WHEREAS, under the Constitution of the State of South Carolina, Article VII, and an Act of the General Assembly carrying into effect the provisions of said Article of the Constitution, one-third of the qualified electors residing in those sections of Abbeville and Edgefield Counties which it is proposed to cut off to form the new County of Greenwood did file their petition with the Governor, in compliance with the said Article of the Constitution and the Act of the General Assembly aforesaid; and whereas the Governor did order an election to be held in said sections of Abbeville and Edgefield Counties, which election was duly held on the 15th day of December, A. D. 1896, and more than two-thirds majority of the votes cast in each section having been in favor of cutting off the sections of Abbeville and Edgefield Counties to form the new County of Greenwood, and more than two-thirds majority of the votes cast in said election having been cast in favor of Greenwood as the name of the said new County, and more than two-thirds majority of the votes cast at said election having been in favor of locating the County Seat in the town of Greenwood; and whereas the said Article of the Constitution and the said Act of the General Assembly have been fully complied with in every respect. Now, therefore,

SECTION 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, That a new judicial and election district, to be known as Greenwood County, with the seat of justice located in the town of Greenwood, shall be, and the same is hereby, formed from portions of the present Counties of Abbeville and Edgefield, with the metes and bounds hereinafter mentioned and described—that is to say, beginning at the middle line of Saluda River at the Northeast corner of Saluda County, thence along the line of Saluda County to its Northwest corner on Mountain Creek, thence a straight line to the middle line of Shinburg Bridge on Cuffatown Creek, thence up the middle line of the public road to the middle line of the Winter Seat Bridge on Hard Labor Creek, thence a straight line North 79-1/2 degrees West to the public road leading from Bradley to Troy, thence North 27-1/4 degrees West to corner post 150 feet South of Jordan's old mill on Long Cane Creek, thence Northeast 50 degrees two miles and three-quarters, thence Northeast 42 degrees two miles, thence Northeast 27 degrees 50 minutes two miles, thence Northwest 13 degrees 2 minutes two miles, thence Northwest 1 degree two miles, thence Northwest 15 degrees 10 minutes two miles, thence Northwest 29 degrees 20 minutes two miles, thence Northwest 43 degrees 35 minutes two miles, thence Northwest 57 degrees 45 minutes one and one-fifth miles to post 400 feet North of Duglass Mill Bridge on Long Cane Creek, thence Northwest 7 degrees to corner post on Goose Creek branch of Long Cane Creek, thence Northeast 55 degrees 45 minutes to corner post on Turkey Creek, thence down Turkey Creek to bridge on public road known as River Road, thence Northeast 67 degrees to the middle line of Saluda River, thence down the middle line of Saluda River to the point of beginning.

SECTION 2. That J. C. Maxwell, C. A. C. Waller, W. B. Blythe, J. F. Riley, G. A. Barksdale, J. P. Mathews and A. B. Ellis be, and they are hereby, appointed Commissioners to provide suitable buildings for the several Courts and County offices, and to select and purchase or procure sites for the necessary public buildings, and to contract for and superintend the erection of the court house and jail thereon, and that said public buildings shall be built at the expense of the town of Greenwood at a cost for sites and buildings not to exceed the sum of 25,000 dollars, and to meet said demand a special tax on the assessed value of all real and personal property within the corporate limits of the said town of Greenwood is hereby authorized to be levied. The Commissioners appointed in this Section are authorized to approve the bonds of the various County officers of Greenwood County until the County Board of said County is organized and qualified to approve bonds.

SECTION 3. That a majority of the Commissioners named in Section 2 of this Act shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business; and the exercise of any and all the powers and duties vested in the said Commissioners by this Act shall be valid to all intents and purposes if such exercise of powers and duties be by a majority of the said Commissioners present at a meeting, provided a quorum be present.

SECTION 4. That the Commissioners named in Section 2 are hereby authorized to procure any building or buildings at any convenient place in the town of Greenwood they may select for their meetings and for the other needs and uses of the County herein established until the permanent buildings are erected as herein provided.

