Originally inhabited by the Catawba and Waxhaw Indians, Lancaster’s story began in the early 1750s when a vanguard of Scotch-Irish immigrants seeking inexpensive land and religious freedom moved into the area known as the Waxhaws, (now northern Lancaster County) and established a settlement. A second colony was soon developed by English (Welsh), German and Scotch-Irish newcomers from Virginia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania in southern Lancaster County.

Lancaster’s name can be traced from fifteenth-century England, when the War of the Roses was fought between the House of Lancaster and the House of York, through their first settlement in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and down to the county that was established in South Carolina in 1785, with the red rose, the insignia of the House of Lancaster, as its emblem.

Lancaster county abounds with landmarks of historical significance, and famous Lancastrians include Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States; Charles Duke, astronaut and moon-walker; Nina Mae McKinney, actress and Broadway star; Elliott White Springs, textile industrialist; and Dr. J. Marion Sims, who is known as the “father of modern gynecology.”

During the Revolutionary War, about ten miles east of Lancaster, a battle now known as Buford’s Massacre took place, in which British Colonel Banastre Tarleton devastated Colonel Abraham Buford’s retreating forces in May, 1780, killing or wounding almost all of the 350 militiamen. In August, 1780, the colonists were avenged when troops under the leadership of General Thomas Sumter surprised and defeated the British at the Battle of Hanging Rock, about three miles south of the Heath Springs area in the southern part of Lancaster County. Lancastrians at Hanging Rock included Major Robert Crawford and Major William Richardson Davie. Thirteen year old Andrew Jackson, serving as an aide to his kinsman Robert Crawford and to Major Davie, participated in his first warfare in this battle.

South of Heath Springs, the first court for Lancaster County was held in the home of John Ingram; closer to present-day Lancaster, a log courthouse was built in 1795; a second courthouse was constructed in 1802 and the town was named Lancasterville. Built in 1828, the present courthouse was designed by architect Robert Mills, of Washington Monument fame; in 1825, he had designed the Lancaster County Jail. Both are now national landmarks.

In 1865, as Union General W.T. Sherman marched through Lancaster, attempts were made by his men to burn both the Courthouse and the Jail. Damage was not severe to either building, but many wills and other important papers were destroyed. The town was looted by the soldiers, who stabled their horses in the sanctuary of the Presbyterian Church, which had been built in 1862, while in the area.

The establishment of Lancaster Cotton Mills in 1895 by Colonel Leroy Springs brought the Industrial Revolution to Lancaster. Textiles have remained an important industry to the local economy.

Town of Heath Springs

In the early 1800s, the Hanging Rock Mineral Spring became well-known for its “healing, bubbling springs” and in the 1850s, the Hanging Rock Mineral Springs Inn began attracting people from many areas seeking the healthful mineral spring waters. Though Sherman’s soldiers destroyed the inn, the area around the spring, known as the Heath Spring after its new owner, had begun to grow, and eventually a post office originally called the Heath Spring Post Office was established. Later a business firm from Lancaster opened in the area—the Heath, Springs and Company, and in 1890, the town of Heath Springs was incorporated, and the post office soon changed its name to Heath Springs Post Office.

Today, the town of Heath Springs includes approximately 900 residents. Main Street is going through the Streetscape program, and a variety of businesses, including a local bank and post office, along with several medical offices, commercial ventures and industries, serve the Heath Springs area. 

Town of Kershaw

In 1887, the Southern Railroad, largely due to the efforts of Pleasant Plains resident James Welsh, established a station halfway between Camden and Lancaster. The area developed and was soon known as Welsh’s Station, but in 1888, Captain Welsh headed the movement to apply for a charter of incorporation for the new town whose name would be Kershaw, in honor of Major General J.B. Kershaw, a Camden attorney who participated in some of the most famous battles of the Confederate War and was taken prisoner of war in Massachusetts. After the war, he was elected to the State Senate; later he became a U.S. Congressman, and in 1874 he was appointed Judge of the Fifth Circuit, an office he held until his death in 1894.

In the early 1900s, Kershaw flourished with many retail stores, as well as several commercial and industrial businesses. Located three miles from the town, Haile Gold Mine was at one time rated as the largest producer of gold east of the Appalachian mountains, with gold being poured at the rate of $1,000 worth daily. Continuing in operation today, mica is now mined there.

Close to 1800 persons reside in the town of Kershaw, according to the 2000 census.