Allendale County Historical Society Catalogs Cemeteries, Builds Community Partnerships

Two active projects are quietly reshaping how Allendale County understands its own past. The Allendale County Historical Society is building a comprehensive cemetery catalog for the county while simultaneously chasing down Revolutionary War history through a funded partnership with the state's SC250 Sestercentennial initiative, and it needs residents' help on both fronts.

ACHS is working with the county's SC250 Committee to celebrate the Sestercentennial of the American Revolution in South Carolina. That partnership has already produced concrete results: ACHS received $14,934.93 from the SC250 grant program for historical markers at Matthew's Bluff, the Augusta to Savannah Road, and the James Thomson site. A separate, earlier award of $5,422 went to ACHS on behalf of the Allendale County 250 Committee for historical markers at Vince's Fort, a joint project with Barnwell County's SC250 Commission.

The Revolutionary War focus has extended beyond markers. ACHS, the Allendale County SC250 Committee, and SC Humanities coordinated a month-long series of programming in January 2025 about the American Revolutionary War. The South Carolina State Museum's traveling exhibit "The American Revolutionary War in South Carolina" and the National Park Service's traveling trunk "Lives of Backcountry Children" were both on display from January 3 through January 26, 2025, at USC Salkehatchie. The month opened January 4 with the unveiling of the Burton's Ferry Historical Marker and Interpretive Sign at Burton's Ferry Landing on US-301 South.

The society's community footprint extends beyond Revolutionary history. At the Unity Festival on May 4, ACHS set up a booth where visitors and locals looked at older photographs of Allendale and talked with members about county history; gift baskets went to two attendees, and the society was joined there by Keep Allendale County Beautiful and AllendaleSC250. Earlier, on January 25, ACHS drew a strong turnout at the James Brandt Building for "Home Land: Revisited," a fresh look at a 1970s slideshow originally presented by Joe Topper and Xania Lawton, with attendees sharing their own knowledge of the people and places in the photos.

Alongside its SC250 work, ACHS is compiling a comprehensive list of cemeteries in Allendale County, a project described as a work in progress that welcomes additions and corrections from anyone who knows of a site that has been overlooked. The organization is also working on a comprehensive list of Allendale County's historical markers. Residents who spot markers around the county that could use restoration work are encouraged to contact ACHS at allendalechs@gmail.com.

Founded in 2005, ACHS draws on members and volunteers from across the county and surrounding communities, with a board of eight residents dedicated to preserving places, stories, and culture unique to Allendale. Membership forms can be sent to ACHS at PO Box 85, Allendale, SC 29810, or emailed to ACHistoricalSociety@allendalecounty.com. The SC250 Committee meets on the second Wednesday of each month at Swallow Savannah Methodist Church.