world, and in using this hroad expression, he did
it WITHOUT Q0.4.LIFICATION, especially so in reference to the variety and quality of the
grapes here to be seen.
PEACHES.
" The facility of transportation afforded by our lines of railroads to the coast, and
thence by steamships to the large Northern cities, enables us, by selecting the
earliest varieties of peaches, to reach those markets from the 20th to the 25th of
Juno, thus anticipating the New Jersey crops from four to six weeks. The first
peaches command as high as $15 to $20 per bushel, and an average of, at least, $5
may be reasonably expected, as the Aiken fruit has an established reputation, ex-
celled by no other section, being healthy, well flavored and highly colored.
" One of our peach growers, since the close of the war, sent to his factor in New
York for various family supplies, stating that he was without money and would
have to depend on the next peach crop. Much to his gratification, the articles
were immediately forwarded, with an intimation that no bettor security was requi-
site than a promise of a consignment of an article so prized in Now York as were
the Aiken peaches.
'•' Mr. James Purvis states that ho has sixty acres in peaches, which requires three
hands to cultivate, and that he has made five crops in six years, realizing from
$5,000 to $10,000 each.
" Sercral of our orchardists have realized more than $500 per acre in favorable
years, which far exceeds any other crop requiring as little work.
" The trees are usually planted about sixteen feet apart, or from one hundred
and fifty to two hundred trees per acre, and commence bearing the third year and
producmg from a peck to two bushels. They are remarkably health)', the disease
known as ' the yellows' not having made its appearance, and the fruit is more
free of the curculio than in the richer lands of the low country. By a proper
selection of varieties, a supply of this rich and luscious fruit may be had continu-
ously from June to November.
AiKEN A GREAT FRUIT REGION. H
APPLES.
" The impression that good apples could not be produced at the South has gene-
rally prevailed ; but gradually this error is being dispelled. In the culture of the
apple, as of the peach, Southern raised trees must be depended on, and several of
these varieties will challenge comparison with any others, either as regards flavor,
size or keeping qualities.
FIGS AND OTHER FRUIT.
" Figs are one of those great boons of nature that contribute to the enjoyments
of life in a Southern climate. Luscious, nutricious and wholesome, they are fre-
quently recommended by physicians as a food for invalids, and as a laxative where
strong medicuies are to be avoided. They grow freely in the open air, require little
or no attention, and produce two or three crops annually.
" To sit under one's own vine and fig tree, so expressive of happiness and con-
tentment, can be literally realized here.
" Pomegranates (deciduous bloomers, displaying ripe fruit and expanding blossoms
at the same time), cherries, nectarines, quinces, apricots, raspberries, &c., are culti-
vated to a limited extent, and excellent strawberries are to be had for four or
five months during each year in great profusion."
One hundred and seventy strawberries liave been gathered
from a single plant in one season ; many of them from four to
four and a half inches in circumference.
The custom of putting strawberries in small baskets for shipping
has never obtained here. The few that are sent off are packed
in wooden boxes or large hand-baskets. The Committee add :
" As attention to horticulture extends, in all probability the naturalization and
acclimation of other valuable fruits, such as the date, tamarind, olive, jujube, vari-
ous nuts and berries, &c., will afford a wider field for enterprise.
GRAPES AND WINE.
" One of our oldest and most successful vintners, writing on this subject, in 1855,
says : ' Let me assure you that vine culture is the easiest thing in the world. Any
of your sons or field negroes will " take to it" in one season. The pruning can be
learned in ten minutes ; the work is simply hoeing, light plowing and tying of
branches. The making of wine requires some attention. (Can you make good
bacon without care and attention ?) All this can and will be explained to your
satisfaction. An acre should yield, at the very least, 300 gallons, worth hero $2
per gallon. One hand can attend five acres. Here you have $1,500 the hand
even if the wine only brought $1. You may say this is all " paper calculation."
It certainly is, but experience proves that many have realized moro than that
amount. It has been made and can bo made. Have the energy to try it. * ♦ * *
If compared with other crops, such as cotton, corn, wheat, &c., we find the chances
of success two to one with the grapes, and it should not be forgotten that they are
usually planted in the poorest hill sides, adapted to nothing else, and on which the
proprietor can live and enjoy health, whilst other crops require richer lands, always
more or less sickly. On sandy pine lands, such as would bring five or eight bushels
of corn, the yield of wine, in an average season, will be about 300 gallons. On
3
1'8 AlkEK- AND ITS VlClS^ltY.
richer clay lands it is said to roach 1,000 and over. These are not surmises, bu^
positive facts.'
" Around Aiken nearly 500 acres are now planted in grapes. The vines are
healthy and vigorous; the peculiar dryness of the atmosphere, the rolling surface
and the light porous nature of the soil, which quickly discharges all superfluous
moisture, makes it specially adapted to the grape culture. The quality of the fruit
surpasses that of other sections, both in high flavor and percentage of saccharine
matter. The grapes begin to ripen about the middle of July, and are ready for tlio
press some time in August.
