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:


Location: Pinckneyville, Lockhart, SC 29353, USA

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