Marlboro County, South Carolina Genealogy Trails Transcribed by Dena Whitesell for Genealogy Trails  The Removal of the Court-house to Bennettsville Source:  A History of Marlboro County: With Traditions and Sketches of Numerous Families, 1897   Two causes led to this event: the increase of population in the central and eastern portion of the District, and the unhealthfulness of the "old court-house" locality, on account of the nearness of the Pee Dee swamps. Accordingly, on December 14th, 1819, an Act was passed by the Legislature directing that "a new court-house and jail be immediately erected." Nathan B. Thomas, Gen. Gillespie, Drury Robertson, W. G. Feagan, James Forniss, James R. Ervin and William Brown were appointed commissioners to contract for and supervise the building. The site was selected and John S. Thomas deeded to the authorities three acres of ground since called the "public square." The deed was executed and recorded April 4, 1820. But delays occurred in the erection of the court-house so that when the great storm of 1822 swept over the country the brick walls were approaching completion, but not finished, and the torrents of rain and the force of the wind caused one of the walls to crack from the top to bottom and from that day there were thoughtful men who doubted the security of the building, which was imposing in appearance and convenient in arrrangement. There were people who called it a "man trap," a "dead fall," and were afraid to enter it with a crowd. Hence its brief life, of less than thirty years, for it was not till the beginning of 1824 that it was finished and received, and in 1851 it was torn down. Portions of the "old court-house" near the river and other buildings were removed to the new site. Our fathers began to think "perhaps there will be a village here some of these days," and "it would be well to give the place a name"; and as the Governor of the State at that time was named Bennett, in honor of him they began to call the place Bennettsville. If the thought had once entered their minds that a town would grow up around the courthouse, to be governed by a Mayor and Aldermen, with a half dozen churches, fine schools, several dozen stores, great brick blocks and iron horses drawing men and goods to it, upon an iron road, and hauling thousands of cotton bales, weighing five hundred pounds to the bale, and bringing in turn thousands of tons of fertilizers to enrich the soil, they would have given the infant town a more pretentious name. As Monroe was president at the time they might have named it "Monroe." Or if the district of which it was to be the capital must be called after the grand old English Duke and soldier, who never felt the sensation of defeat in a whole lifetime of war, they might have concluded, "we will call the place Marlboro"; and that would have been proper, especially could they have looked forward sixty years, and seen the whole country for miles around, so like a town that you can hardly get out of sight of farm buildings and residences, many of them looking more like a town than ever the "old court-house" and its surroundings did in its palmiest days. But it is time that something be said of the unique structure that was replaced by the present handsome building. On the 19th of December, 1849, the Legislature appropriated "eight thousand dollars to build a new court-house for Marlboro." M. Townsend, Dr. William Crosland, James Spears and others of like character, had entrusted to them the superintendence of the enterprise. Neil McNeil was the contractor, and after some delays, it was completed and accepted about the beginning of the year 1852. The first court held in it was in March of that year. The people generally, and the courts, were never satisfied with its accommodations and arrangements, and when some years ago, a portion of the plastering and cornicing fell off, it was not difficult to have it condemned as unsafe, and to institute proceedings to build a new one. An act was passed authorizing the measure, and the County Commissioners, P. M. Hamer, J. H. David, and Tristram Covington took charge of the enterprise. The contract was given to Jacob S. Allen, of North Carolina, and in the year 1885 the present building was completed, being the fourth one in a century, and it is devoutly hoped that the men who shall administer law and justice within its walls in the future years, shall never fall below their predecessors in truth, honesty and uprightness. On the 27th of March, A. D., 1884, the cornerstone of the present handsome and commodious new court-house was laid with due ceremony, and in the spring of 1885 the building was completed and occupied.   At a special term of the Court of Common Pleas begun to be holden on the 4th day of May, 1885, Judge J. H. Hudson, presiding, the  imposing structure was dedicated.   The ceremony was arranged by the Marlboro bar, and was the first of the kind of which we have knowledge.   It was unique, original, appropriate, and impressive.     The programme was as follows:     The proceedings were opened with prayer by Rev. T. J. Clyde, of the Methodist Church followed by the  opening address by  Rev.  J. A. W. Thomas, of the Baptist Church, at the close of which he delivered to the Court the Holy Bible with a solemn charge as to its use.    The presiding Judge received the Book and responded to the address.    Ex-Judge C. P. Tcwnsend, the senior member of the Bar, on behalf of his brethren, next addressed the Court, and closed by delivering to the Court a pair of scales symbolical of the "Scales of Justice."    The presiding Judge, receiving the scales, responded.    Next H. H. Newton, Esq., Solicitor of the   Fourth Judicial Circuit, addressed the Court, and closed by delivering to the Judge a copy of the General Statutes, on receiving which the Judge responded, and delivered to the Clerk of Court, C. M. Weatherly, the keys of the building, which had been in a few appropriate remarks delivered to him by J. F. Bolton, Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. The closing prayer was then delivered by Rev. W. B. Corbett, of the Presbyterian Church, and the immense audience of ladies and gentlemen dispersed. Their attention had been held uninterruptedly from the opening to the closing of the impressive exercises, a full record of which may be found in the Journal of Common Pleas, beginning on page 448 of the volume of 1878 to 1886. The record is valuable, and will be interesting to posterity. This is a FREE website. If you were directed here through a link for which you paid $ for, you can access much more FREE data via our South Carolina index page at http://www.genealogytrails.com/scar/index.html Also make sure to visit our main Genealogy Trails History Group website at http://genealogytrails.com for much more nationwide historical/genealogical data and access to other state/county data Copyright © Genealogy Trails 2008 All Rights Reserved with Full Rights Reserved for Original Contributor