"The vines are generally planted in rows ten feet apart and about six feet in the
row, making about 750 plants to the acre. This distance is preferred, from the more
vigorous growth of the vine here. An idea of the profits may be conceived by
allowing only twenty bunches of grapes to be produced on each vine, making
15,000 bunches to the acre, which, if worth only two cents per bunch, would
amount to $300, or, at five cents per bunch, $750.
'• They are rarely injured by the late frosts. A vineyard once properly started
is an inheritance for one's children, as the grape-vine is noted for it.s longevity,
frequently living more than one hundred years.
"Mr. Axt, of Georgia, offered to guarantee twenty-five hundred gallons of
wine per acre to those employing him to superintend and plant tlieir vineyards.
And Prof. Hume, in an address delivered to the A. V. G. Association, in 18G0,
stated that he was commissioned by New York Houses to purcliaso all the Aiken
wines he could get at $2 per gallon, as dealers in wines found tliese best for mak- •
ing their 'bases.'
" "What has been accomplished indicates that Aiken, at no distant period, will be
the centre of a large vine-growing region. In those properties requisite for wine
the grapes grown hero compare favorably with those from which the most cele-
brated wines of Prance and Germany are produced.
" It is estimated that wine can be produced at a cost of 20 cents a gallon, and
the demand even at $2 is fully equal to the supply. It is an article that will always
be in demand ; costs but little to transport to market ; no annual expense of seed,
as in cereals ; does not require as much manure, or deteriorate the soil as other
crops; is a light and pleasant employment, not as laborious as common field work ;
improves in quality by keeping, and its general use would promote the cause of
temperance, it being a noted fact that very little drunkenness is seen in vine-grow-
ing countries.
" In addition to brandy made from the cultivated fruits, the various wild fruits
and berries that grow in such abundance, furnish materials that find a ready sale
at the distilleries. At homo wo have the haw brandy, cherry brandy, plum brandy,
persimmon brandy, poach brandy, blackberry brandy, potato brandy, goosebeviy
brandy, sorghum rum, &e., but when shipped it assumes other names and forms."
KOOTS AXD VEGETABLES.
19
ROOTS AND VEGETABLES.
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The kitchen garden and root crops generally yield a most
generous return for the labor exj)ended, where the ground is
properly prepared.
Artichokes, asparagus, beans, beets, cabbages, cauliflowers,
carrots, celery, cucumbers, egg-plants, kohl-rabi, lettuce, melons.
20 AIKEN AND ITS VICINITV.
musTirooms, mustard, okra, onions, parsley, pe£;s, peppers, po-
tatoes, pumpkins, radishes, rhubarb, squashes, tomatoes, and
turnips are cultivated with success. For example, 400 bushels
of sweet potatoes have been raised to the acre, some of them
weighing five or six pounds apiece.
This year (1867) a farmer planted eight rows (about eighty feet
long each) with seven-eighths of a bushel of Irish potatoes in
February. On the 24th of April he commenced digging, and had
a supply for his family (nine persons) every day until the middle
of August, when the remainder were dug, .and measured fifteen
bushels, being at the rate of over 400 bushels per acre. The
only labor was in preparing the ground, planting and mulching,
as they were not hoed or plowed at all.
An average stalk was pulled in May, to which 17 potatoes
clung, weighing five pounds, besides a large number of small
ones.
In the same garden 700 cabbages were planted, three feet
apart each way. AVhen in full leaf, over 500 of them were
touching. Some of the Early Yorks were 42 inches across—
and every one headed.
In another garden the vines of green peas grew over nine feet
in height, and crowded with pods.
Turnips, beets and onions are raised in the greatest perfection.
These instances indicate what can be done, with proper appli-
cation of labor.
The moderate temperature during the winter months, the
ground never freezing to the depth of more than three or four
inches, enables an early preparation for planting. The rough
turnip is left in the ground, and keeps all winter. The spring is
from four to six weeks earlier than in New Jersey ; which
would enable the enterprising farmer to ship many articles for
the Northern markets, and thus obtain the best prices, as is now
done with peaches. The length of the growing season should
also be borne in mind.
Ecv. J. H. Cornish, of Aiken, says that some years ago ho
sent from his garden to the South Carolina Institute exhibition,
turnip-rooted beets, twenty-seven inches in circumference, and
white Silesia and blood beets, three feet long and twenty-two
inches around ; that he generally has beets and carrots as fine
MANUFACTURES. 21
as he has ever seen anywhere, some of the earrots weighing
seventeen pounds; that he usually leaves his salsify, beets, car-
rots, turnips, and Irish potatoes in the garden during the winter,
gathering tliom as required for use.
MANUFACTURES.
Most especially would we call attention to the combination of
advantages, which, if duly appreciated, would render our new
district one of the most prosperous manufacturing divisions of the
South. The genius of the Southern people has never been, to
any considerable extent, directed to inventions, improvements of
processes or manufacturing. Proud of their great agricultural
interests, under the plantation system, manufactures were dis-
couraged instead of encouraged by the leading men.
Other localities liave one or more of the essentials we claim
for this region, but they are wanting in some of the requisites.
