Historical Markers
in Chesterfield County, South Carolina
View an interactive map of Chesterfield County with Marker locations & text.
Portable Document Format .pdf - size 394 kb
chesterfield.pdf
Markers are listed below in chrnological order as erected
with links to the marker text, photos, etc.
1. Old St. David's
2. W.D. Craig House
3. Chesterfield Courthouse
4. Cash Homesite
Capt. Thomas Ellerbe
5. Coulter Memorial Academy Site
6. DIZZY GILLESPIE BIRTHPLACE
7. SEABOARD AIR LINE RAILWAY DEPOT
13-1 Old St. David's
Church St. at gates to churchyard, Cheraw
St. David's, authorized by the General Assembly in 1768, was the last parish established
in colonial S.C. Said to be buried in its churchyard are soldiers of British forces
occupying the Cheraws in 1780. The steeple and vestibule of this Episcopal church were
added c.1827 and services were held here until a new church was built in 1916. Erected
by Chesterfield County Historical Society-1979
Old St. David's Church
from the Town of Cheraw Site
Old Photo of St. David's Church
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13-2 W.D. Craig House
West corner of Page and Main Streets, Chesterfield
One of Chesterfield's earliest houses, the Wm. Duke Craig House, c.1820, stood here
before it was moved in 1975. Craig (1845-1935), farmer and merchant, also owned the
nearby Craig's Grist Mill. He fought in the Civil War with the 21st Regiment, S.C.
Infantry, Co. E. In 1933, he donated the land for Craig Park, just north on Page Street.
Altered through the years, the house now stands on county property, some 500 yds. N.
Erected by Chesterfield County-1985
Craig History
from the Craig's Mill Trail Site
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13-3 Chesterfield Courthouse
100 Main Street, Chesterfield
Chesterfield County's first courthouse was built here soon after the county was
established in 1785. The second courthouse on this site was built 1825-1829 from plans
by architect Robert Mills, designer of the Washington Monument. According to local
tradition, it was burned by troops under William T. Sherman in 1865. The current
structure, built c.1884, was used as a courthouse until 1978. Erected by Chesterfield
County-1985
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13-4
US 52 about 5 miles south of Cheraw in Cash community
(Front) Cash Homesite
About 100 yards east of here was the home of General Ellerbe Boggan Crawford Cash,
widely known for his 1880 duel with challenger Colonel William M. Shannon, whom he
killed. Subsequently, all officers of the state and members of the bar were required to
take oath that they had not participated in a duel since January 1, 1881. This proviso
was placed in the 1895 SC Constitution.
(Reverse) Capt. Thomas Ellerbe
About three miles northeast of here is the Ellerbe Burial Ground (Red Hill Cemetery)
where Captain Thomas Ellerbe (1743-1802) is buried. In 1768 he was appointed
commissioner to build a church and parsonage for the Parish of St. David. Ellerbe later
served in the Revolution as captain under General Francis Marion. Erected by Historical
Society of Chesterfield County and Chesterfield County Historic Preservation
Commission-1988
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13-5 Coulter Memorial Academy Site
On Second Street between Powe and Kershaw Streets, Cheraw
Organized in 1881, this Negro Presbyterian (USA) school was founded by the Rev. J. P.
Crawford with support from Mrs. C. E. Coulter from whom it received its name. The Rev.
G. W. Long was academy president from 1908 until 1943, and Coulter offered junior
college credit, 1933-1947. The academy merged with the public school system, 1949.
Erected by Coulter Memorial Academy National Alumni Association, Inc.-1991
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13-6 DIZZY GILLESPIE BIRTHPLACE
Huger St., Cheraw
(Front) John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was born in a house on this site on Oct. 21, 1917. His family live
here until they moved to Philadelphia in 1935. A founder of modern jazz, Gillespie was an innovative
trumpeter and bandleader known for his bent horn, bulging cheeks, sense of humor, and
showmanship. In the 1950s he became a good will ambassador for the U.S. State Dept., playing
concerts around the world.
(Reverse) Gillespie was invited to perform at the White House by eight presidents from Eisenhower to
George Bush. He received the National Medal of Arts, the highest prize awarded to an American
artist, in 1989 and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1990 for his lifetime contributions to
American culture. Among his best-known songs were "A Night in Tunisia" and "Salt Peanuts." He died
in New Jersey Jan. 6, 1993.
Erected by the Pee Dee Committee, Colonial Dames of America in the State of South Carolina, 2001
Cheraw Native Dizzy Gillespie
from the Cheraw School Bands Site
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13-7
SEABOARD AIR LINE RAILWAY DEPOT
Pine St., McBee
This depot, built in 1914, was the second station built by the Seaboard Air Line Railway in McBee.
The town, the most successful of those established along Seaboard's Columbia-to-Cheraw line after it
was completed in 1900, grew so quickly that a new depot became a high priority by the end of the
decade. This depot was both a passenger and freight depot until it closed in 1971. Now the McBee
Library and Railroad Museum, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
Erected by the Town of McBee, 2001
McBee Depot Photo
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The South Carolina Department of Archives and History
site contains basic information
about the S.C. Historical Marker Program and
not texts, photographs, or other information
about individual markers.
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Pee Dee Resource Conservation and Development Council
2002 Pee Dee Resource Conservation and Development Council.
This page was last updated on September 22, 2002
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