Researching the newspaper coverage of Pinckneyville, South Carolina

Pinckneyville is an extinct town located about 18 miles northeast of Union, South Carolina in northeastern Union County near where Pacolet River empties into Broad River. The town was established by a law passed in 1791 that created the Pinckney District which consisted of Union, Spartanburg, Chester, and York counties.

The intent of the town's designers was to create an upcounty version of Charleston. When Pinckney District was abolished nine years later in 1800, the population of Pinckneyville stagnated then declined as the county seat of Union took over in importance. In 1835, the legislature passed a law authorizing the sale of Pinckneyville's public land and buildings. While the area remained somewhat populated into the 20th century, Pinckneyville was finished as a town. The area is so remote these days that the nearest home is two miles away.

The last major event to take place in Pinckneyville was the dedication of a stone monument on July 6, 1936 where the old courthouse once stood by the Fairforest chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Attempts have been made over the years since the monument was placed to raise money to restore Pinckneyville by the Union County Historical Society. However, a combination of a disinterested public and too much interest by vandals have make it unlikely that anything can be done to preserve the remote site.

A search of Google's news archives found many articles about Pinckneyville, mainly from the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. The 1936 era articles focus on the unveiling of the stone monument while the majority of the rest until the  1980s document the various attempts to raise funds to restore the town. Many articles also go into the history of the town from birth to death. The newest articles from the 1990s conclude that its now too late to save the town. It looks like vandals and time have won this one. Drat!

These newspaper articles about Pinckneyville were found in Google's news archives and other sources:

• May 26, 1935: Union Will Soon Observe Anniversary of County
  Several mentions of Pinckneyville in summarizing the history of the county. The book The Statutes at Large of South Carolina: Acts, 1787-1814 contains the law establishing the town on page 210 and the section of the law disposing of the town's assets beginning on page 710. The charter for Alexandria College mentioned in the article can read in the book The Statutes at Large of South Carolina: Acts Relating to Corporations - Banks.
• March 24, 1936: Old Pinckneyville Will Be Honored By Marker
  Daughters of the American Revolution plan to unveil a stone marker in old Pinckneyville on July 4, 1936. This would later be changed to July 6.
• April 9, 1936: Supply Bill at Union Approved
  $300 for the erection of a monument at Pinckneyville has been appropriated.
• June 7, 1936: Pinckneyville Monument to be Unveiled July 4
  Patriotic organizations asked to participate in monument unveiling.
• June 21, 1936: Pinckney Shaft To Be Unveiled
  Daughters of the American Revolution plan an all-day celebration on July 4 for the unveiling of the stone marker. After a dedication speech, barbeque will be served. The date was changed to July 6, but I my scan of Herald-Journals between June 22 and July 4 turned up no announcement of the change in date.
• July 5, 1936: Shaft Unveiling Monday [continued]
  9000 pound marker to be dedicated at 11a.m. Monday at site of old courthouse.
• July 6, 1936: Shaft Unveiling Will Be Today
  Thousands expected to attend all-day celebration, barbecue, and picnic. The unveiling date must have been changed from July 4 to July 6.
• July 7, 1936: Marker at Pinckneyville Unveiled at Big Meeting
  500 witness the unveiling of the stone marker. The text of the marker reads