Already the manufacturing interests of this vicinity are the most
important in the State. This fact, of itself, is significant. The
capital invested and the individuals engaged in those enterprises
are from abroad, indicating that this location was selected by
parties who had no particular interest in developing the re-
sources of this quarter, but whose object it was to select such a
locality as would combine the elements of success. The moun-
tainous regions of South Carolina and Georgia offer locations
with equal water-power and exemption from malarial diseases,
but they are far removed from the coast and sea-ports, and not on
the great lines of intercommunication. As far as known, the
kaolin and buhr-stone are not surpassed in qualit}'-, if equalled,
on the Continent. The facilities for transportation enables the
manufacturer to put his wares in such markets as will pay the
highest prices, and as such a large proportion of manufactured
goods are brought from abroad to supply tlie South, a home
market is afforded from which distant competitors are excluded
by the extra expense of transportation, commissions, insurance,
&;c. The reduced circumstances of the people offer a large class
who would most willingly embrace the opportunity of being em-
ployed as operators, and the climate and temperature would af-
ford many enjoyments denied to the denizens of more Northern
latitudes.
22 AIKEN AND ITS VICINITY.
The Savannah River is navigable for steamboats to Augusta
and Shaw's Creek, and the Edisto for rafts. The only line of
railroads in operation south of Virginia, which connect the
Yallej of the Mississippi with the Atlantic coast, is that crossing
the Blue Ridge near Chattanooga, and with which the S. C.
Railroad, on which Aiken is located, is connected. The Au-
gusta and Columbia Road is being constructed, and efforts will
soon be made to complete the road from Augusta to Port Royal
At the last session of the Legislature the charter of the Aiken
and Ninety-six Road was renewed, connecting with the Blue
Ridge Road, thus affording direct connection with Louisville
and Cincinnati. The Committee further say :
" The situatiou of the ridge on which wo live, at an elevation of four hundred
fjet above the city of Augusta, from which it is only sixteen miles distant, and of
three hundred feet above Graniteville, five miles off, will give some idea not only of
the rapid and thorough drainage which it enjoys, but of the immense power which
might be used for manufacturing purposes afforded by the numerous streams and
creeks flowing from these highlands.
"Already some forty or fifty saw-mills have been erected and engaged in sawing
pine lumber, some of wliich is consumed here, and the remainder floated down the
river to the coast, where it commands the highest prices, as the soft yellow pine
lumber of this region is well known to dealers. As yet all other species of timber
are utterly ignored, altliough various kinds abound, tliat are elsewhere deemed
most valuable.
" The success that has attended the manufacturing establishments located on Horse
Creek demonstrates the practicability and advantages of such enterprises. That of
Vauclause (seven miles from Aiken), founded in 1832, was the pioneer. It is
budt of granite found on the spot, and employs probably some 300 persons in mak-
ing yarns, osnaburgs, and drills.
" The cotton factory and village of Graniteville are objects of more than ordi-
nary interest. The general appearance of the town, the neat and symmetrical
style in which the houses of the operatives are built, the beautiful garden and
fountains attached to the factory for their enjoyment ; the attention paid to hygi-
enic matters, police, and education ; the condition of the roads, streets and canal,
shaded by large trees ; the picturesque cemetery ; the forethought and the judg-
ment that have evidently been exercised to produce such a complete effect — all at-
tract attention ; and it is generally admitted to be a model manufacturing village,
unsurpassed in the United States, and the heavy dividends and the scarcity of the
stock on the market show how profitable it has been.
" At Bath, some nine miles distant, is an extensive paper mill, which is kept busily
employed in making various qualities of paper. As an illustration, the following
anecdote may be pertinent : A Society in Augusta, needing a quantity of paper,
recently sent to Now York, in order to get a superior article. "When it arrived
they found it had been manufactured within six miles of home, at the Bath Mills,
6ont to New York, and tlion returned.
FOREST TRiEES ANI) OtHER WOODS. 2S
"At Kaolin, twelve miles ofiF, is a porcelain factory, and at Kalmia Mills a com-
pany has been actively engaged in the erection of a very large establishment for
making cotton goods, calculated to afford employment to one thousand hands, and
which is expected soon to be in operation. A charter lias also recently
been granted to the Rose Mill Manufacturing Company, to bo located on the head-
waters of Tinker's Creek, eight miles south-east of Aiken.
"As yet these water powers have not received the attention they merit. The
streams are never-failing, and capable of driving the machinery for hundreds of
mills, and, unlike many in more Northern latitudes, are not affected by the ill effects
of tlie extreme cold.
"In this town there is a fair opening for cither of the following trades, especially
to such as have sufficient capital to supply themselves with the requisite materials :
Cabinetmaker, saddler, tinner, watchmaker, jeweler, wheelwright, whitesmith, mill-
wright, carpenter, blacksmith, &c.
"Various kinds of willow grow wild on the banks of our streams, and the osier
can be easily propagated in most soils from cuttinga The making of baskets,
either plain or ornamental, would prove a most remunerative employment, as the
demand for them is extensive, and it is an occupaiiou easily learned, requiring but
few and simple tools. So simple is it in its operations, that in many institutes for
the blind it is selected as best adapted for their occupation.
