Corps of Discovery

On October 10, 2009, Dean Hunt and Roy Vandegrift, III, led a free, public-invited carpool tour of Saluda County, which included some French & Indian War, Revolutionary War, and later sites.

The tour was co-sponsored by the Saluda County Historical Society & the Saluda County Museum.

The tour met at the Saluda County Museum, 109 Law Range Street at 9:30 am, and proceeded as follows:

1. Marsh-Johnson House. Extant 1770 house listed on the National Register. Two story home with two double-hipped chimneys in Flemish bond. Features (glazed headers) and massive brick piers under the structure. Massive rock lined well nearby. (Tour inside the home included.)

2. Mine Creek - Site of Patrick Cunningham/Loyalists ambush of gunpowder and lead sent by the Rebel/Common's House as tribute to the Cherokee on November 3, 1775. Extant old roadbed that leads into the creek. See article by Philip G. Swan on the powder wars, “’The Present Defenceless State of the Country’: Gunpowder Plots in Revolutionary SC”, in The SC Historical Magazine, Vol. 108, Number 4 (October 2007). (Jim Livingston gave a presentation.) http://gjwsar.org/mine_creek

3. Mary Gloud (Cloud) Massacre Site (Ward, S.C.) - May 1751 Mary and Isaac Gloud (retired Indian Trader) were massacred by Savanna Indians. Prompted action by the Commons House and Congaree Militia sent out to patrol the area. Multiple primary pages telling of massacre listed in the Common's House records.

4. Odom House Site - President George Washington spent the night of May 21-22, 1791 here at the home of Jacob and Martha Odom between Ridge Spring and Monetta. Washington records his stay here in his diary. His Greyhound dog named Cornwallis died just prior to arriving here. See Terry W. Lipscomb’s book, South Carolina in 1791: George Washington’s Southern Tour, published by the SC Archives and History in 1993.

5. Bonham House (Mt. Willing, S.C.) Capt. James Butler Bonham’s house. Hero of the Battle of the Alamo! Two-story, two-over-two (four room) dogtrot log house sheathed with clapboard. (Tour of house included.)

A "Dutch Treat" lunch stop at Shealy's BBQ in Batesburg-Leesville.

6. Cloud's Creek Massacre - another Revolutionary War site where SC Loyalist militia Maj. William “Bloody Bill” Cunningham defeated a detachment of SC Patriot militia commanded by Capt. Sterling Turner. Here Capts. Turner and James Butler, Jr. and 26 of their men, all but two, were killed and are buried.

7. Lorick's Ferry (Bouknight's Ferry) on the Saluda River on the Newberry, Saluda County line near SC Hwy. 395. Site of Patriot ambush of SC Loyalist militia Maj. William “Bloody Bill” Cunningham. Cunningham lost his sword here and the sword is on display at McKissick Museum at USC in Columbia, SC.

8. Old Cherokee Road - travel 10 miles of extant old historic roadbed. Very rough road but enjoyable.

9. Saluda Old Town - site of earthen Indian mounds and large Native American village. July 2, 1755 site of signing of Treaty of Saluda Old Town. SC Royal Gov. Glen met Old Hop (Indian Chief) here and obtained cession of the territories of 11 present day counties. One week party between some 500 Indians and 500 white officials and militia. Reading from multiple primary source records of the happenings here. Many humorous stories as it involved rum! References: A History of Saluda Old Town by Charlie Senn and on-line at http://www.scgen.org/path.htm.