Ferguson, Lester W.
ABBEVILLE COUNTY. Southern Life Styles Lost in Time
An original publication, 1993
xiv, 258, illus., index 
ISBN 0-87152-475-9 LC 93-27946
(x) $25.00

The term "Historic Abbeville" is no misnomer. One of the area's oldest towns,
Abbeville came into existence with the division of the Upstate's Old Ninety-Six 
District in 1785. Much of the historic tradition of the region has been lost;
yet the life of the native Americans who first inhabited the area, the
accomplishments of the early pioneers, the mystique of the antebellum era, and
the life-style centered around the cotton fields of the Depression all hold
stories and legends that have been preserved in this collection of articles by
Abbeville native Lester W. Ferguson.

An overview of the contents reveals the diversity of the material contained in
this book: antebellum Abbeville, its businesses and institutions; Dr. Joseph
Togno, who introduced grape culture to Abbeville; the runaway slave Essex who
became a plantation foreman; the prominent Haskell family; Armistead Burt, who
welcomed the fleeing Jefferson Davis into his home; men from Abbeville in the
Civil War; John S. McCurry and the Battle of Gettysburg; the lost Confederate
treasure; Samuel Banks, an innocent man hanged; Abbeville's first industry, the
cotton mill; the drowning of ten young people in the Savannah River; the
historic Opera House; cockfighting; the cotton farmer and the sharecropper; the
U.S. Weather Bureau Kite Stations; the Due West train; John de La Howe School;
the Lowndesville fire; the tornado of 1973; a haunted house; the Yankee cannon
on Abbeville's Confederate memorial; and the tale of a pet rooster.

These twenty-four stories blend fact, humor, and pathos to present a picture of
the life-styles, traditions, and important events of the Abbeville region.
Though the incidents narrated largely took place in upstate South Carolina,
these writings reflect the customs and character of the South during the 19th
and early 20th centuries.

The Reprint Company, Publishers
611 Perrin Drive, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29307
Post Office Box 5401, Spartanburg, South Carolina 29304
Telephone: 864-579-4433

Add $3.50 for postage and handling of the first Book.
Add $1.25 for postage and handling of each additional book.
5% South Carolina sales tax.
Payment by check, money order, VISA or Mastercard accepted. No C.O.D. orders.
Shipments made by U.S. Postal Service 4th Class Book Rate. Allow 2 to 3 weeks
for order processing and shipment. 30 day money back guarantee. Catalogue
available upon request. Wholesale discount terms available. For more information
contact the publisher.

==== SCROOTS Mailing List ====