"The streams in the neighborhood aflbrd excellent locations for the estab-
lishment of workshops for making articles of every-day use and necessity, which
now have to be brought from a distance, although the materials of which they are
composed abound here — such as articles for house building, comprising doors,
sashes, mouldings, balusters, &c., coopers' ware, brooms, baskets, agricultural tools,
household utensils, wagons, carts, mats, pottery, tiles, bricks, &c. Lands, lumber,
and living being cheap, and as these and similar articles are in constant demand,
either at home or in the neighboring cities with which Aiken is connected by rail-
roads, it is evident that such occupations would pay. Arrangements for water
privileges could be mado on most fovorable terms, even by those who may not have
sufBcient capital to purchase the lands ; and the requisite tools and machinery for
some of these branches being very simple, commencements might be made in a
small way, to be afterwards enlarged.
"The principal growth of our forests is the stately and useful yellow pine, which
affords the excellent lumber, rosin, and turpentine of commerce, liberally intermixed
with the more sturdy oak, hickory, and walnut. Cypress, cedar, poplar, with many
other woods useful for ornamental or substantial purposes, are also to be found
around us in abundance, and provide the most ample supply of material for the va-
rious mechanical trades. Nor, while nature has thus lavished upon our land a rich
store of valuable productions, has she been at all delinquent in bestowing upon it
the wild and beautiful adornments with which she is wont to deck her favorites.
" "West of and adjacent to Aiken is a ragged, broken body of land, containing
probably forty or fifty square miles, which, to the unobservant traveller, presents a
most bleak and dreary aspect ; but tho various stratas cropping out naturally, or
exposed by the effects of heavy rains washing away the bill sides, and by tho rail-
road excavations, afford a vast field, interesting alike to tho scientific geologist or
the practical manufacturer.
" Immense beds of different kinds of clay, from tho purest and whitest kaolin to
24
AIKEN AND ITS VICINITY.
the dark-colored mud of which bricks are made, sands of all hues, some as fine as
flour, others large coarse crj'Stals ; silicious earths of many kinds ; ferruginous
sandstones, the conglomerate shell, buhr-stones, granite, mica, feldspar, ochres of
different colors, are all found in this vicinity. But a short distance off, a deposit of
manganese is found, and potash can be readily made in the surrounding forests.
Experts have pronounced the sands to be admirably adapted for making glass and
crystal, and the quality of the kaolin is admitted to be equal, if not superior, to
that of which the celebrated Staffordshire ware is made. It is doubtful if the com-
bination of the ingredients of glass and earthenware can be found in such immedi-
ate proximity anywhere else."
The publication of the Eeport of the Aiken Committee at-
tracted considerable attention to these deposits, but the unsettled
state of political affairs has thus far militated seriously against
extensive operations. A knowledge of the various uses to
which this impalpable white jiowder is applied would astonish
many persons who consider themselves well informed. For the
purpose of adulterating paints, candies, flour, &c., the demand is
yearly increasing ; and we understand the Aiken clays are not
onl}^ driving the English clays out of the New York market,
but being shipped to the Potteries in New Jersey and Vermont.
On a recent visit to the Kaolin Works we were informed that
the company intended erecting additional furnaces, so as to sup-
ply the demand for the ware. On inquiring of the foreman (an
Englishman) his opinion as to the quality of the fire-bricks, he
replied : " Examine the condition of the bottoms of those fur-
naces ; thc}^ have been in use, under the intense heat we apply,
for the past eighteen months, and they are in good order now.
Our English brick coidl not have stood such a test." Prof.
Shepard, well known as one of the best analytical chemists in
the State, alter an examination of these clays, writes that " this
region aff()rds the best kaolin for porcelain known in America."
KAOLIN IN EUROPE AND AMERICA.
Analysis.
From
Passau.
From
yrieux.
From
Dartmoor,
Uevonahirc
Fi-oii! Kao-
lin Worka,
Ufiar
Aiken.
Silica
45.06
32.00
0.74
.90
is". 00
46.80
37.30
2.50
13.00
47.20
38.80
.24
12*. 00
1.70
44.46
Alumina
39.82
1.86
Oxido of iron
.60
Potass
.94
Water -. . .
12.10
Alkali and loss
90.70
99.60
100.00
99.78
13UHR MiLL-STONES. 25
The buhr mill-stone, which abounds in this region, affords
an exemplification of the neglect of resources which, in other
places, would be highly prized. These stones have been tested
in several of the mills of the vicinity, and are known to compare
favorably with those brought from abroad; 3'et so little value is
attached to them, that parties desiring a new pair of mill-stones
can obtain permission to cut them without paying anything for
the privilege.
Tuomey, in his Geology of the State (page 290), says : " The
beds of silicified shells of Barnwell will furnish an excellent
material for this purpose. Pieces may be found that agree ex-
actly with the French huhr-stones ; but those who have attempted
to procure mill-stones at this locality have committed a great
mistake in trying to get them in one piece. Every one knows
that French buhr mill-stones are made up from sixteen to twenty
pieces, cemented and bound together with iron hoops." And on
page 143, " This is the most extensive deposit of buhr mill-
stone in the State: solid stones, ten feet in diameter, can be
procured; the beds, taken together, exceeding thirty feet in
thickness."
