The S.C. Preservation Conference was held last week, in Columbia, S.C. at which time, Roots and Recall proudly served as a sponsor. It was interesting to hear from a number of individuals inquiring what was happening to R&R’s weekly From the Porch blog? We explained that due to several factors, the blog posts had to take a back seat to the invaluable historic contributions pouring into the office, coupled with R&R launching the new TBHH.info tour program, and my own personal fight with vertigo. R&R has simply had a firestorm of fantastic activities and unplanned dizziness which unfortunately halted some activities, one being the blog. We are truly sorry that so many of you have missed it and we are hoping to return to full steam soon.
Envelope from the Limestone Springs Female High School – Amos Collection
Outstanding contributions of hand drawn land-grant maps, over 1,200 articles on S.C. history by a retired Winthrop University professor, a copy of one of Chester Co’s earliest maps, new story submissions for posting on Kidslore, and a fantastic collection of contemporary images of historic structures are just a small glimpse of collections arriving for digitization and posting. Volunteers recently analyzed it will take fifteen months or more to digitize, index and post the materials thus far having arrived in 2018. Thankfully new volunteers have also stepped forth to assist. And of course R&R programmer has been making lots of unseen improvements to the website and its flow of data. Coincidentally, R&R membership role has also flourished and we sincerely appreciate your outstanding financial support!
Of particular interest on a personal and professional level, have been the recent contributions of the Amos Map Collection. The map collection of mostly Mecklenburg and Tryon County, N.C. land grants, made in S.C.’s Pacolet River Basin, is an artful hand-drawn assembly of surveys showing land grants along the river basin. These not only show the geographic location of the properties but are accompanied by a database of names and information, making the maps searchable and therefore an outstanding research tool of 18th century upcountry history. One of these land grants, not available on R&R as of yet, was to Abraham Buis (Buice), one of my direct ancestors, of whom I know little. What a tremendous asset to our family’s knowledge of the Buice family to discover that several members of the family had indeed had land grants in what later became Cherokee County, S.C.
We suggest you visit the following three R&R counties and search these names for a sample of new articles, maps and historic materials:
- Lancaster County SC – Izard
- Cherokee County SC – Limestone Springs or Amos
- Chester County SC – Great Falls Community
Author, historian and teacher, Robin Lattimore has also contributed several new articles on N.C. history for posting on R&R’s pages. His most recently publication, Southern Splendor: Saving Architectural Treasures of the Old South, is a beautifully created book on plantations. Recently announced, his future work with author Jim Kibler of S.C. will impact S.C.’s upcountry history scene! Be sure to read R&R’s upcoming feature article by Robin and discover how one gracious N.C. plantation home survived as a corporate textile building, just a small part of a lifetime of outstanding research and writing by the contributing author. Two other of R&R’s contributing authors are working on new articles which will also tweak your interest on Lancaster County history and blacksmithing in S.C.
R&R NOTE: Appreciation of our local history is at an all time high and R&R is working to preserve thousands of documents, ledgers, map and images. But we are also working with partners to 
bring great collaborative activities and tourism opportunities across S.C. The TBHH.info program, (This Building Has History), which will officially launch in Fort Mill’s historic downtown on June 13th, is a tremendous new tool in sharing and showcasing local history. There is no buying an app, downloading a QR reader, or searching the web for tour information. TBHH has worked diligently for years with several cities, including the Fort Mill’s History Museum and their business community, to create a tour program for their historic downtown. It is beautiful, easy to use and highly expandable. And perhaps best of all, with TBHH you don’t need to hold a stationary public phone and wishing you had a can of Lysol spray.
Take a few minutes to open TBHH.info on your phone, tour downtown Fort Mill online, and see just how nice and easy this new product works. It looks great on your personal phone, there is no app to purchase, no community phone to touch, or a cost to the user. It simply works well, is mobile friendly, and can be used to create handsome tours just about anywhere!
