Page 93 - Florence County, SC Florence County 2032: Connecting Our Past, Defining Our Future

Existing County | Cultural Resources

The 200 and 300 blocks of N. Dargan St.
were once the center of a thriving African
American business district in Florence. A
number of black-owned businesses
Historic Downtown 34° 12.058’ N, operated here, including restaurants, barber
21-45 African American
79° 45.976’ W shops, funeral parlors and pharmacies.
Business District
These businesses provided services to
African American customers who were
often denied access to white-owned
businesses.
Timmonsville was founded in 1852 and
named for Rev. J. Morgan Timmons. Initial
growth was spurred by the Wilmington and
Manchester R.R., which carried cotton and
forest productions to the port of
34° 8.087’ N, Wilmington. J.M. Timmons established a
21-46 Timmonsville
79° 56.501’ W turpentine distillery by 1854 and a steam-
powered saw mill produced 5,000 feet of
plank in that same year. The Timmonsville
Tobacco Warehouse Co. organized in 1895,
placing Timmonsville at the center of the
growing Pee Dee tobacco belt.
On March 3-4, 1960, members of the
Florence Youth branch of the NAACP staged
protest demonstrations here at the former
S.H. Kress store. Wilson H.S. students
34° 11.500′ N, marched from Trinity Baptist Church to sit
21-47 Civil Rights Sit-Ins
79° 45.580′ W at the store’s lunch counter, but were
refused service and asked to leave. The
police were called and the students left
peacefully. Store management closed the
counter before reopening shortly after.
Frank Mandeville Rogers Jr. (1857-1945) of
Florence Co. was influential in the
development of Bright Leaf Tobacco in S.C.
In 1884-85, he raised, cured, and sold a plot
of tobacco on his Mars Bluff plantation,
Frank Mandeville 34° 12.055′ N,
21-48 proving its potential to replace cotton as
Rogers Jr. 79° 45.921′ W
S.C.’s top cash crop. Rogers built a tobacco
factory on Day St. and led efforts to open
S.C.’s first tobacco auction warehouse,
helping revitalize S.C.’s agricultural market
economy.

Florence County, SC | Comprehensive Plan pg. 92