Ure, in his Dictionary, vol. 11, page 165, speaking of the buhr-
stones, says, " That it constitutes a very rare geological formation,
being found in abundance only in the mineral basin of Paris and
a few adjoining districts, from whence it is exported chiefly
to England and America. Stones six and a half feet in diameter
fetch 1,200 francs apiece, or £18."
Here, also, is found a quality of stone similar to that which
is imported into the Southern States from Scotland, at a heavy
expense, for the purpose of hulling rice in the rice mills.
The peculiar geological formation of this region furnishes
ample grounds for the opinion that other rare and valuable
minerals will ultimately be found here and used. Frequent
reference is made by Prof. Tuomey, in his most valuable and
reliable work, to this section of the State. The field has not
been exhaustively explored, nor has the value of material used
in the arts been sufficiently appreciated, to give that value to
the lands which they richly deserve.
Few if any places afford a finer opening for one or more
hotels or boarding houses than the town of Aiken. At the
4
26 AIKEN AND ITS VICINITY. *
fashionable springs and sea-side watering places expensive
hotels are erected and prove profitable, although "the season" is
but for a few short weeks, whilst here the season would continue
for ten months oufrof the twelve.
In 1854, Mr. Schwartz, who then kept the Aiken Ilotel, was
compelled to refuse the applications for board of over 400 per-
sons, and last year many were deterred from coming, fearful
that suitable accommodation could not be obtained. It is evi-
dent that if the proper means were adopted to extend informa-
tion respecting the remarkable effects of this climate on pul-
monary diseases, with assurances that visitors would be properly
accommodated, that the hotel business might be made equal to
that of any of the watering places. One great drawback has
heretofore been that sufficient efforts have not been made to
afford recreation and amusement to visitors. Like all country
towns, strangers without occupation find it dull and lonesome,
not knowing what to do with themselves or how to "kill time."
The exercise of proper energy, ingenuity and ^^ savoir faire^^ by
a party who could command the requisite capital would soon
obviate such a difficulty and return a dividend that would exceed
that of most enterprises. By providing the material for such
games as would induce the invalids to exercise, a double pur-
pose would be subserved, for not only would it serve to make
the time pass more agrecabl}^, but it would conduce to the im-
provement of their health, and thus render this place a still more
popular resort.
Large private boarding-houses, offering a more simjile style
of living than a regular hotel, and food prepared in a way
Northerners are accustomed to, at a moderate price, are also
much needed.
We have said " The Season" extended over ten months. \\\
the fall, October, and November, the invalids are forced to retreat
before the rigors of a northern winter, and they remain south
until April or May. Before the war the residents of the sea
coast resorted to Aiken in May and June, and could not return
to their homes until after frost, which usually occurs in Novem-
ber, and it is reasonable to suppose that such will be the case
again.
Doubts as to tlje validity of titles has been urged as an objec-
'* LOW RATE OF TAXATION. 27
tion to purchasing southern lands. In this section very little
property changed hands during the war — therefore good and
valid title can be made.
Unimproved lands can be bought as low as <^1.^^^^ per acre,
though generally the price asked is from $2 to $10. ImjDroved
lands can be had from $2 to $30 per acre, depending on locality,
style of improvements, and the pecuniary circumstances of the
owners. As remarked b}'- the Aiken Committee :
" The changed circumstances of the property-holders now necessarily throws ou
the market estates of all kinds. Some are obliged to sell a portion in order to ob-
tain means of cultivating the remainder ; others prefer ^moving to some distant
country rather than exert themselves among their former associates or dependants.
Consequently, lands are freely offered for sale at prices ranging from one to fifty
dollars an acre. In this locality the general price is from two to ten dollars —
averaging, perhaps, three dollars per acre.
"According to the Comptroller's Report, 1860, tho general taxes for the State
Government amounted to $591,799, and the local or police taxes to $72,897. Tho
population of the State Leing 703,000, the taxes did not amount to $1 per head.
"The total indebtedness of tho State at that tim3was $6,793,455, including
$1,000,000 received from tho National Government, which will not probably be
called for; besides holding railroad and other stocks which cost $2,651,600, and
having a million and a half to the credit of the sinking fund.
" As the small debt incurred during the war will have to be repudiated before (he
State will be allowed representation, it will bo seen that tho financial condition will
be better than in those States which are loaded with heavy debts, contracted for
internal improvements, and raising and assisting soldiers during the war, as is
generally the case in the North and West. Taxation has always been compara-
tively light in this State. Tliis year the assessment is fifteen cents on the hundred
dollars, or 15-100 of one per cent, on real property.
" The usual appropriations for schools are temporally suspended, but will probably
soon bo resumed. In 1860 they amounted to $7?.,000 for free schools, and $51,000
for other educational institutions."
Since the report was published, South Carolina was forced to
repudiate her war debt. The town of Aiken, nor either of the
adjacent districts, have debts to pay. If poor, they are unincum-
bered.
It will be observed that we base our opinion as to the future
prospects of Aiken and the value of lands in the vicinity on the
following grounds :
1st. The establishment of the New District, with a Court-
house at Aiken, will give a centre to the peculiar interests of this
section and an impetus to the development of the natural re-
sources.
