Historic Long Cane, Inc. is an organization devoted to historic preservation, public education, and development of history and nature based tourism in parts of McCormick, Abbeville and Greenwood Counties. The section around Long Cane Creek has a high density of historic sites representing the mid-eighteenth through the mid-nineteenth centuries. The area is largely undeveloped, lying in the heart of the Sumter National Forest, and provides a setting unmatched for peaceful tranquility and the opportunity to appreciate natural beauty. The many old churches and cemeteries in the Long Cane District are part the genealogical roots of Americans all over the country. The area around Long Cane Creek was acquired from the Cherokee Indians by treaty in 1747, and first settled by the Calhoun family in 1758. In later years, Patrick Calhoun described the area when he first moved there as one vast break of canes, hence the name Long Cane Creek. In 1761, land grants and bounties were offered to "poor protestants" who would settle in the backwoods sections of the state. European immigrants poured into Charles Town, many of them from Northern Ireland, but also from France and Germany. Some came as individuals or families, but whole groups came as organized colonies or religious congregations. At the same time, more settlers were entering the area who had come by stages from as far as Pennsylvania and throughout Virginia. Names of early townships like Boonesborough, Londonborough, and Belfast are almost forgotten now; the people who populated the area did not share the same vision for this country as the Lord’s Proprietors in England. When the issues surrounding the American Revolution finally reached the boiling point, a group of Long Cane Rangers, acting under orders from the Council of Safety, seized Fort Charlotte and a substantial store of guns and ammunition on July 12, 1775; acknowledged by historians as the first overt military act of the Revolutionary War. Continuing activity of patriot militia in the area resulted in an inconclusive skirmish on Long Cane Creek, December 13, 1780. Eventually the British realized that they could not control the rebels in remote sections. When Star Fort was abandoned in 1781 after being sieged by combined Continental and local militia forces, it signaled the beginning of the British withdrawal from the South. We have established an interim board of directors to oversee the creation of Historic Long Cane, Inc. We are seeking 501 C(3) non profit corporation tax status and adopting by-laws to create a fiscal agency that may receive funding from various sources. Friends of Historic Long Cane memberships will be offered to the public, and we will pursue corporate sponsors as well as state and federal grants and matching funds. Current projects include a nomination to the National Register of Historic Places for an Historic District to help protect several sites and their setting, an application to the South Carolina Humanities Council for a grant to support a multi-media presentation about the historical importance of the pioneer townships in upstate South Carolina, and the annual reenactment of the Battle of Long Cane.

For information contact John Calvin Grier

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