Pawleys Island Live Cam

While other areas compete to be the center of the action, the Old 96 district is tucked away, secure in its own beauty and charm, and yet still accessible to the traveler who knows what he is looking for. Locals refer to their western border as South Carolina's Freshwater Coast.

Strom Thurmond Lake is the largest lake south of the Great Lakes and east of the Mississippi River, and just above it, on the Savannah River, is Richard B. Russell Lake. These two lakes combine for over 1,750 miles of shoreline. Along these shores are hundreds of state-operated campsites. At a time when many small, rural areas are trying hard to attract new business, the leaders of Old 96 have taken a different approach. They have invested in their past, restoring downtown areas, soliciting pollution-free industry, and pursuing the history-minded eco-tourist.

Abbeville has led Old 96 in this new direction. The city square brings attention to the town's historical significance by commemorating those lost in war. It was in Abbeville that President Jefferson Davis met with his war council and disbanded the armies of the Confederacy on the day before his capture.

Similar restorations have taken place in Greenwood, McCormick, Laurens, and Edgefield. Come to the Old 96 District and enjoy a lasting remnant of old-fashioned, small-town Southern living. You can find even more information online about the Old 96 District and its attractions in the South Carolina Travel Guide.

Golf in Old 96

Ninety-four percent of the land in McCormick County is covered by forest, and it seems like the remaining six percent is covered with lakes. Hickory Knob State Park features Hickory Knob Golf Course, a Tom Jackson layout with pure bent grass greens. This state-owned course combines golf with camping, fishing, horseback riding, and nature trails. Tennis and archery are also available. The park's success in creating a "country club" atmosphere in the middle of such a rural setting is truly remarkable. Another Tom Jackson layout lies north of Greenwood, Stoney Point. This relatively new residential golf community has already become a stop on the T.C. Jordan/Hooters Tour. Stoney Point features rolling bent greens in a naturally-contoured layout.

Historically, the Old 96 District takes its name from a British fort which was 96 miles south of the Lower Cherokee capital, Keowee. Today Old 96 is an area of living history. Friendly towns, retirement communities, and open country. Deep woodlands and wide water. A gardener's inspiration. A sportsman's paradise.

The Savannah River, now impounded in a series of lakes, forms the "Freshwater Coast," the state's and Old 96 District's western boundary. The Savannah River Scenic Highway winds over a hundred miles along the shores of three major lakes and through four counties.

In the 18th century this was the western frontier, bustling with soldiers, Indian traders and adventurers, when South Carolina's first battle of the Revolution erupted here. Long settled, Ninety Six was a natural site for a seat of government when the state created "districts," each with elected legislators and provisions for law and justice.

In 1785 the General Assembly created many new counties in the state. In the existing Old 96 District, Abbeville, Edgefield and Laurens counties were created. The area produced a sturdy band of independent thinkers and achievers, including such historical figures as Gen. Andrew Pickens, a strategist of the Revolution; vice-president and statesman John C. Calhoun; and the ancestors of tycoons William Randolph Hearst and Thomas Boone Pickens. The Confederacy was born and died in Abbeville.

The town of Abbeville became an Upcountry seat of culture; one active reminder is the town square's fine old Opera House. Edgefield evolved as a center of politics. Out of Old Edgefield County came 10 governors, including current Senator Strom Thurmond.

The settlement centers of Greenwood, Laurens and McCormick took root and thrived. All have maintained reminders of a fascinating past, along with friendly shops and lodgings. Several colleges and a university, among them Erskine at Due West, Presbyterian at Clinton and Lander at Greenwood, bring frequent cultural events into the area.

Warm hospitality and natural beauty abound. In the spring the blush of the blooming peach orchards spreads across soft, new-green hills. Summer days are for fragrantly ripe fruit, glorious flower gardens, deep shade and all the delights of sparkling waters. Fall paints bright, bold strokes over thousands of acres of Sumter National Forest, where deer and wild turkey have reclaimed the land once cleared for agriculture. Nowhere in "Old 96" is the traveler far from prime fishing, a cool swim, a golf course - or the touch of history.