28 AIKEN AND ITS VICINITY.
2d. The remarkable salubrity of the climate, and its sanitary
effects will, now that slavery is abolished, not only attract an
increased number of invalid visitors from the North, but also in-
duce men of means to locate here permanently.
3d. That the water power facilities for transportation of valu-
able raw materials, salubrity of climate, and the general combi-
nation of advantages for manufacturing purposes will be appre-
ciated, and factories, work-shops, and handicraft trades will be
located here.
4th. That the recent revolution involves a change in the
system of agriculture, which will enhance the value and desir-
ableness of the lands of this vicinity, so capable of producing
earlier and better fruits and vegetables than the North.
5th. The completion of the various railroads referred to will
give additional value to property.
6th. The belief that on the settlement of the political difficul-
ties, immigration from Europe, as well as the North, will flow
southward, and a proportion will settle in this vicinity.
Since the reorganization of the State Government, a Bill has
been brought before the Legislsture for the purpose of creating
into a new District the section of country lying adjacent to the
town, of whicli section Aiken is the proposed county-seat and
centre.
The interest of the place and its growing value in the eyes
of settlers demand this change in the division of the State, and
tlie Bill, having already the sanction of the Committee of the
legislative body to whom it was referred, waits only the action
of time to become a law of the State.
From various causes a large proportion of real estate is now
offered for sale, and can consequently be bought low. South-
erners, generall}^, are despondent, 3'ct working manfully to re-
trieve their fallen fortunes. To such as have fiiith in the future,
this state of affairs offers a most favorable opportunity for profit-
able and desirable investments. Residences within the incorpo-
rate limits of Aiken, or improved farms in the neighborhood,
beds of kaolin, or fine water-powers, can be had at low figures.
What is more needed than anything else is capital. As much
as five per cent, a month, on good securities, has been paid for
the use of money. The want of means militates most seriously
SOUTH CAROLINA A FRUITFUL COUNTRY. 29
against the efforts at recuperation. This but renders the oppor-
tunity more favorable for those who have the means at their
command.
We quote further from the interesting pamphlet of Gen.
Wagener, S. C. Commissioner of Immigration, entitled " South
Carolina a home for the industrious immigrant."
" The careful emigrant, in seeking a now home for himself and his children and
descendants, naturally enquires into its cUmate, temperature, adaptation to tho
culture of the great staples of food and commerce, and especially of its healthful-
ness or salubrity. What to him are luxurious fields, if ailments prevent him from
working them ? "What to him are soft breezes, if they waft to him pestilence and
death ? It is well known that some of tho fairest portions of the "Western States
are so fruitful of causes of disease, as almost to prevent settlement. Multitudes
have left their European homes to find untimely graves in the vaunted rich soils of
Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, "Wisconsin and other "Western States and Terrf-
tories. This last winter, we met a German farmer from Indiana, who looked for a
home in South Carohna, and he informed us that he had been residing in tho West
ten years, and had never been a month without having occasion to call in a
physician.
"Such a climate must necessarily be very beneficial to agriculture, and we, there-
fore, not only have a continued and uninterrupted succession of crops, but the pro-
duce of almost every section and clime of the earth will here thrive. It is neither
so hot nor so cold, in our fortunate regions, as it is in the North and West ; and
we can, therefore, grow the cotton, rice, tobacco, even the tea of the southern plan-
tation, with the wheat, rye, oats, barley and ever other product of the most north-
erly farm. Whilst in the North and West the ground is for months covered with
deep snows, and rain and sleet are followed by intense frosts — killing, very often,
the seed in the ground — in this State there is hardly a need to house the live stock,
excepting, perhaps, for a few inclement days, to give them a night shelter. In Oc-
tober and November, our grain seeds are put into the ground ; in March and April,
com and cotton are planted ; in May and June, our grain harvest is gathered : and
in September, our cotton-picking commences and the com is ripe. There is here a
happy distribution of the seasons, and not one day in the year the farmer is pre-
vented from some useful employment legitimately consequent upon his calling.
How very different in the cold North and West, where winter covers the earth with
an icy mantle for months, and compels man and beast to remain in shelter, and to
rely only on the stores which summer and autumn have permitted them to gather I
The cost alone of a supply of fuel is an item of great consideration. It has been
asserted that tho North and West will produce a richer harvest of cereals and grains
per acre, than the South. Even if that were so, the reason would be very simple
and easily found. Southern cultivation of the food plants has heretofore been very
careless, on account of the very rich returns of their more valuable staples. Indeed,
slave labor has been a careless and slovenly labor in every respect. But where tho
same attention has been paid to the cultivation of tho cereals and grains as at tho
North and West, the result has been not only equal, but very often much superior.
