Where to Learn About the Revolution in the Pee Dee Region

In the 1700s, settlers traveled the Great Wagon Road from Philadelphia in search of land—a luxury they rarely had in their native lands. Small communities developed between the Pee Dee River and Black River, waterways connecting inland towns to Georgetown.

Then the American Revolution came to South Carolina. It pitted neighbor against neighbor as they chose to side with Patriots or Loyalists. British authorities in Georgetown deemed Presbyterians a scourge and ordered their churches burned. In the midst of it all, Francis Marion operated with a ragged band of partisans hiding in swamps and harassing the British at every opportunity.

Read this list to see where you can learn more about the Revolutionary War in South Carolina’s Pee Dee Country.

Williamsburg Historical Museum

135 Hampton Ave, Kingstree, SC | 843-355-3306

Housed inside a former Carnegie Library built in 1917, the Williamsburg Historical Museum is a compendium of local history dating back to the Williamsburg Township’s creation in the early 1700s. Exhibits in the museum include a hand-carved canoe, vintage photographs, and a collection of artifacts.

The historical society also owns Thorntree, a historic house built in 1748 by James Witherspoon. After Witherspoon’s death, his son Gavin inherited the house. He was living there when 100 British Dragoons under the command of Colonel Banastre Tarleton were encamped during the Revolutionary War. Ask about touring the historic house, located minutes away from the museum.

Indiantown Presbyterian Church

4865 Hemingway Hwy, Hemingway, SC

In 1757, Irish immigrants John James and Robert Wilson organized the Indiantown Presbyterian Church. James used the church as a meeting house during the Revolutionary War to muster a Patriot militia. When Major James Wemyss, stationed in nearby Georgetown, learned of this, he labeled all Presbyterian Churches as “sedition shops” and ordered their destruction. In 1780, the British burned Indiantown Presbyterian Church to the ground.

When James died in 1791, he was buried in the yard of the church he helped organize and fought to protect.

Marion County Museum

101 Wilcox Ave, Marion, SC | 843-423-8299

Did you know that long before the Revolutionary War, Francis Marion was a commissioned British soldier? Or that at the beginning of the American Revolution, he was a captain in command of the 2nd South Carolina Regiment at the Battle of Sullivan’s Island?

You’ll learn this with a trip to the Marion County Museum. With an entire room devoted to the county’s namesake, you’ll see a list of his battles during the Revolutionary War, learn interesting stories about broken ankles and vinegar water, and see portraits and artifacts of the war hero.

The Marion County Museum is in a gorgeous building, completed in 1886 for the Marion Academy Society. During your visit, head upstairs to explore a recreation of a one-room schoolhouse and learn more about the county’s military history.

Don’t Miss: The Francis Marion Statue in the small public square across the road from the courthouse. If you also notice a flat block inscribed with “General Francis Marion,” you have not found his grave, but instead, a commemorative sugar maple planted by the Azalea Garden Club.

Francis Marion at Witherspoon’s Ferry

Odell Venters Landing, Johnsonville, SC

After the disastrous Battle of Camden, when British General Lord Cornwallis crushed General Horatio Gates, no Continental soldiers were anywhere in the south. The task of fighting for independence fell entirely on local militias—like the one organized by General Francis Marion. On August 17, 1780, Marion took command of the Williamsburg Militia from Major John James at Witherspoon’s Ferry, a crossing over the Lynches River.

In 2013, the town of Johnsonville dedicated a 20-foot-tall monument to Francis Marion at a public park at Witherspoon’s Ferry. Designed by Alex Palkovich, the monument features a bronze statue of Marion on horseback, three times larger than life, melded at the waist into a massive concrete base.

Don’t Miss: Kenny’s BBQ is ten minutes from the monument in Hemingway. The local restaurant features an all-you-can-eat barbecue buffet the locals claim to be the best pulled pork in the state.

Florence County Museum

111 W Cheves St, Florence, SC | 843-676-1200

The Florence County Museum is a modern, clean, gorgeous building for exploring the region’s history. From Native American tribes through both World Wars, the museum tells a compelling story. Learn about Francis Marion’s guerilla warfare in the Revolutionary War, how society developed after the birth of a nation, and read about the time an Army plane accidentally dropped a nuclear bomb on someone’s house.

Where to Eat: In downtown Florence, enjoy a farm-to-table dinner inside the most gorgeous restaurant in the city at Town Hall. On specific nights, you can head upstairs to a rooftop bar for drinks beneath the stars. King Jefe offers a unique spin on the Mexican restaurant from mastermind Kyle Hardee. In 2014, Hardee converted an old gas station into Tubb’s Shrimp and Fish Co., offering some of the best seafood in the state.

Marlboro County Museum

123 S Marlboro St, Bennettsville, SC | 843-479-5624

Bennettsville didn’t exist during the Revolutionary War—the town was founded in 1819. But during the American Revolution, skirmishes between Patriot militia and Loyalists units happened frequently. At the Marlboro County Museum, you can learn about the few events that happened in the region—and then you can learn about the town’s unwilling occupation by General Sherman during the Civil War.

While visiting the museum, take a guided tour of the fascinating Medical Museum, with rooms filled with vintage medical equipment and the Jennings-Brown House.

Don’t Miss: Go shopping for fresh meats, seasonings and cheese at Breeden’s Grocery on Broad Street, then wander down the street for antique shopping.

Old St. David’s Episcopal Church

420 Market St, Cheraw, SC | 843-253-5295

European settlers began arriving in the 1730s, and by the 1750s, the town of Cheraw developed around trade on the Great Pee Dee River. In May 1780, the British captured Charleston, and by June, they secured Camden. General Lord Cornwallis ordered two battalions of the 71st Fraser Highlanders to occupy Cheraw and establish an outpost.

The British troops were plagued by illness during their occupation of the town. Major Archibald MacArthur took control of St. David’s Parish Church and converted it into a hospital. Built in 1768, it was the last Anglican Church built in South Carolina.

The church's interior has been restored to its 1826 appearance, the year the vestibule and steeple were added. Several Revolutionary War graves occupy the cemetery. But there is also a single memorial dedicated to an “unknown soldier of the 71st Fraser Highlanders,” a British soldier who likely died during their occupation of the town.

Where to Eat: The River’s Edge Restaurant is a comfortable place to enjoy great food, but the best part is their dessert—tall cakes and real fruit pies.