Page 86 - Florence County, SC Florence County 2032: Connecting Our Past, Defining Our Future

Existing County | Cultural Resources

This church, founded in 1868 with Rev.
James Wesley Johnson as its first minister,
held its early services in a brush arbor. In
1870 trustees purchased this 1 ¾ acre tract
Mt. Zion Methodist 34° 10.758′ N,
21-17 to build a “Negro Schoolhouse” sponsored
Church 79° 38.616′ W
by the church, the first in the Mars Bluff
community. This sanctuary, originally a
frame building, was built in 1875 on a tract
purchased from the school.
This was originally the slave cemetery for
Roseville Plantation. Roseville, established
Roseville Plantation about 1771 by the Dewitt family, was later
Slave and 34° 16.902′ N, owned by the Brockinton, Bacot, and Clarke
21-18
Freedman's 79° 42.156′ W families from the 1820s through the Civil
Cemetery War. A 1200-acre plantation, it had more
than 100 slaves living and planting cotton
here by 1850.
The original depot named Florence was built
here in 1852, where the Wilmington &
Manchester RR crossed present-day
Hoffmeyer Rd. It was named for Florence
Florence Depot 34° 11.591′ N, Harllee (1848-1927), daughter of the
21-19
(1852) 79° 48.649′ W railroad's president, William W. Harllee
(1812-1897). In 1855 a new depot was built
2 mi. E where the railroad crossed Coit St.,
the Cheraw & Darlington RR, and the North
Eastern RR.
Hannah, named for the Hannah/Hanna
family, was known as Cane Branch or
Lynches River before a post office was
opened here in 1887. William S. Hannah
33° 53.009′ N, (1807-1876), a farmer and merchant, built
21-20 Hannah
79° 34.675′ W his house nearby in 1847 and also ran a
general store here; he later dropped the
final "h" from the family name. This area
was part of Marion County until Florence
County was created in 1888.

Florence County, SC | Comprehensive Plan pg. 85