Tally Johnson - Ghosts of the Pee Dee

Published by Haunted America

A Division of The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2009 by Tally Johnson

All rights reserved

First published 2009

Second printing 2011

e-book edition 2012

ISBN 978.1.61423.536.1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Johnson, Talmadge.

Ghosts of the Pee Dee / Tally Johnson.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

print edition ISBN 978-1-59629-626-8

1. Ghosts--South Carolina--Pee Dee Region. 2. Pee Dee Region (S.C.)--History.

I. Title.

BF1472.U6J653 2009

133.1097578--dc22

2009007729

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

AUTHORS NOTE

All accounts and events in this book are related as they occurred to the people involved. The author has sought to verify all personal accounts with other sources, but in some cases this was not possible. The author also states that the events in this book are true to the best of his knowledge. Any location at which the author failed to have an experience may still be haunted, but some people are luckier than others. Please do not trespass or vandalize sites found in this book or in any other collection of ghost lore. You arent funny and you are committing a crime, not to mention making the jobs of serious researchers like myself that much harder. Enjoy the book but do so responsibly.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to acknowledge the love and support of my parents, Mike Johnson and Doris Wilson, as well as that of my friends, whose patience, support and willingness to be dragged all over South Carolina at a moments notice were tested at various times over the writing and researching of this book and the other two as well. And as always, I want to thank my wife, Rachel, for her love, support and understanding. A special note of thanks to my maternal grandparents, Carl and Doris Betts Wilson, for the support and enthusiasm that they have shown me from the first idea for this series of books until now. To anyone left unnamed, thanks all the same.

INTRODUCTION

During book signings and storytelling appearances, I often get asked, Do you believe in ghosts? I have to reply that I do, since I have seen them in almost every county of the state. I havent seen one in Jasper County yet, but its just a matter of time. I view ghost stories as a way to learn the hidden history of a place. The stories of yesterday that in todays media would be in the National Enquirer are the ghost stories that we tell each other for a shiver. I also get asked why I would include ghost stories from Richland, Dorchester and Berkeley Counties in a book about the Pee Dee and Sand Hills regions. My response is, Where else would you read them? Few of the Charleston ghost story books embrace Berkeley and Dorchester. Anyone who has spent time at Lake Marion or Lake Moultrie would agree that those areas have more in common with the Pee Dee than with the Lowcountry. Richland County is included because I still had stories to tell even after covering some of them in my previous book, Ghosts of the South Carolina Midlands.

Finally, I also get asked if I am going to write any more books or if I am going to write a book on the ghosts of the Grand Strand and Lowcountry. I especially get the latter question from family and friends, who are more interested in road trips than ghosts. Well, honestly, thats up to you. If this book sells well enough that the publisher wants more, Ill write one. Or if you tell The History Press that you and all ten thousand of your friends want to read my next book, Ill probably write one. My personal feeling is that I wont cover the South Carolina coast anytime soon, barring a large number of requests and begging from my publisher. I mean, Terrance Zepke, Nancy Roberts, Margaret Rhett Martin, Nancy Rhyne, Geordie Buxton, Elizabeth Huntsinger Wolf and Blanche Floyd are some tough acts to follow. As it is now, I, like Isaac Newton, have seen as far as I have by standing on the shoulders of giants. Im none too sure that I want to get under their feet. In any case, I do hope that you have as much fun reading this book as I did researching it. I got to go to some of the most history-drenched spots in inland South Carolina and meet some of the best public servants the state has in its corner. But remember: if you decide to follow in my footsteps, be careful, be respectful and obey all laws and signage. Otherwise, you deserve whatever happens.

CHAPTER 1

BERKELEY COUNTY

Berkeley County is located in the southern central part of South Carolina and is surrounded by Charleston, Georgetown, Williamsburg, Clarendon, Orangeburg and Dorchester Counties. The present county was established in 1882 from Charleston County, though earlier parishes such as St. James Goose Creek, St. Thomas, St. Denis, St. Johns Berkeley and St. Stephens occupied the same territory. The county was named for John and William Berkeley, two of the Lords Proprietor, as well as the short-lived original 1682 county of the same name. From 1786 until 1882, the territory of Berkeley County was part of Charleston County. From the early part of the first century until about 1725, the area was home to several thriving native cultures. Both the Westo and Yamasee Wars ended any threat to English settlement, with Berkeley County being the site of one fort during the Westo War and five during the Yamasee. After its reestablishment, Berkeley County lost territory to Dorchester County. Due to its proximity to Charleston and its role as a center of recruitment for Francis Marion, the Revolutionary general known as the Swamp Fox and a native of Berkeley County, the county was the site of twelve actions during the Revolution. Besides the impact the Revolution had in the county, it had even more on some natives. Henry Laurens was president of the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1778 and then minister to Holland, a prisoner in the Tower of London and a peace commissioner following his exchange for Lord Cornwallis.

No actions are recorded in the county during the Civil War, but it was the construction site for the Confederate semisubmersible Little David in 1863. John Gaillardwho served as president pro tempore under President James Madison while in the U.S. Senate from 1805 to 1826was born in Berkeley County. Due to the death of Vice President Elbridge Gerry in November 1814, and until the end of Madisons term on March 3, 1817, Gaillard was next in line to the presidency. L. Mendel Rivers, a longtime congressman known as the Servicemans Best Friend, was also born in Berkeley County. Mepkin Abbeyonce the home of the Laurens family, of Revolutionary fame, as well as the former summer home of Henry and Clare Boothe Luce and now the center of a Trappist monasteryis located near Goose Creek. The bodies of Henry and John Laurens and Henry and Clare Luce are interred at the cemetery. Berkeley County was the home of Daniel Chamberlain, South Carolinas last carpetbagger governor, prior to his election. Berkeley County is home to part of Lake Marion and all of Lake Moultrie.