Marlboro County, South Carolina Genealogy Trails Transcribed by Dena Whitesell for Genealogy Trails  McColl Source:  A History of Marlboro County: With Traditions and Sketches of  Numerous Families, 1897   The prosperous and thriving town of McColl is situated on the eastern border of Marlboro County, only one and a half miles from the North Carolina line, and about ten miles from Bennettsville. It lies between Beaverdam and Panther Creeks, and is immediately upon the C. F. & Y, V. R. R. Eleven years ago, in 1884, the people in that community had no idea that a town of such considerable proportions would grow up in their midst so soon, but about that time the railroad was being built from Fayetteville in the direction of Bennettsville, and T. B. Gibson and J. F. McLaurin, in order to induce them to locate a depot at this point, offered to build a depot and subscribe to the stock of the company. They were ably assisted in their efforts by others in the community. In 1884, therefore, the depot was -built, which was the first house erected in the town. Mr. Gibson had some time previously exchanged places with his brother, I. P. Gibson, and the railroad passed across the lower end of his tract, and a site for the depot was selected and located on his land, and so the town of McColl had its beginning. It was named in honor of D. D. McColl, of Bennettsville, who during the time of building and for a while afterwards, was the president of the S. C. Pacific Ry., the South Carolina division of the C. F. & Y. V. R. R. A little less than a dozen years ago, where Mr. Gibson was growing fine corn and cotton, to-day stands the growing and prosperous, plucky and pushing town of McColl. In proportion to its size and age, the town of McColl has, perhaps, more strikingly handsome and well-appointed houses than any town in the State.    "One is struck with the fact at McColl that the proper start was made in most things." This is particularly true of the churches and schools. Three comfortable and commodious churches, Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist, adorn the town; while "the McColl High School was organized about the time the town was founded and has grown up with the town." The school building is large, well built and com-fortable, and is under the supervision and control of Prof. Craven. Nothing in the community commands a greater share of the interest of the citizens than the McColl High School. The town of McColl is lucky in having a number of men of fine business capacity who do thoroughly and well what they undertake. Mr. Frank P. Tatum, a native of North Carolina, is one of the leaders in enterprises calculated to help the town. He located in Marlboro about 1867, and is now a farmer, merchant, cotton-buyer, liveryman, and president of the McColl Manufacturing Co. He runs a farm of eighteen plows, and conducts a very large and successful mercantile business. T. B. Gibson, his son-in-law, was born not very many years ago, within a few hundred yards of the business center of the town; and though comparatively a young man, has a mature business headset firmly on his shoulders. He is one of the leading successful merchants of the place. Mr. P. Mangum came from Chesterfield to Marlboro a number of years ago, and lived a few miles north of McColl, but judiciously decided to make McColl his home. He manufactured the brick from which his handsome and imposing residence was built. Mr. Arch K. Odom is his partner in the mercantile business. Mr. J. F. McLaurin was born in the immediate neighborhood of McColl, and is a son of the late Capt. Loch McLaurin. He represented the county in the Legislature during the last term, and has been re-elected for the term of 1897-98. Mr. McLaurin has been merchandising about eight years,and is doing business in a handsome two-story brick store, built of brick manufactured at his yards. A. W. Morrison & Co. may be ranked among the leading business establishments of the town. Mr. Jeff D. Morrison is the junior member of the firm. Among the other business houses in McColl may be mentioned J. E. Willis, Luther McLaurin, Lane & Bristow, W. M. Gibson, Lester Sisters, J. I. Vick, J. F. Stubbs, and W. T. Smith. One  of the  chief reasons, and perhaps the principal one, why McColl has grown so rapidly and prospered so well, is the fact that magnificent farming lands, rarely equaled  for productiveness and fertility, stretch out on every hand, and this, with the further important consideration that the people who own those lands work them judiciously, intelligently and industriously.    Bounteous harvests, as a natural consequence of well-ordered and intelligent labor,  bring  prosperity and  content.   