The Beauty Spot #2

The BEAUTY SPOT

From a hill near the end of Scenic View Road and near the tiny community of Hopewell, one may view the grandeur of the Broad River basin as it breaks forth at their feet and stretches to lavender hills of Union County. This area is known as “Beauty Spot.”

While most of the local people know where Beauty Spot is, no one knew when or how the name originated. Some thought it may have been the name of an old plantation that had faded into time and others thought it referred to one tiny spot where one could stand to view the countryside.  The fact is, this name originates from 1751, when this area of South Carolina was still a wilderness but about to be tamed by oxen and iron plows. Just before the arrival of settlers, the colonial governor sent surveyors into the back country to lay out land tracts that would eventually be sold or granted to settlers.

Plats along the Broad River during that period often reveal names given by a surveyor who had been captivated by the beauty of some geographical feature. Long forgotten names like Golden Grove, Pleasant Plain, Mount Pleasant, The Round About, Hickory Level, Goose Ponds and Verdant Meadow evoke visions of some long ago Camelot.  The earliest reference to Beauty Spot is found among the land grants of Anson County, North Carolina. On September 14, 1751, Geyan (or Guyon) Moore was granted 600 acres “on the north side of Broad River on the North side of Beaverdam Creek.” A casual reading of the grant causes one to belive that the surveyor had a heavy Scotch-Irish accent since the plat’s title, “The Beauty Spot” is recorded “The Butespoote”. Moore either bought or was granted a number of tracts in the area and the creek that meanders through the area into the Broad River soon was given the name Guyon Moore Creek, for its owner.

Guyon Moore was born about 1690, probably in Chester County, Pennsylvania and had been active as a lieutenant in the Associate Provincial Regiments of that county. Sometime around 1721, he married a widow, Ellender. Like others in his day, Moore was a land speculator and it is doubtful he every came to South Carolina. Moore willed the Beauty Spot to his son, John, who was already living in South Carolina, but when John died without children, the plantation went to his elder brother, James, who at his death, passed it to his son, Thomas. Some of the land bordering Beauty Spot was purchased by members of the Moore family, adding them to the original parcel. The 1779 will of James Moore, who lived in Chester County on Brushy Fork of the Sandy River, states he left his son, Robert, 325 acres “. . .of land on Broad River the North Side, it being part of a tract called The Beauty Spot.” An additional six hundred acres of the same tract was willed to his son, John. By this, we see that the name Beauty Spot had been enlarged to include more than the original 600 acres.

In 1787, Thomas Moore of Chester County sold a tract consisting of 600 acres, called Beauty Spot, to Jacob Brown of Winnsboro for the sum of $500.00. In 1805, Ralph Rogers sold, for $2,200, two hundred and eleven acres to Will Thomson which had been deeded to Rogers by G. Moore, called Beauty Spot. Another 311 acres was called the lower end of the tract, Beauty Spot. The following year, Matthew Rogers, a Tanner from Chester County and his wife Eleanor, with his brother, Clayton Rogers of the Pinckney District, and his wife, Betrick, sold 150 acres to William Thomson of Spartanburg County. The deed states this parcel was “. . .originally granted to Guyan Moore, then to Thomas Fletcher and part of land originally granted to John Nichols, Sen.”  William H. Thomson and his wife, Margaret, of Spartanburg County sold 992 acres in 1826 to Richard Thomson, “. . .it being the lower end of the Beauty Spot” which had been willed to him by his grandfather, William Thomson. The following year, Henry H. Thomson of Spartanburg County sold 575 acres to Richard Thomason, “. . .it being the lower end of Beauty Spot. . .”, which had been willed to him by his grandfather, William Thomson. This parcel consisted of “meaders” and mill shoals where a mill had been operated by Rogers.

At this point, Beauty Spot, counting the upper and lower end, would have consisted of 1,567 acres! William Thomson’s obituary read, in part, “. . .Died on the 14 inst., at his residence on the Beauty Spot, in the District, Mr. William Thomson in the 73d year of his age. . . He was among the first who resisted the arbitrary measures of Great Britain under the celebrated Patrick Henry, he assisted in expelling Lord Dunmore from Virginia. . .”

The land continued to pass from one hand to another. Beauty Spot was sold in 1827 for $300 by Lazarus and Thomas Moore to Ralph Rogers, a Planter of the Pinckney District who would later move to Jackson County, Tennessee. Some part of Beauty Spot was in the hands of one Glenn D. Peake and was being managed by Thomas L. Berry in 1889.

But there no need to weary ourselves over land transactions when a drive along the quiet stretches of Scenic View Road will restore the weary traveler. No matter what time of day one pauses atop one of the many hills overlooking the Broad River basin, the soul can be refreshed by its beauty. From light to light the view captivates; but perhaps it is best late in the day when you stand on one of the prominences of western York County and see the distant hills in Union and Cherokee counties change from shades of blue to hues of pink and lavender.

Legend has it that Beauty Spot was once inhabited by a Dutch (German) princess who lived there many years ago. When the family decided to move to the Midwest, it is said that as the wagon was loaded and ready to move out, the pretty princess cried out, “Wait!” She had to have one last look at Beauty Spot. Running to her favorite place to soak in the beauty, she indelibly marked her memory with the majestic view. Then, she returned to her waiting family, climbed aboard the wagon and and rode away from Beauty Spot.

Though the landscape has changed from the time of this legend, the area’s beauty still has power to captivate the soul and beckons the visitor to see it just one more time.

J.L. West – Author

This article and many others found on the pages of Roots and Recall, were written by author J.L. West, for the YC Magazine and have been reprinted on R&R, with full permission – not for distribution or reprint!

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