Camden, South Carolina





A History of Camden, South Carolina

Kershaw-Cornwallis House - Built in 1777 - Camden, South Carolina

Established in 1732, Camden is the oldest inland city of South Carolina and was the major British garrison of Lord Cornwallis. The battles of Hobkirk Hill and Camden were fought in the vicinity and twelve other Revolutionary War battles took place nearby. The natives invite you to "Come spend a few pleasant hours where the British spent a miserable winter!"

One of the early and important actions of the Royal Government was the Township Act of 1730; additional townships were authorized in 1761. The first act authorized nine townships containing 20,000 acres each, and agents were sent to Europe to recruit families as settlers. The families were offered inducements such as free transportation to South Carolina, free provisions for one year, and free land. The townships neither created nor kept records; their functions were solely geographical. Townships, like parishes, were used for some tax districts and appeared as locators in grants and conveyances.

Camden, the oldest existing inland town in the state, was part of a township plan ordered by King George II in 1730. The frontier settlement, initially named Fredericksburg Township (later Pine Tree Hill), took hold by the 1750s, as Quakers and Scots-Irish emigrants and settlers from Virginia put down roots.

Joseph Kershaw, a native of Yorkshire, England, arrived in 1758 and established a store for a Charleston mercantile firm. He prospered and by 1768 the town was the inland trade center in the colony. At his suggestion, the town became Camden, in honor of Lord Camden, champion of colonial rights.

In May of 1780, the American Revolution returned to Charleston, which quickly fell. Lord Charles Cornwallis and 2,500 British troops immediately marched to Camden and set up the main British supply post for the Southern Campaign. For eleven months the citizens of Camden understood the atrocities of war.

Two battles were fought near by. The Battle of Camden, the worst American battle defeat of the Revolution, was fought on August 16, 1780, nine miles north of the present-day Camden museum. Nearby, General Nathanael Greene and approximately 1,400 Americans engaged 950 British soldiers commanded by Lord Francis Rawdon on April 25, 1781. It was a costly British win and forced the Redcoats to evacuate Camden.

The town of Camden was the district seat for the Camden District between 1768 and 1800, then the county seat for Kershaw County since its inception in 1791.

Click Here for more in-depth information about the Revolutionary War Battle of Camden. Link is current as of August 2005.

Camden was granted a US Post Office on March 20, 1793, and its first Postmaster was Mr. John Reid. It has been in continuous operation ever since.

Camden Town Plat - From SC State Archives - Click Here