TOWXS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, GO' 



SAND HILL REGION 



proper, though thinly settled has a larger per cent, of its population 

 collected into villages than either of the regions last treated of, as will 

 be seen by reference to the table. For convenience, the five counties 

 traversed by this region, to wit : Aiken, Lexington, Richland, Kershaw 

 and Chesterfield, will now be considered, and as some of their most 

 considerable towns are situated on intrusions, as it were, of the Piedmont 

 and Lower Pine Belt Regions into these counties, the aggregate of towns 

 will appear greater than strictly belongs to the region. 



AIKEX COUNTY 



has sixteen towns and trading settlements, with one hundred and four 

 stores, distributed as follows : Aiken Court House, forty-four stores ; 

 Graniteville, seventeen stores ; Hamburg, nine stores ; Beech Island, six 

 stores ; Langley, Windsor and Ellenton, five stores each ; Montmorenci, 

 three stores ; Bath and Vaucluse, two stores each ; Hammond, Johnston, 

 Kitching Mills, Merritt's, Sunnyside and White Pond, one store each. Of 

 this number eight sell liquors, three hardware, thirty-seven miscellaneous 

 articles, and fifty-six general merchandise. Two are kept by colored 

 persons. The estimated wealth of the storekeepers is stated at §712,000. 

 Aiken, the county seat, was settled in 1833, when the South Carolina 

 railroad, then the longest in the world, was built. The first settlers were 

 persons from the lower country in search of a healtliy and invigorating 

 climate during summer. Since it has become a famous health resort for 

 those from Northern latitudes seeking a warm dry winter air and sunshine. 

 It has an elevation of about six hundred feet above the sea level, and the 

 soil is coarse quatzose sand to the depth of ninety to one hundred and ' 

 fifty feet, sanitary conditions reinforced by the balsamic odors of the 

 great pine forest that surrounds it. In addition to numerous excellent 

 boarding houses, the Highland Park Hotel, open during the spring and 

 winter months for Northern visitors, is one of the largest and, in many 

 respects, one of the best hotels in the South. There is a private bank in 

 the town. The population in 1880 was 1,817. The streets of Aiken 

 are wide. The sidewalks are raised and covered with clay. This clay, 

 resting on a bed of deep sand, is kept well drained, and forms a smooth, 

 hard, elastic surface. A broad drive of the same material has been sim- 

 ilarly constructed from the Highland Park Hotel to the freight depot, 

 three-quarters of a mile, at a cost of $000. It forms an excellent road- 

 way, over which even heavily laden cotton wagons are in the habit of 

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