September 2018 – Explore South Carolina

The Old Lebanon Presbyterian Church, organized in 1774. The church organized as Jackson Creek Church with a hewn log structure serving as the congregation’s first sanctuary. In 1780, this stone church replaced the original. The stone church served the congregation for over a century, but it was eventually deemed unsafe. The congregation moved to the current site in 1893, and changed the name to Lebanon Presbyterian. Today, the site is referred to as both Old Lebanon Church and Old Stone Church

James Allen Plaza – a revitalized community square for concerts, gatherings, and public art. The plaza’s iron gate is the work of Bishopville iron artist English Cooper. Mike Gann of Hartsville provided the glasswork within the entrance gate

The Norfield 12 Year school was built in 1953 serving black students in Norway, SC during segregation. In 1969, it became Hunter-Kinard High School. It was renamed Hunter-Kinard-Tyler in 1981. The school closed this location and relocated the HS to Neeses. The alumni association has been trying to repurpose the school as a community center, but has been unsuccessful in raising the funds needed to do so

Constructed in 1890, this building was restored in 2016 as Main Street Junction. This restored building is now a meeting and wedding venue in the historic downtown Union

The Star Theatre was built in 1902 at a cost of $20,000. Hartzog’s relocated to this building in 1981

The Belton Depot was constructed by the Southern Railway company around 1910 and used until the 1960’s. It was then used as a library before it was restored in 2006 to become the Ruth Drake Museum and the South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame Museum

Willow Consolidated High School was dedicated on June 14, 1927. It opened with 137 pupils. It was a high school until the 1960-61 school year, when it became Norway Junior High School. In 1973, it became Norway Middle School. It closed in the late 1980s. The building now serves as the museum. The wooden structure is the agricultural building, with the auditorium behind it

Hartness-Thornwell Memorial Presbyterian Church Constructed in 1966. Replaced original building built in 1906. Part of the Thornwell Home for Children, an Orphanage built specifically to help homeless children after the Civil War

Fire Roasted NY Strip with madeira mushroom cream, boursin butter, and crispy fries. $14 @theflipsiderestaurant2

The Battle of Rivers’ Bridge took place on February 3, 1865 in Bamberg County. Confederate force under Maj. Gen. Lafayette McLaws held the crossings of the Salkehatchie River against the advance of the right wing of Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s army. Union soldiers began building bridges across the swamp to bypass the road block. In the meantime, Union columns worked to get on the Confederates’ flanks and rear. The Union claimed victory when 2 Union brigades waded the swamp downstream and assaulted McLaws’s right