The Rock Hill Herald reported on Aug. 19, 1886 – “The landings at Cureton’s Ferry are in a bad condition. Dr. R.T.M. Hall was hurt last week when his horse struggled to climb the bank and fell back into the river.”
On June 2, 1887 the Herald reported – “Soundings are being made in the Catawba River below Cureton’s Ferry for the purpose of locating the railroad (CCC’s) trestle.”
The RH Herald reported on July 14, 1887 – “Three weeks ago, a pony belonging to Mr. Geo. Givens, the ferryman at Cureton’s Ferry, was bitten by a mad dog and on Friday the pony showed signs of having hydrophobia, and was killed by the owners. As a precaution, Mr. Givens burned the stable and the pony.”
On July 28th 1887 the Herald reported – “Col. Matson, chief engineer for the 3 C’s RR reports the iron rails for the railroad between Yorkville and Cureton’s Ferry have been ordered and he expects that tract laying can begin within two months.” Also, Mr. Peter Griffin of NY has the contract for the erection of the 3c’s bridge over the Catawba River at Cureton Ferry. He is now here and is accompanied by Mr. James Colvin of Ayershire, Scotland, who will have charge of building the piers and abutments for the bridge. They will seek the best source of stone for a quarry. Mr. Colvin will being a crew of workman from Asheville to work the rock.” Later the paper reported on Aug. 25, 1887 – “Mr. Colvin, the contractor for the 3C’s Bridge over the Catawba River was in Rock Hill last Saturday. From him we learn that the work of getting out the stone for the abutments and piers is progressing well. His stone quarry is about two miles above the bridge site and several hundred yards from the river. He is building a flat boat that can carry 20 tons for the purpose of transporting the stones to the bridge site.” On Sept. 22, 1887 the Herald also reported – “The contractor is ready to start digging the foundation for the abutments of the 3C’s railroad trestle over the Catawba River. Stone of an excellent quality is on the site in great quantity.”
On Aug. 25, 1887 the RH Herald reported – “Captain Dinning, who has the contract for the masonry work for the Catawba River Bridge on the GC and N Railroad, laid the first rock for the abutment on the Lancaster bank last Friday.” Later on Sept. 22, 1887 the Herald reported – “Mr. Harden, the trestle contractor, is driving piles for the trestle across the Lineburger Bottom on the Catawba River.”
The Herald reported on Oct. 6, 1887 – “The contractor has sounded the site for the abutment to the 3C’s bridge on the western side of the Catawba River. He failed to find a solid foundation. The ground is much to soft and he expects to go much deeper.”
The Herald reported on Oct. 6, 1887 – “Mr. Hardeman, the contractor for the erection of the 3C’s bridge over the Catawba River has lost 45,000 board feet of lumber. It has been brought by railcar to the Nations Ford bridge and thrown into the river to drift down and be recovered at the site of the 3C’s bridge at Cureton’s Ferry. A sudden swell in the river occurred and the trap make of rope designed to catch the lumber became submerged, and the lumber floated down stream.”
On Nov. 3, 1887 Mr. J.H. Whitner and J.T. Roddey have secured the contract for grading the 3C’s railroad from Rock Hill to a point seven miles SE of Rock Hill (Cureton’s Ferry.)
The Rock Hill Herald reported on Feb. 2, 1888 – “Mr. George A. Denning (George A. Dinning), who had the contract for building bridges over the Catawba River and Fishing Creek for the GC & N Railroad has had the contract taken away for lack of progress. He will be replaced by Mr. Joseph Lee of Columbia.”
On Feb. 9, 1888 the RH Herald reported – “Mr. A.D. Holler has completed a culvert over a branch on the GC & N Railroad near the road to Cureton’s Ferry in which there were 200,000 which cost $4,000.”
On Feb. 9, 1888 the paper further reported – “The update on construction of the 3C’s railroad bridge at Cureton’s Ferry stated; the bridge will contain four piers and one has been completed and construction is underway on two others. The timber for the framework has been sawed and is ready for use.”
On March 1st 1888 the RH Herald reported – “Mr. Colvin, who has the contract for the masonry for the 3CCC’s bridge over the Catawba River, plans to finish all the piers and abutments within a month.” On May 31 the Herald reported further – “The track laying on the 3CCC’s rr reached the Catawba River last Friday afternoon. Your editor was present and saw the last spike driven. A train of eleven cars immediately came loaded with timber for the river bridge. The bridge has now been framed and should be completed in three weeks.”
The Rock Hill Herald stated on _ July 19, 1888 – “The tools have not been available to put the sheet iron cover on the river bridge for the 3C’s railroad and trains have not yet passed over the bridge. The work is now progressing, and the bridge will likely be crossed today.”
Georgia, Carolina and Northern (GCN) Railroad:
July 19, 1888: The editor spent a day last week at the bridge of the GC&N Railroad over the Catawba River. Col. Morrison, the Chief Engineer, resident engineer Mr. C. C. Dunn and Mr. Joseph Lee, manager of the crew building the piers were all there. The abutment on the York County bank is under construction. The company has a large crew and five large derricks operated by steam working on the bridge. Three spans are completed and the fourth will be done upon completion of the abutment. The plan of the bridge is after specifications of the Pennsylvania Central Railroad for 1887. Col. Morrison expects to continue laying tracks and will be at the junction with the Three C’s Railroad soon.
