This sample from a 1946 map of Johnsonville shows Lake Chapel Baptist Church (black square with cross) and Lake Chapel Cemetery (dotted square with cross).
Saint Luke Colored School served black students near Kingsburg during segregation. The school was closely associated with and located near Saint Luke A.M.E. Church at 539 Chinaberry Road, Johnsonville.
Saint Mark Colored School served black students in the Kingstree area during segregation. The school was located near the current location of Saint Mark A.M.E. Church at 1532 Kingsburg Highway.
These photos show members of Hanna's Chapel Pentecostal Holiness Church on Vox Highway in 1954. This sanctuary was in place before the current bricked sanctuary that still stands.
Bartell's Crossroads is located between Johnsonville and Indiantown. The two-story structure at the crossroads was built circa 1935. It was a country store operated by Vasker Calvineau Bartell and Elnora Cox Bartell. Elnora also worked at Wellman in the 1960s. Calvineau's father started operating a store at the crossroads around 1902 and a store operated there continuously through the 1970s. The original Bartell Brothers store at the crossroads burned in 1921 and was replaced by the 2-story building afterward. By the 1970s the second story porch had collapsed and the building was leaning about 10 degrees. Calvineau added a few telephone polls to brace the side of the building. "When the wind starts blowing, everybody starts leaving." one customer told the Florence Morning News in 1973.
One patron remembers that there was a small electric fence around the bread. Calvineau and Elnora's granddaughter Cindy Allen Joye has memories of the store: "I have memories of going there with granddad he would always lift me up so I could get a coke and then he would cut me a huge chunk of cheese and bologna. I loved him dearly."
The store closed after Calvineau passed away in 1976.
Photo shows the original sanctuary of Little Star Free Will Baptist Church in the Prospect Community. This building was moved to make room for the new sanctuary and is now restored as a vacation home on Black River.
Dedication of the new Hemingway Motel, aka The Coachman Inn.
L to R: J. P. Askins, Jr., Merrett E. Morris, L. Durwood Lewis, Aubrey Lewis, Senator Strom Thurmond.
The store was a partnership of Julian David Brown and Huggins Bros. Lumber Co. Julian ran the store. His father, Walter Brown, worked in the store while he was teaching. There were gas pumps (not in use) under the shed in the 1950s.
Homestead built by Thomas Franklin Hanna (1881-1938) & Nekoda Laharp Altman (1882-1941). Thomas was the son of Franklin Evander "Vander" Hanna and Julia Ann Grier. Nekoda was the daughter of Daniel Webster Altman and Margaret Elizabeth "Maggie" Stone. This homestead was on a farm which was part of an original land grant to Hugh Hanna, great grandfather of Thomas Hanna and the first Hanna to settle in the Johnsonville area. The Hannas eventually built a new 2-story home across the field to handle their growing family.
Thomas carved his and Nekoda's initials into at least one of the timbers under the house to mark the original home. There was also a family rumor that some of the bricks used as the foundation for the house were used as ballast for ships arriving in America. Thomas and Nekoda's second son, Arles Timmons Hanna and his wife Violet Carter Hanna later occupied the home. Violet was the daughter of Morgan Ham Carter and Octavia Elizabeth Stone from the Vox Community. Arles and Violet married in 1927. Their 3 children, Evander Franklin, Yvonner Leta "Vonnie," and Jimmy Earl each grew up on the farm. Arles and Violet built a new home closer to the Vox Highway around 1950. Violet died in 1984, Arles in 1986.
Because the old home was vacant after Arles and Violet moved, Vonnie and Joe Dukes moved in when they were first married in 1954. Even as late as 1956, the house did not have an indoor bathroom and the family had to brave the weather when using the old outhouse on property. They jokingly referred to how easy it was to see chickens walking around under the house because the gaps in the floorboards were so wide before they moved to a newly built home in 1962.
The site around the old house was a popular spot for family activities. Vander, Vonnie, and Jimmy's children and grandchildren often camped out and shot fireworks on the property for Thanksgiving and New Year through the 1980s and 1990s.
The Old House remained vacant and deteriorated over the years until it was bulldozed and burnt in the early 1990s to make way for a new home on the property.
This school known as the "Johnsonville Colored School" served African American students in Johnsonville. A new more modern school was constructed between 1924-1925 as part of the Rosenwald School Fund.
Wellman spent time circa 1956 researching sheep that might be better acclimated to South Carolina's weather. C. H. Mudge acted as herdsman for the project. The sheep pasture was across Highway 41 from the Wellman Texaco Station.
Union High School, Graded School, and Teacher's Boarding Home.
Union School was located in Georgetown County at the intersection of Henry Road (512) and County Line Road (513).
Various images from Vox Crossroads:
Vox Crossroads - Google Street View 2008
Mike, Ken, and Ronnie Powell circa 1949
Vox Grocery - run by Ted and Norma Hanna circa 2000
Ken Powell circa 1949
Vox Grocery - Ted Hanna circa 2000
Bill Burris leaving Altman's Grocery - late 1970s
Aimwell Presbyterian Church was located along what is now Old River Road, approximately at the intersection of Old River Road and McWhite Circle. The approximate coordinates are 33°56'28.2"N 79°29'50.4"W.