Over 100 bushels of com from an acre have frequently been made in South Carolina,
30 AIKEN AND ITS VICINITY.
and 60 bushels of wheat ; and there is an instance recorded when, with special care
and a combination of favorable circumstances, somewhat over 300 bushels of corn
have been gathered from an acre of corn in this State. The average harvest, how-
ever, under our present system of cultivation, according to official reports, is about
25 bushels of corn per acre, 15 bushels of wheat, 20 bushels of oats, 15 bushels of
rye, 40 bushels of barley, 100 bushels of Irish potatoes, 150 to 400 bushels of sweet
potatoes, 40 bushels of rice, cotton about COO pounds, etc. To qualifj^ the above some-
what to the better comprehension of the intelligent farmer, wo will quote from the
United States Patent Office Report (Agricultural) for 1850-51, p. 231, from a
planter in South Carolina. He reports as follows :
' We do not usually plough for wheat, but our system is to scratch it in hurriedly
with a grub or gopher-plough after corn, without manure — not as a crop, but to get
what we can— and weU may we bo thankful that we get any in return : it is truly
a God-send.'
"If the average grain crop of the North and West was more, there would, there-
fore, be a good reason for it: but it really is not. And besides that, the facility of
the market in South Carolina, and the much more remunerative prices, would make
the result more advantageous under all circumstances. Add, now, the great staples,
with their immense profits : cotton may be grown nearly up to the very mountain
limits of the State ; rice and tobacco may be grown in every section. Where can
a home be found to equal ours, if we have industry, perseverance, frugality and
patience like others ?
" The immense superiority of South Carolina over almost every other State in the
Union as an agricultural country, consists in this, that whilst she can grow the
groat staples of cotton, rice, tobacco and sugar with profit — especially the unequalled
long staple Sea Islands cotton, and the valuable long grained rice of the Santeo and
Pee Doe — her climate and soil are equally adapted to produce every grain and fruit
of the northernmost clime, and her water power is so available and universally dis-
tributed, that mills and factories may bo established every few miles without diffi-
culty, to work up her produce on the spot, and monopolize every resource for her
economical prosperity.
"The usual productions of this State are cotton, the long and short staple, rice,
both swamp and upland, tobacco, indigo, sugar, wheat, rye,_ corn, oats, millets,
barley, buckwheat, peas, beans, sorghum, broom corn, sunflower, guinea corn,
sweet potatoes and Irish potatoes. Hemp, flax and hops grow luxuriantly. Of
fruits, our orchards will show apples, pears, quinces, plums, peaches, ajmcots, nec-
tarines, cherries, oranges, lemons, olives, figs, pomegranates and the American date,
the persimmons of many kinds. Of berries, we have the mulberry, raspberry,
strawberry, blackberry, huckleberry, sparkleborry and elderberry. Of nuts, we
have tho walnut, pecan nut, chestnut, hickory, hazel nut and chinquepin. The
grape grows luxuriantly in every portion of the State. In our woods and swamps
enormous vines are found extending to the topmost branches of the tallest forest
trees. Around Aiken, about 500 acres are now planted in grapes, and tho quantity
increases annually. Tho vines aro healthy and vigorous. A Mr. Axt, an energetic
German of Georgia, recently ofierod to guarantee twenty-five hundred gallons of
wine per acre to those cmplo3nng him to superintend and jilant tlieir vineyards 1
At two dollars a gallon, tho usual price, what an enormous profit ! The silkworm
thrives well with us, and tho moriis muUicaulis flourishes without any more care or
CAfTLE, SHEEl? AND SWiNE. SI
attention than any of our forest trees, and tbo growth is so rapid that the leaves can
be used the second year after planting. The tea plant is successfully cultivated.
Of garden products, we have turnips, carrots, parsnips, artichokes, mustard, bene,
rhubarb, arrow-root, watermelons, muskmelons, cucumbers, cabbages, kale, salads,
peppers, squashes, tomatoes, pumpkins, onions, leeks, okra, cauliflower, beans,
peas, radishes, celery, etc., etc., — in short, almost whatever can be raised in any
garden in the world. Of flowers, we have in our gardens whatever the earth will
yield in beauty and fragrance. The rose is a hedge-plant, the japonica blossoms in
the open air throughout the winter, the jasmine perfumes our thickets, and the
violet borders our roads.
" Horses and Mules are raised without any greater trouble than anywhere else.
They are stall-fed when they are working, whilst they are mostly allowed to roam
the forest and provide their own support when they are young.
" Cattle are very rarely provided with food or provender, excepting the milch cowa
to induce them to come homo of evening for milking. Nutricious grasses fatten
them rapidly in the summer, whilst in the winter tliey grow poor from the scanti-
ness of the herbage. They aro no expense whatever ; but of greater advantage
would it undoubtedly be to house and keep them properly, as in the colder sections
of the Union, for their manure and steadier increase would surely pay the farmer
handsomely for his trouble.
" Sheep do well, and are as little expense to the farmer as his other stock, being
rarely attended to, excepting to learn them to know their home. They are
sheared twice in the year. What has been said of cattle applies to them with equal
force.
" Swine are very thriving and prolific, on account of the superabundance of food,
which our fields, swamps, and forests furnish them. They aro siifTered to roam at
large, simply bearing the mark of the owner.
CONCLUSION.
