Bamberg
Hooten- Black House & Bamberg's National Historic District
The Hooten- Black House is the hub of art and history in Bamberg County where you will find changing art exhibitions,
concerts, and lectures on Bamburg County history. The Hooten- Black House house anchors the northwestern end of
Bamberg's National Historic District. A self-guided walking tour brochure with a map describes the 75 properties found
within the Historic District is available at the Hooten-Black House. Properties include the homes of General Francis
Marion Bamberg, for whom the county is named, and South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Julius B. Ness.
(Pictures included)
(l) Built circa in 1880 by Drew Hooten, the Hooten-Black house now serves as the Welcome
Center for Bamberg.
(c) Looking south, Bamberg's Main Street and Historic Downtown.
(r) The smokestack of the
Old Cotton Mill built in 1829 is the only remnant still standing at the south end of Main Street.
S.C. Canal & Railroad Company
Built in the early 1830's, the South Carolina Canal and Railroad line passed through the area on its way to Hamburg.
Local landowners donated the property needed for the railroad right of way. The village, which would later be called Bamberg, developed with the railroad and was chartered in 1855. The railroad line was the longest in the world at the time of its construction spanning 137 miles of roadbed and rail. It was the first railroad to offer scheduled passenger service and carry mail.(Picture included)In 1970 the Charleston to Hamburg railroad was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Once home to the oldest railroad line, today it is a city owned walking trail.
Bamberg & the Civil War
Bamberg, then part of the Old Barnwell
District, was the home to three signers of the Ordinance of Session from the Union and the President of the Secession
Convention. David Flavel Jamison served as President of the Secession Convention and owned a local plantation.
Jamison died before the conclusion of the War Between the States and prior to General William T. Sherman's Carolinas
Campaign. However, due to his involvement with the secessionist movement, Gen. Sherman ordered the Jamison
Plantation destroyed.
Major General William T. Sherman's Carolina Campaign was especially destructive in
Bamberg. Sherman tore up the railroad ties that were so vital to the economy of the town and most of the antebellum
structures were destroyed. Bamberg paid dearly for being the hometown of three signers' of the Ordinance of Session.
The Simmons House is one of the few antebellum structures that survived and can be seen today.
(Pictures
included) David Flavel Jamison (1810-1864), President of the secession Convention
Major General William T.
Sherman, USA
Marker is on East Railroad Avenue near North Street, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
