Program

Hometown Heritage®

Subject

Site, Transportation

Location

409 Porcher Ave, Eutawville, SC 29048, USA

Lat/Long

33.39372828051, -80.34856103429

Grant Recipient

USC Educational Foundation

In 1884, the lumber industry in South Carolina was booming. The Sumter and Santee Railroad was chartered in order to connect the coastal port in Charleston, SC with the highly profitable timber tracts to the northwest in the Santee, Eutawville, and Sumter areas. Numerous lumber mills were being constructed in the area. The railroad began construction, and by 1886 they had connected up to the Holly Hill area. By 1886 the name had also changed to the Eutawville Railroad. In 1889 the line was hailed as a great success and celebrated as the most direct line out west from Charleston towards Ohio and connected Sumter as a hub of the lumber industry.

By 1890, the Pond Bluff Branch connected Eutawville directly to the mill of the Santee River Cypress Lumber Company in Ferguson, SC. The Santee River Cypress Lumber Company harvested large amounts of timber from area and shipped it to their nearby mills via the railroad lines. The mills, in turn, milled the timber into lumber and then shipped it to nearby cooperage plants and furniture manufacturers, who then shipped their products to Charleston and other larger cities for sale, all on the local railroad lines. In 1895, the Atlantic Coast Railroad Company bought the railroad company, and the smaller line became part of their vast network.

During the lumber boom of the late 19^th century and early 20^th century, the town of Eutawville was an important location along the railroad lines which the lumber industry depended on. As of 2025 the line is owned by CSX.

The student-led application for this grant came from students at the University of South Carolina, led by Dr. Jessica Elfenbein. The students researched the Eutawville Railroad, then gathered and submitted the required materials for the historical marker as part of our Pomeroy Education Program.

This historic marker is also part of the Wood Basket of the World project at the University of South Carolina. The project has produced exhibits, oral histories, an anthology, and a mapping project, among many other educational efforts related to the history of the lumber industry in South Carolina. To learn more about the history of the lumber industry and its impact on South Carolina, visit the Wood Basket of the World site here: https://digital.library.sc.edu/woodbasket/