" The Atlantic ocean is the great highway of nations, the broad road that connects
Eastern and Western civilization, commerce, arts, sciences, improvement and pro-
gress. Is there another State that has greater facilities, a more extensive sea
front, better harbors, and a fairer position on this great ocean path than South
Carolina. If the West was ever so fair, if it was ever so fruitful, if it even were to
produce twice what can be gathered from our fields, the thousands of miles that
they are removed from the principal shipping ports to the markets of the world,
are an obstacle which they never can overcome by ever so many railroads and
inland navigation facilities. And tliis great advantage of position will become of
greater influence upon the prosperity of every inhabitant of this State the more our
immense resources are developed. Heretofore wo cared for nothing but agricul-
ture, and that even of a most imperfect kind, looking to the staples alone, such as
cotton, rice, etc., for our wealth ; but then our most distant plantation was within
three hundred miles of our exportation mart. Now, we want to retain all our
great agricultural interests ; but we want also to mine our minerals, to make our
own furniture, smelt our own iron, make our own glass, crockery and stoneware ;
in fact, wo want help to do our own work, and we want especially to manufacture
our own cotton. It is admitted 'that tlio South not only has the finest region in
the world for the cotton culture, but the best facihties and the greatest advantages
for cotton manufactures. From its generous soil and mild winter climate, men can
32 coiccLiTstoif.
live more cheaply, and realize larger profits from their great agricultural staples in
the South than in the West, and vastly larger profits from manufactures of all
kinds, than can be made in Now England or even in Old England.' And what is
thus said of the whole South, applies with more force and in a more perfect degree
to our own Carolina. Enterprising men will find that both labor and capital can
be invested nowhere with bettor prospects of large and unfailing profits, and
nowhere will both be heartier welcomed and higher appreciated."
I ]sr D E X.
F.IOE
Erroneous impressions concerning Southern States 3
Dependence on the North for manufactures and food 4
Climate of South Carolina 5
Former exports of South Carolina 5
Cotton and Rice latterly the chief exports 6
Aiken — action of Town Council 7
South Carolina aa a community 8
Calhoun — proposed new district of. 9
Aiken — description of. 10
Aiken — its resources and advantages 11
Gaillard, Dr., on CUmate of Aiken 12
Aiken free from diseases 13
Soil in vicinity of Aiken 14
Aiken a great fruit region 16
Fruits of Aiken and vicinity 16
Wine, production of, in Aiken 17
Roots and Yogetables — when to plant, &c 19
Productive power of soil 20
Manufactures 21
Factories in vicinity 22
Forest trees and other woods 23
Kaolin — immense deposits of 24
Buhr mill-stone — beds of 25
Aiken a summer resort 26
Aiken— 'low rate of taxation in 27
Aiken — low price of real estate in 23
South Carolina a fruitful country 29
South Carolina — usual productions of. 30
South Carolina — cattle, sheep, and swine 31
Conclusion 32
• AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA.
The undersigned, having perfected their arrangements for bringing to the notice
of Northern Capitalists, Farmers, Mechanics and others, the advantages of Aiken and
vicinity, ofl'er. their services as REAL ESTATE BROKERS, to parties wlio may de-
sire to dispose of Faijms, Resiosxces, Wateii Pou'eks, Kvolin" Deposits, &c., &e.,
located in the vicinity.
Persons desirous to sell can have their propei ty registered in the Aiken Office,
without ciiarge, on furnishing a description of the same; and parties wishing to pur-
cliase will be supplied on application, Witli a i)amphlet describing the advantages of
Aiken and Vicinity, and a list of the places for sale.
All communications' by mail promptly responded to. Address,
J. C. DERBY, No. 40 Park Eow, New York,
or, E. J C. V/OOD, ALken. S. C.
■WOOXD cSc CDCD.,
AIKEN, S. C;
OQer for sale a select assortment of such articles as are usually found in a well ap-
pointed DRUG and BOOK STORE, at as low prices as the- same qualit}"- of goods
can be purcha.sed in the neighboring Cities, such as
Staple Drugs, -Glieinica,l3, Essential Oils, Patent Mediciues^ Toilot
Eequisites and Fancy Articles. Also, School Books and the best
Miscellaneous Books. Prescriptions carefully compounded.
Our assortment comprises every variety of "Writing Papers, Cap, Post, Letter,
Path, Note and Ladies' Billet Sizes of gilt or plain edges ; White, Blue, Tinted and
iluuruing. ,
Fifty Varieties of Envelopes, fine and common, laige and sin;ill.
Blanlt Books, such as Day Books, Journals and Ledgers, Composition, Copy, Mem-
orandum and Pocket Books, Diaries, f*ass Books, &c., &c.
Poems, Gift, School, Song, A. B. C, Toy, and Hymn Books, Photographic Al-
bums, Black and Red Inks, Pens, Pencils, Pen-holders, Erasers, Mucilage, Sealing Wa.x:.
&c., ic, for .'^ale by WOOD, & CO.
H, SMYSER, JProj^rletor.
A desirable Summer Residence for Southerners, and Winter Resort k.i Xurilurn-
ers, especially to those affected by throat or lung diseases.
Plea.sant Rooms and an unexceptionable Table for all guests.
Refers in New York, to J. 0. DjUiiBr, 40 Park Row.
O J^F\.JD
W, PERONNEAU FINLEY,
g^ttovnrjj at ^m m\A ^oMUx in €q«itjj,
Will pniciisc his Profession in the Di.stricls of Warnwell and Edgefield,
Office, AIKEN, JS. C.
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