The Rock Hill Herald reported on July 12, 1888 – “Mr. A.J. Clark, a surveyor has been engaged this past week in laying off the towns of Kershaw and Bechham’s on the line of the 3C’s Railroad in Lancaster County.”
City Directories and History: (Southern Railway Depot) The Kershaw Depot, built in 1926, is significant both as an intact example of early twentieth-century depots built in South Carolina and for its association with the
Courtesy of the Davie Beard Postcard Collection – 2017
transportation of passengers and freight on the Southern Railway from about 1926-1940. It was the second or third depot built in Kershaw, which developed in the 1880s after railroad service was introduced to that section of Lancaster County. This depot replaced an earlier passenger and freight depot/cotton platform that burned in 1926. Its primary use was to handle passengers; it also handled cotton, cottonseed and cotton oil products from nearby farms and cotton oil mills, and textiles from nearby textile mills. The interior plan is basically intact with a central ticketing area flanked by white and “colored” waiting areas. Men’s and women’s lounges and restrooms are located in the south end, adjacent to the white waiting area. Storage and loading areas are located at the opposite end and have been divided but this has not permanently damaged its integrity. Details such as beaded-board paneling on the ceilings and walls, and the ticket counter, are intact. The Southern Railway sold the depot to the present owners in 1945. It has since been used as a florist and
Courtesy of the Davie Beard Postcard Collection – 2017
craft shop. Listed in the National Register February 16, 1990. [Courtesy of the SC Dept. of Archives and History]
On July 31, 1889 the Yorkville Enquirer reported – “A fire at Kershaw destroyed the Comet Office (newspaper office), a bar room and a furniture store.”
The RH Herald reported on April 15, 1899 – “A.D. Holler and W.G. Adams are arranging to establish a brickyard in the Town of Kershaw.”
The Rock Hill Herald on Dec. 11, 1901 reported, “that Mr. Claude Romedy is now engaged in erecting a telephone line from Lancaster the Kershaw.”
The Yorkville Enquirer of May 14, 1902 reported that Capt. W.B. Moore has taken a contract to put in a system of waterworks at Kershaw.
The Rock Hill Herald reported on Nov. 22, 1902 – “Ms. Janette Rawls of Rock Hill has accepted the position as Asst. Teacher at the Sand Hill School near Baker’s Mill near Kershaw.”
The Rock Hill Record reported on March 1, 1909 – “A fire at the Kershaw Cotton Seed Oil Mill with damage of about $25,000. The mill will be rebuilt.”
R&R HISTORY LINK: the Kershaw Depot NR Nomination
R&R HISTORY LINK: NATIONAL REGISTER – IMAGES(S)
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Diagram of the Kershaw Oil Mill – 1916.
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ADDITIONAL DIAGRAMS:
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- Sanborn Map images of Kershaw’s businesses in 1916.
