The City of Aiken’s
history begins with
a love story.
William Aiken, a
cotton merchant in
Charleston, needed
better
transportation for
his product. He and
a collection of
fellow merchants
decided the best way
to accomplish this
was through a
railway.
Alfred Andrew
Dexter, a Harvard
man, was in charge
of surveying the
western portion of
the proposed
railroad. He
initially intended
to build it 15 miles
south of its present
location, in order
to avoid a steep
grade of 500 feet
that exists between
Aiken and
Warrenville.
But love -- not
to mention a keen
business sense --
brought the railway
in another
direction. Dexter
fell in love with
Sara Williams, a
young woman whose
father owned much of
the land on which
the city of Aiken
now stands. When
Dexter asked for
Sara’s hand in
marriage, her father
reportedly replied,
“No railroad for me,
young man, no wife
for you!”
The rest, as they
say is history. Williams
got his railroad.
Dexter got his wife.
And the railway went
in at its present
location, in spite
of the nearly
insurmountable grade
between Aiken and
Warrenville.
The grade was
overcome through the
use of a stationary
engine placed at its
top, which literally
dragged trains up
and down the slope
on a cable over a
windlass.
The
Charleston-to-Hamburg
line, the first real
railroad in America,
was completed in
1833. Before that
time, travelers
found only a
stagecoach stop at
Coker Spring, a
popular health spa.
The village of
Aiken, named for the
railway’s first
president, William
Aiken, became a
bustling railroad
town. The present
railroad cut that
exists in the modern
city was constructed
in 1852. The first
roadbed is now a
part of the pleasant
riding trails in the
city’s urban forest,
Hitchcock Woods.
In time Aiken
became the “Queen of
Winter Resorts,”
drawing families
with its warm, sunny
climate that was
conducive to outdoor
amusements that were
impossible in
northern climes.
Golf at the Palmetto
Golf Club and the
Park-in-the-Pines
Club offered
“unrivaled
opportunities for
indulgence in this
delightful past-time
throughout the
winter season.
A Resort
Quail and dove
hunting, polo,
racing, and a
variety of other
activities attracted
guests who often
decided to stay
in Hotels such as the
Magnolia Inn, York
House, and the Aiken
Hotel -- as well as
dozens of private
boarding houses --
provided hospitality
for tourists.
The War Between the
States brought only
a brief skirmish to
the Aiken area. The
Battle of Aiken left
several dozen dead.
The town’s economy
was seriously
damaged. But only
four years after the
end of the war,
Aiken was thriving
once again, this
time as a health
resort.
This
was the beginning of
Aiken’s famous
Winter Colony.
Wealthy northerners
found the town not
only a pretty place
to live, but also a
perfect training
ground for horses.
Aiken quickly became
a fashionable winter
resort and equine
sports center.
Celestine Eustis,
a woman from a
prominent New
Orleans family and
the Hitchcocks of
Long Island are
credited with
founding the Winter
Colony. New York
financier William C.
Whitney added to the
town’s charm when he
built Whitney Field
in 1882. Polo
matches are still
played on the field
today.
By 1900, the
city’s penchant for
fox hunting,
steeple chasing,
polo, hunting, golf
and tennis had
gained Aiken a proud
new title: “Sports
Center of the
South.”
A
County is
Created
The years
following the Civil
War changed Aiken in
other ways as well.
When it was
chartered in 1871,
Aiken County was
drawn from territory
in Barnwell,
Edgefield, Lexington
and Orangeburg
Counties. Powerful
state politicians
opposed the notion
of a new county that
would diminish
existing counties.
But Senator C.D.
Hayne of Aiken, a
black citizen who
represented the
Barnwell District,
introduced the act
that pushed the
necessary
legislation through
the State House. The
legislation that
created Aiken County
was signed into law
on March 10, 1871,
by Governor Robert
K. Scott, South
Carolina’s
"carpetbagger
governor."
Scott was a close
friend of Martha
Schofield, who
founded the
Schofield Normal and
Industrial School
for black children.
As the city
continued to rebuild
in the years after
the war, many of
Aiken’s settlers
were skilled black
artisans attracted
to the area by the
building boom. The
period between
1900-30 became a
peak period for
black entrepreneurs,
who owned businesses
ranging from shoe
repair shops to
medical practices.
A new era for the
city of Aiken began
in 1949, when the
Soviet Union tested
an atomic weapon.
The supremacy of the
United States in
atomic energy was
seriously
threatened.
President Harry S.
Truman asked the
DuPont Company to
design, construct
and operate a
facility to produce
materials for
nuclear use,
including plutonium,
uranium and tritium.
This was done at the
Savannah River
Plant. Ground was
broken in February
1951 on a project
called the biggest
construction
undertaking in
history. A
construction force
of 40,000 brought
the heavy water
plant on-line in
October 1952. The
site was essentially
completed in 1956 on
310 square miles
encompassing parts
of Aiken, Barnwell
and Allendale
Counties.
Savannah River
Site
Fifty years
later, the site is
owned by the
Department of Energy
and operated by an
integrated team led
by Westinghouse
Savannah River
Company. The team
also includes
Bechtel Savannah
River Inc., which is
responsible for
environmental
restoration, project
management,
engineering and
construction
activities; BWXT
Savannah River
Company which is
responsible for
facility
decontamination and
decommissioning; and
British Nuclear
Fuels, SRC, which is
responsible for the
site’s solid waste
program.
In 2000, the
Washington Group,
the parent company
of the Westinghouse
Savannah River
Company announced
that its corporate
headquarters would
locate in downtown
Aiken. Washington
Government serves
government,
nuclear-services and
environmental
clients
throughout the
United States.
Today the city of
Aiken is still known
for its sports, its
hospitality and has
also become a
thriving arts
community with its
downtown galleries,
playhouse, and
theaters.
Sources for this
section provided by
the Aiken Chamber of
Commerce.