SECTION 5. That until the next apportionment, the County of Greenwood shall be entitled to two Representatives, the County of Abbeville three Representatives, and the County of Edgefield three Representatives.

SECTION 6. That at the next general election the said County of Greenwood shall elect members of the General Assembly and the regular County officers provided for in the Constitution and laws of this State, and the voting places now established by law in those portions of the Counties of Abbeville and Edgefield herein made the County of Greenwood shall be the voting places of the County of Greenwood until otherwise changed by law, and no change of registration shall be necessary: Provided, however, That such electors as may be registered to vote at Long Cane, in Long Cane polling precinct of Abbeville County, and who reside in the new County of Greenwood, shall be entitled to vote at Hodges in Cokesbury polling precinct, and such as reside in Cedar Springs polling precinct of Abbeville County and are registered to vote at Clotworthy's Cross Roads shall vote at Verdery in Smithville polling precinct, and such as reside in Indian Hill polling precinct of Abbeville County and are registered to vote at Troy shall vote at Bradley, and such as reside in Hibler polling precinct of Edgefield County and are registered to vote at Liberty Hill shall vote at Hibler, which is hereby made the voting precinct of said township; and the Supervisors of Registration of Abbeville and Edgefield Counties are hereby authorized and required upon the application of any voter registered at either of the voting places herein named to give such voter a transfer certificate to the voting place herein provided for Greenwood County.

SECTION 7. That within thirty days after the approval of this Act the Governor shall appoint a County Auditor and three Supervisors of Registration, a County Treasurer and a Master, for Greenwood County, who shall enter upon the duties of their office immediately; and he shall also appoint Commissioners of Election for said County for State and County officers; and the Supervisors of Registration of Abbeville and Edgefield Counties shall on demand deliver to the Supervisors of Registration of Greenwood County the registration books for the voting places embraced in the County of Greenwood, which shall become the registration books for the County of Greenwood and for use in the special election ordered in this Act. Said Supervisors shall also turn over to the Supervisors of Greenwood County the registration books for the voting places for which any voters are registered who reside in the bounds of Greenwood County; and that the County Auditors of the Counties of . Edgefield and Abbeville, respectively, shall turn over to said Auditor of Greenwood County, as soon as passed upon by their respective Boards of Equalization, the tax returns taken by them for the fiscal year 1897 of such persons as have property embraced in the limits of the County of Greenwood; that the County Auditor do then make up the tax books for the County of Greenwood and turn the same over to the County Treasurer when appointed at the time as now required by law. That the Clerk of the Court, Judge of Probate, Sheriff, County Supervisor, County Board of Commissioners, School Commissioners, the Court of Common Pleas and the Court of General Sessions and all other County officers of the Counties of Edgefield and Abbeville, as they stood and were organized prior to the formation of the County of Greenwood, shall have full jurisdiction and power in and over the people and the territory embraced within the limits of Greenwood County until after the officers shall have been appointed or elected, as the case may be, and qualify in the County of Greenwood. That the Commissioners of Election to be appointed by the Governor as aforesaid shall issue notice, by publication once a week for three weeks in some newspaper published at Greenwood, calling for a special election to be held in the County of Greenwood for all election officers for said County, to be held on the fourth day of May, 1897; and that the County officers elected at said special election shall hold their terms of office for the unexpired period to which they would have been entitled under the Constitution and laws of this State had they been elected at the last general election; that said officers so elected shall qualify within thirty days after notice of their election and shall enter upon the duties of their office in said County of Greenwood, which shall be fully created and established on the thirtieth (30th) day after the date of said special election.

The Township Boards of the townships and parts of townships embraced within Greenwood County shall serve as the Township Boards of said County for the remainder of the term for which they were originally appointed, and the Governor shall by appointment fill any vacancies of said Boards occasioned by any reason whatever. The Governor shall also appoint new Township Boards where it may be made necessary by the formation of the new townships in the County of Greenwood.