  Site of
  Pinckneyville Courthouse,
  1791
  Erected by Union County,
  1936

• September 24, 1936: Women to Hear Collumn in Union
  The Union County council of farm women will tour Pinckneyville after a meeting and a 1pm lunch.
• January 15, 1937: Union County History Bits Found By Research Crew
  A WPA research crew finds old Pinckneyville affidavits, land grants, deeds, wills, and other historical treasures in records stored in Union County Courthouse.
• March 3, 1940 : Flourishing Union of Today Started as Settlement In 1754 On Brown's Creek
  A History of Union including the history of Pinckneyville in one paragraph.
• September 20, 1946: Know Union County
  Trivia about a case of polygamy tried in Pinckneyville.
• July 13, 1958: Pinckneyville Site Gets Improvements
  Improvements are being made to Pinckneyville. The dirt road is being paved. Parking spaces and a turn around area will be provided. Weeds and brush are being cleared. Also discusses the legend of Thomas C. Taylor and his burial spot.
• July 8, 1962: Pinckneyville Jail Site Discussed
  Pinckneyville brochure planned to raise funds to restore old jail.
• January 20, 1963: He Felt Like Trespasser At Union's Pinckneyville
  The writer reminisces after buying a plate to help raise funds to restore the Pinckneyville jail.
• July 21, 1968: Pinckneyville Failed to Realize Its Dream
  Pinckneyville missed two claims to fame. Also discussed, though doesn't name, Thomas C. Taylor and his grave.
• February 10, 1970: Union to observe Tricentennial May 3 through 9
  Among other events, a tour of Pinckneyville is being offered.
• July 30, 1970: Historical Site May Get Boost
  According to the article, Continental Can Company will donate 40 acres to the Union County Historical Association in Pinckneyville. The historical assocation currently owns 1.4 acres of the Pinckneyville land.
• November 24, 1970: Good Jails are Hard to Find
  About an April 1, 1875 letter describing how easy it is to escape from the original Pinckneyville jail.
• January 26, 1971: Pinckneyville Restoration Seems Likely
  This article states that the Union County Historical Association acquired 4 acres of land around Pinckneyville. The association hopes to restore two buildings and maybe other parts of town. I'm assuming the land the association acquired is the same land that the Continental Can Co. planned to donate. If so, they company either reduced the donation to 4 acres, or that the first report of the size as 40 acres was a typo.
• April 9, 1971: Five Landmarks Receive Grants
  Pinckneyville is one of the landmarks to receive grants from the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism
• November 21, 1971: Archaeologists Hunting the Remains Of Pinckneyville
  Archaeologists are digging around the remains of Pinckneyville to find artifacts and the layout of the town. The Union County Historical Association still hopes to raise funds to restore the town. And another mention of Thomas C. Taylor and his grave. A report on the excavation dated August 1, 1972 and titled Archeological Excavations at Pinckneyville, Site of Pinckney District, 1791-1800 is available for free from the University of South Carolina Scholar Commons site.
• January 26, 1982: Pinckneyville
  Lack of funds and interest are preventing restoration of the town. Vandals have spray painted obscenities, plundered the grave, and damaged the buildings.
• December 25, 1985: Pinckneyville Never Became Charles Town of the Up County
  Paragraph worth of speculation in article why Pinckneyville failed.
• October 10, 1988: Some Still Hoping To Breathe Life Into Pinckneyville
  A dam and lake may be built near Pinckneyville. Could this revive interest in the extinct town?
• November 2, 1990: Deterioration of Pinckneyville Ruins by the Waycross Journal-Herald [reprint in The Albany-Herald]
  Pinckneyville is rapidly succumbing to vandals and time.
• February 3, 1997: Pinckneyville: From Charlestown of the Upcounty to Ghost Town [part 2]
  Nothing left to do anything with now according to Union County Historical Foundation.
• May 18, 2006: County updates capital improvement list by the Union Daily Times
  The full article is behind an archived pay wall, and no link is available to the free portion. The first or two free paragraphs state that Union County was attempting to obtain funds to develop Pinckneyville as a tourist attraction. (Added August 19, 2011)
• November 15, 2007: Rotary Club pledges support for historic preservation at the Union Daily Times
  The part mentioning Pinckneyville isn't in the free preview, so I can only guess it has to do with a proposed historic trail that would go through Pinckneyville and other historic places.  (added August 19, 2011)
• June 23, 2008: Storm damages historic home at the Union Daily Times
  The last two paragraphs in this article describe how a history trail that would include Pinckneyville. (added August 19, 2011)