Johnsonville South Carolina History

In the shadows of a sleepy branch gully outside of Johnsonville, where the echoes of history whisper through the ancien t trees an d across the rustling tobacco fields, the Hanna family's story has unfolded for generations. Thomas and Nekoda Hanna, descendants of the legendary Hugh Hanna who marched south with General Greene in the American Revolution, carved their existence into the land that echoed with the footsteps of Hanna forebears.  Before that, the same land was heavily trod by native peoples who left thousands of arrowheads and other talismans of their presence.  The Hannas toiled tirelessly to make a living on this land - the  custodians of fertile soil exposed by clearcutting forestland by hand. Thomas and Nekoda's homestead near The Branch They build a small cabin-style home near a gully they called "the branch." Thomas carved his and Nekoda's initials into at least one support beam under the new home.  One legend held that the bricks forming the found

This article was originally published to the Johnsonville SC History Exhibits page , where more details are available.  Facts and data gathered by Josh Dukes. Aimwell Church location on the Robert Mills map of Marion County (1825) and current mapping. The church is incorrectly shown as Hopewell, which is further up Old River Road . Aimwell Presbyterian Church was a Presbyterian congregation located along what is now Old River Road, approximately at the intersection of Old River Road and McWhite Circle. The approximate GPS coordinates are 33°56'28.2"N 79°29'50.4"W.  The Robert Mills Map of Marion County (1825) incorrectly lists the Aimwell Meeting House as Hopewell Meeting House.  Hopewell on the Mills map is simply listed as "Meeting House" which was not an uncommon mistake with early maps of unfamiliar locations. On Jan 29, 1791 several inhabitants of the area around the newly constructed Aimwell Meeting House petitioned the House of Representatives to inc

This story was originally published in the First Families Exhibit on the Johnsonville South Carolina History web page . Facts gathered by Josh Dukes. Henry Edison Eaddy (1832-1912) Henry Edison Eaddy (1832-1912) was a local citizen of some renown in his day. Eaddy was the son of Henry Eaddy Sr (1778-1855) and Rebecca Ard (born 1782). He was a self-taught engineer, mathematician, and writer. He put those writing skills to use for The County Record out of Kingstree, where he was known by his column pin name "The Sage of Possum Fork." He was married to Eliza Louisa Huggins Eaddy (1834–1916) with whom he had several children. One of their daughters was Rosa Belle Eaddy Woodberry Dickson , Johnsonville's first woman mayor and the first woman mayor in South Carolina (elected 1925). Henry Edison Eaddy's granddaughter Ruth Dorrill Thomas shared a memory of her grandfather in The Promised Land by Elaine Y. Eaddy: ______________________________________________________