The Chairmen of the respective Township Boards shall compose the County Board of Commissioners and of Equalization of the County of Greenwood.

SECTION 8. That E. W. Watson, P. B. Kemp and R. H. Hughes be, and are hereby, appointed Commissioners and authorized and required to mark off, survey and set up corners on the boundary line of the said County of Greenwood, to lay off the County into school districts, having due regard to natural boundaries and neighborhood centres, then to form the townships of the County so as to embrace in each township so laid off two or more whole school districts, to suitably name and number the said school districts and also the said townships, the townships to be laid off also with due regard to the present commercial centres, to have a map showing the result of their work, and the lines and localities and names as fixed by them shall be the lines, localities and names of the townships and school districts of Greenwood County until otherwise provided by law, and the Commissioners in this Section appointed shall receive as compensation for their services each the sum of two dollars per day for not exceeding thirty days: Provided, That in the event of a vacancy or vacancies on said Board of Commissioners from refusal to act, death, or otherwise, the Governor is hereby authorized and empowered to fill such vacancy or vacancies by appointment.

SECTION 9. That the bonds of the County officers of the County of Greenwood shall be in the penal sums following, that is to say: The Sheriff in the sum of $7,000; Judge of Probate, $5,000; Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, $5,000; Treasurer, $20,000; Supervisor, $3,000; Auditor, $2,000, and the County Superintendent of Education, $1,000; and the Master, $5,000.

SECTION 10. The annual salaries and compensation of the officers of Greenwod County shall be as follows, to wit: The Auditor shall receive from the State six hundred dollars and from the County three hundred dollars; the County Supervisor shall receive six hundred dollars; the County Superintendent of Education shall receive five hundred dollars; the Sheriff shall receive the fees allowed by law for dieting and keeping prisoners, and in addition shall collect all fees allowed by law and shall retain thereof not exceeding one thousand dollars as pay for all services; the Treasurer shall collect the commissions allowed by law and shall retain thereof not exceeding eight hundred dollars for all services; the Clerk of Court shall collect all fees allowed by law and shall retain thereof not exceeding thirteen hundred dollars for all services. All fees collected by the Sheriff, Treasurer and Clerk of Court above the amounts to be retained for services shall be turned into the County treasury and used for County purposes.

SECTION 11. That the territory embraced in Greenwood County shall belong to the Third Congressional District and to the Seventh Judicial Circuit, and the regular terms of the Court of General Sessions shall be held in the town of Greenwood, for the County of Greenwood, on the third Monday of March and the fourth Monday of July and the fourth Monday of November in each year, and the Court of Common Pleas at the same place on the Wednesdays following the Mondays on which the Court of General Sessions opens for said County of Greenwood; the first term of the said Court of General Sessions to be held on the fourth Monday of November, 1897; and the Magistrates shall be located as they now are in the territory covered by the County of Greenwood, until otherwise provided for by law: Provided, however, That the Magistrates now in office shall bind over to the Court of General Sessions of Greenwood County such parties as are required by law to be bound over when the offense is committed in Greenwood County as formed by this Act, and to the Court of General Sessions for Abbeville County when the offense is committed in Abbeville County, and to the Court of General Sessions for Edgefield County when the offense is committed in Edgefield County. Said Magistrates whose offices are in Greenwood County shall, in like manner, be restricted in their official functions, powers and duties to the said County of Greenwood, and until otherwise provided by law they shall each receive the same compensation as now is provided by law for each, respectively, and they shall have such powers, duties and jurisdiction in Greenwood County as is now provided for Magistrates in the County of Abbeville by Act of the General Assembly approved December 24, 1888.