The Aimwell burial ground still exists and is the resting place of John Witherspoon, whose family operated Witherspoon's Ferry during the American Revolution.
Aimwell is incorrectly listed as Hopewell in the Robert Mills Map of Marion District, 1825.
Grave of John Witherspoon (1742-1802), located at the old Aimwell Presbyterian Church burial grounds, Old River Road at McWhite Road.
John took control of Witherspoon's Ferry (now Venters Landing at Johnsonville) after his older brother Robert Witherspoon died with no issue in 1787. Witherspoon's Ferry had already been in use during the Revolution, and this spot served as the backdrop for General Francis Marion's commission to lead the militia.
John and Robert were both sons of Gavin Witherspoon and Jane James, who came from Knockbracken, Ireland to Williamsburg. John was a patriot during the American Revolution, serving as a private with Marion's Brigade in the Britton's Neck Regiment for 244 days in 1780 and 1781.
In 1801 it was ordered that a Ferry should be re-established and vested in John's care. John married Mary Conn and had one child, Elizabeth, who later married David Rogerson Williams, Governor of South Carolina from 1814-1816.
John Witherspoon died in 1802, and according to the terms of his will, the ferry was re-established and vested in John D. Witherspoon, executor and friend, for a term of 14 years beginning in 1815, “in trust for and having the sole benefit of the incorporated Presbyterian Church at Aimwell on the Pee Dee River." John's will also stipulated that William J. Johnson be given rights to the Ferry site under condition:
"It is my will and desire that the trustees aforesaid or their successors shall give William Johnson the present use of the lands aforesaid the exclusive privilege of leasing the lands aforesaid for a term of 12 years provided the said William Johnson on the wisdom of the said trustees aforesaid shall conduct himself with propriety."
It was John Witherspoon who vested the ferry lands in William Johnson, who later established the post office at Johnsonville which became the town we know today.
Photo displayed at the Centennial celebration of Rehobeth Church in 2009. A few of those pictured are Cortez, Merlyn, Gail, and Pam Cox, Ronald Cox, Cletus Cox, Sherrell Cox, and Vaughn Eaddy.
Venters Community at Ards Crossroads, site of Huggins Brothers Lumber Company. Note the Old Johnsonville Cemetery , upper left corner of photo. Old Johnsonville School was located on this property, next to Old Johnsonville United Methodist Church.
In 1954 there were too many 1st grade students for all to attend Hemingway Grammar School, so some of the students were located at the Muddy Creek School. There was also one 2nd grade class that attended at this time
Broadway looking East, circa 1954.
Pictured: Tomlinson's & Venters, P.D. Poston Grocery (later Turner's IGA). Not yet built are the Johnsonville Pharmacy or the old Johnsonville Post Office (which opened in 1958).
Johnsonville State Bank is pictured here at an older location, circa 1954 at approximately 122 West Broadway Street. In June of 1956, JSB moved across the street to a new state of the art facility with air conditioning.
These aerial photos show Johnsonville in the early 1950s. The old train depot, high school auditorium, and other buildings are visible, as well as many former homes and businesses. The Johnsonville Elementary school, completed in 1954, is not yet constructed in these images.
Indiantown Presbyterian Church, after the front portch was added (sometime between 1910-1919). This was before the church was raised and a basement added (before 1927).
Indiantown Presbyterian Church, circa 1900.
The church was organized in 1757. During the American Revolution, the church was burned by the British Lieutenant-Colonel Banastre Tarleton. His act resulted in the citizens giving greater support to his opponent, the Continental General Francis Marion.
The rebuilt (and current) church building remained virtually unchanged from its erection in 1830 until the front porch was added in 1910.
Johnsonville Middle School was originally The Stuckey School, an "Equalization School" during the "Separate But Equal" period which was built in 1954 on a 10-acre tract of land two miles west of Johnsonville (my best research so far is that this is the wooden school pictured here). The school took its name from Eliot Stuckey who donated land for the building. The school was originally constructed to serve as an all-black elementary school. It had modern conveniences such as running water, electricity, and indoor plumbing which were lacking in many all-black schools in South Carolina. From 1954-1958, high school students attended Gibbs High School in Pamplico. From 1958-1962, high school students attended Battery Park School in Nesmith.
After the addition of more classrooms in 1962, Stuckey School began serving black students in grades 1-12. in 1963 a gymnasium was added. Athletic competition during this time was limited to Basketball. The Stuckey Blue Jays had the best record of all the local districts, winning many trophies and championships. The class of 1963 was the first to graduate from Stuckey, and the class of 1969 was the last. Stuckey and Johnsonville were fully integrated the following year and the Stuckey School became Johnsonville Middle School for all students. The buildings on this site served students for over 40 years, and closed its doors at the end of the 1997 school year when the new Johnsonville Middle School was completed. Lamar D. Bradley served as principal of The Stuckey School during it's entire lifetime (1954-1969). After integration, he served as the assistant superintendent of the new Florence District 5. This building is now the Johnsonville Adult Care center.
The Johnsonville Colored School served black students through 8th grade. It was located on Stuckey Street near the location of the current Johnsonville Middle School's tennis courts. A report stated that in the 1924 school year, 4 teachers were employed.
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