July 19, 1888: Last Thursday, a young man from Kentucky named Maherie fell from the top of the GC&N bridge being built over the Catawba River, into the river, a distance of about 45 feet. He went under the water immediately and reappeared downstream about 75 yards. Fortunately, an Indian was in the river in a canoe and took him to shore. The man’s back was injured when falling he struck an iron rod. It is thought that he will recover. August 2, 1888: A train crossed the river bridge of the GC&N Railroad at 2:00 in the afternoon last Tuesday.
City Directories and History: The Yorkville Enquirer reported on May 30, 1888 – “On the 3 C’s Railroad, track laying has been completed to the Catawba River and timber for the bridge is being delivered. The bridge will be 13 miles this side of Lancaster and 12 miles from Rock Hill. Trains should be running from Camden to Rutherfordton by this fall.”
The Yorkville Enquirer reported on July 25, 1888 – “The Catawba River bridge, the only obstacle for track laying on the 3 C’s Railroad was finished last Friday and the first train crossed the river at 10:30 on Saturday. Track laying has proceeded to trestle #13, three miles on this side of the river. After this trestle is completed there will be no further delay in coming to Rock Hill and Yorkville.” Also, “Capt. W.L. Roddey and Mr. S.L. Reid were the first of our citizens to cross the Catawba River on a team on the 3 C’s Railroad on Friday. It is expected that the train will reach Rock Hill by August 14.” Also on July 25, 1888 the paper reported – “The ten year old son of Mr. T.A. Hardeman, contractor, who is building the bridge across the Catawba River for the 3 C’s Railroad fell from the bridge and was killed. The boy was taken to Indiana for burial.”
The Yorkville Enquirer reported on March 29, 1893 – “The residence of Mr. A. Brown Ferguson near Cureton’s Ferry was destroyed by fire on March 9. The family escaped the fire but nothing was saved.”
The Herald reported on April 1, 1903 – “the flat at Cureton’s Ferry was destroyed last week by the high waters of the Catawba River and traffic at that point has been suspended. Mr. A.B. Ferguson informs us that he is now having a new one built and as soon as it is finished it will be placed in position.”
CURETON FERRY OR MCCLENANHAN’S FERRY researched and written by Paul Gettys – 2020
Before the advent of railroad and vehicular bridges across the Catawba River, the only way to cross was at fords, natural shallow spots in the river, or by ferry. In South Carolina, ferries were generally privately operated, usually by someone who owned land on the river. The General Assembly would authorize the establishment of a ferry and would establish a fair rate of tolls for each ferry. The right to operate the ferry was usually limited to a term of years, after which the operator would request a reestablishment of the right.
One of the earliest ferries on the Catawba River was at a point in the southeast corner of York County, serving traffic crossing the river between York and Lancaster counties. Travelers on horseback or in wagons or carriages between Camden and Yorkville would need to cross the river. Landsford, the traditional crossing point, was not always reliable due to river flow. In 1795, the South Carolina General Assembly passed an act authorizing the establishment of a public ferry on the Catawba River at the plantation of Finney McClenahan (sometimes spelled McClennahan or McClanahan) for a term of fourteen years. The following tolls were permitted: foot passenger – four cents; a led horse – four cents; man and horse – seven cents; wagon and team -75 cents; chair or cart with one horse – 25 cents; each head of cattle, hogs, sheep or goats – two cents; and a rolled hogshead of tobacco – 25 cents. The ferry was located about four miles north of Landsford and connected the populous Waxhaws area of Lancaster County with York County just north of the Chester County line.
An act was passed in 1814 reestablishing the ferry and vesting F. McClennahan with the right to continue operating it. In 1823, the ferry lately vested in Finny McClanahan was vested in John S. McClanahan. In 1831, the ferry was again reestablished and vested in Thomas F. Duncan. In 1847, the charter for the ferry was awarded to Thomas R. Cureton for a term of seven years and the ferry across the Catawba River formerly called McClenaghan’s Ferry was re-chartered by the name of Cureton’s Ferry. The rates of toll were established and were the same as the ferry at Landsford, being operated by Cureton and F. W. Davie.
On the Lancaster side of the river, the ferry was connected to the road now known as Riverside Road by a short side route. On the York County side, the road from the ferry was called Cureton Ferry Road. About four miles north, it joined with the Upper Landsford Road at Coates Tavern (now called Roddey), and then followed the general route of the old US 21 to Steele’s Crossing (today the corner of East Main Street and East White Street). The route of the Upper Landsford Road then followed the present routes of East White Street, Charlotte Avenue, and Ebenezer Road toward the village of Ebenezer and then Yorkville. Once the village of Rock Hill was established in the early 1850s, it gradually grew to incorporate sections of the road into its street system.
Cureton Ferry was sometimes in later years called Indian Ferry. It should not be confused with Ashe’s Ferry, located to the north near the site of the SC 5 bridge over the river, which was operated for many years by a Catawba Indian, Early Brown. In the late 1950s, the construction of the large Bowater Carolinas paper mill obliterated the site of Cureton Ferry. The lower section of Cureton Ferry Road, which originally ran straight to the river, was redirected around the mill site to connect with SC 5.
Information on the ferry licenses and rates from Digested Index of the Statute Laws of South Carolina, William Rice, Vol. I and Vol. II.
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