SECTION 12. That from and after the first day of July, A. D. 1897, all suits pending in the Courts of Abbeville and Edgefield Counties of which the defendants reside in those portions of the said Counties now established as the County of Greenwood, and all indictments then pending in the Courts of said Counties where the offense was committed in those parts of said Counties now established as the County of Greenwood, shall be transferred to the dockets of the Courts of the said County of Greenwood, and all records, commissions and other papers belonging to any of the said suits or indictments, together with all the legal incidents thereunto appertaining, shall be transferred to the Clerk of the Court of said County of Greenwood, and all writs and other processes already issued and made returnable to the Fall term of the Courts of Abbeville and Edgefield Counties where the defendants in the said cases reside in the parts of the said Counties now established as the County of Greenwood shall be as valid and effectual as though they had been issued to the Fall term of the Court of the said County of Greenwood; and the service of such processes by the Sheriff of any of the said Counties shall be as good and effectual as a service to the _____ term of the Court of the said County of Greenwood, and all such writs and processes shall be transferred by the Clerks of the Courts of the said Counties to the Clerk of the Court of the County of Greenwood.

SECTION 13. That any person or persons interested shall have authority to apply to the Clerk of the Court, Sheriffs or Probate Judges of the Counties of Abbeville and Edgefield for certified copies of any judgment, record, decree or other papers now on file or of record in said Counties, and when so obtained and filed or recorded in the proper office in the new County of Greenwood said judgment, decree, record or other paper shall have the same force and effect as same had before said new County was formed under this Act. Any records not so transferred shall remain in full force and effect as if transferred to the records of the new County of Greenwood. That the Sheriffs of Abbeville and Edgefield Counties, respectively, upon application of the plaintiff or his attorney, in any judgment of record in the said Counties, respectively, shall deliver to the Sheriff of Greenwood County any and all executions in their respective offices in which the said plaintiff is interested, for which the Sheriff of Greenwood County shall receipt to the Sheriffs of the respective Counties of Abbeville and Edgefield, and said executions, when entered upon the Sheriff's books in Greenwood County, shall have thereafter the same force and effect as previously in the Counties from which they were transferred.

SECTION 14. That the Commissioners named in Section 2 of this Act, in anticipation of the collection of the general County tax, be, and he is hereby, empowered to contract debts and incur liabilities to the extent of two thousand dollars for the purpose of paying Commissioners, paying cost of survey and dividing the County, supplying furniture and books required by law for the several County offices, and for defraying the Court expenses, which sum shall be repaid out of the general County tax.

SECTION 15. That the Board of Jury Commissioners of Abbeville and Edgefield Counties be, and they are hereby, required to prepare and furnish to the Board of Jury Commissioners of Greenwood County, within ten days after demand by the said Jury Commissioners of Greenwood County, separate lists of persons liable to serve as jurors and residing in the limits of the said new County of Greenwood. From the lists so furnished to the Board of Jury Commissioners of Greenwood County shall be drawn, in accordance with law, the petit and grand jurors, and the talesmen of the Courts to be holden in Greenwood County, in conformity with the provisions of this Act, and the jurors so drawn are hereby declared lawful jurors to all intents and purposes.

SECTION 16. That the Governor is authorized and empowered to appoint a Commission of three persons, one of whom shall be a resident of Abbeville County, and one a resident of Edgefield County, and one a resident of the new County of Greenwood, which said Commission shall divide and apportion between the Counties of Edgefield and Greenwood the lawful and bona fide indebtedness of the old County of Edgefield, and also apportion and divide between the Counties of Abbeville and Greenwood the lawful bona fide indebtedness of the old County of Abbeville, existing at the time Greenwood County goes into full operation, having due regard to the amount of unpaid taxes due in each of said Counties, and that said County of Greenwood shall receive credit for its proportionate share of any money on hand in each of said Counties not heretofore expended; and said Commissioners shall receive from the County of Greenwood each two dollars per day for not exceeding ten days.

SECTION 17. That this Act shall be deemed a public Act, shall take effect immediately upon its approval, and all Acts and parts of Acts inconsistent there with be, and the same are hereby, repealed.

Approved the 2d day of March, A. D. 1897.