Established in 1819, Bennettsville became the seat of Marlboro County as citizens desired a more central location for their courthouse than the original site on the eastern bank of the Great Pee Dee River. A three acre apple orchard situated on a bluff above Crooked Creek on the Great Metropolitan Stage Line from New York to New Orleans was selected. A courthouse designed by Robert Mills was constructed and streets and a square were designed. Bennettsville was named after then Governor Thomas Bennett.
After railroads reached Bennettsville during the 1880's, the economy boomed bringing with it a notable collection of Victorian buildings surrounding the courthouse square, many of which are now housing a variety of businesses, including offices of the South Carolina Cotton Trail, the Marlboro County Chamber of Commerce, the Marlboro Arts Council, and bed and breakfast inns.
The Marlboro County Historical Museum Complex includes the historic 1826 Jennings-Brown House, used by the Union Army 17th Corps as headquarters when it captured Bennettsville on March 6, 1865. Other points of interest are two-room 1834 Bennettsville Female Academy, the 1902 Italianate Murchison School building, a doctor' museum and a printing museum. Tours of the Historical Museum Complex are available. Call the Museum at 843-479-5624.
Genealogists should visit the courthouse where records are complete from 1785, as well as the museum and county library. The Marlboro County Courthouse, built in 1884 with additions in 1951-52 is the fourth courthouse since the county was established.
The D. D. McColl Historic House on West Main Street is a South Carolina mosquito cottage built in 1830. It was the home of Duncan Donald McColl, who brought the first railroad, bank, and textile mills to Marlboro County. Now home to the Marlboro Chamber of Commerce and The South Carolina Cotton Trail, it was purchased, restored, and presented to the county by his great-grandson, Bennettsville native Hugh L. McColl, Jr., Bank of America Chairman of Charlotte. D. D. McColl's 1884 Victorian brick home, adjacent, is home of the Mutual Savings and Loan. The Thomas Memorial Baptist Church,, oldest church in the city was established in 1832.
Children's activist Marion Wright Edelman's birthplace on Cheraw Street is home of her Children's Defense Fund satellite office, adjacent to Shiloh Baptist Church, where her father was pastor.
Marlboro Civic Center, a 1917 restored opera house and former movie theater downtown on Clyde Street, features world-class entertainment throughout the year.
Marlboro Arts Council, the second oldest in the state, is located in the historic 1834 Weatherly-Walker House on East Market Street. Local art is on sale in its gallery, and its Jubilee Art Festival is held each May.
The historic Altman House hosts the Christmas Festival each November.
If you would like to contribute historical information about Marlboro County or any of its cities, towns, or communities, please send your contributions to
© 2001 - 2007 South Carolina Genealogical Society, Inc.
1/10/07