Thrift, prosperity, fine management, and a proper regard to comfort and convenience, are all shown in the "fine orchards, splendid stock," magnificent cotton and corn fields, numerous and large out-buildings, and handsome, convenient and   well-arranged   dwelling-houses.   Farming  in   the McColl neighborhood means a bounteous and generous home support, and a handsome surplus for sale, and consequently but few of the farmers trade on  time.    The merchants therefore handle cash, instead of bad accounts, and  hence   they  prosper.   Marlboro lands, Marlboro methods,  and McColl farmers make success  and prosperity sure for the town of  McColl.    The Gibsons, Mc-Laurins,   Fletchers, Willises,   Tatums, Parkers, farm to some purpose and profit. The McColl Manufacturing Company, located in the town of McColl, the only cotton mill in Marlboro, is owned and managed almost entirely by citizens of Marlboro. It is spinning Marlboro cotton into a fine grade  of yarn  at  the  rate  of fifty bales  a  day.    "Inthe spring of 1892 the first wing of the main building was completed, and the machinery put in motion.    The main building is 'now a brick structure 88 by  303  feet, with opening and lapper room 50 by 80 feet, packing room 40 by 40 feet, and machine shops 30 by 50 feet "    It is  run by a Corliss engine of 250 horse-power, having three large boilers of 100 horse-power each.    The finest English and American machinery was purchased.    It is supplied with all the latest and most   improved   devices   for   insuring safety against fire, and illuminated throughout by electricity.     Three    hundred    operatives    are    employed, who   live   in   comfortable   cottages,   erected   on  land belonging to the mill.   The mill runs day and night, and a ready market is found for the entire product of the mill. Mr. F. P. Tatumis the President of the mill, and T. B. Gibson its Secretary and Treasurer, who, together with D. D. McColl,C. S. McColl, E. Strudwick, W. W. Goodman, Eli Willis, T. H. Bethea, and A. W. Morrison are the directors, whose work have accomplished such satisfactorily results. "Messrs. F. P. Tatum and T. B. Gibson, and a few other citizens of McColl are the men who   hesitated   not  to navigate this large undertaking to its present successful condition.    It took pluck, ability and money more  than once to overcome the obstacles, but one of the best managed and most successful mills in South  Carolina to-day tells the story of the fight and victory." The court-house town no longer dominates the whole county, or absorbs all its business.   Towns grow up at the railroad stations, and at the site of a cotton mill, and by reason of their churches and schools, and by reason of their more  intimate  connection  and association with the surrounding community, are becoming centers of influence and trade, and are able and willing to enter into business  competition with the county seat, though often larger and more pretentious. While   the   McColl   Manufacturing Company is  the only cotton mill in Marlboro to-day, yet two others have been built. The first cotton mill built in Marlboro was at the "Burnt Factory," lately the property of Mr. Aaron Manship. It was built by a joint stock company composed of Col. Williams, of Society Hill; John Taylor, of Cheraw; John McQueen and William T. Ellerbe, of Marlboro, in the year 1836. In 1840 Meekin Townsend, father of R. E., C. P. and Walter, acquired an interest in the "factory," as it was called, and about 1845 he purchased it. It was burned in 1852, and the same year Mr. Townsend died. Another cotton mill was erected a few years after the war, at what has been known as Medlin's Spring (property now owned by Rev. Mr. Kirton) by a man named Cameron, but the mill was burnt about the time of its completion. It is hoped that other mills will be erected and operated in the county, for where the staple is grown there it should be manufactured; and the pluck of the McColl people ought to be a stimulus to others to do as they have done. It has been mentioned elsewhere in these pages that William Leggett, the grandfather of James S. Leggett, of Clio, lived about the time of the Revolutionary War at or near what is now McLaurin's Mill, and owned land lying between Beaverdam and Panther Creeks. It would be interesting if we could show how much of the land lying south of the town of McColl he owned, and to whom he sold, and the changes that have taken place in the ownership of the land since his time. The land lying south of the town, and now in the possession of John F. McLaurin was once owned by Robert Hamer and conveyed by him to Benaett R. Jackson and from him to the late Captain Lock McLaurin, the father of John F. Esquire Pipkin, the father of Mrs. N. M. Gibson, owned several hundred acres of land, a part of which land Mr. N. M. Gibson purchased at the partition sale of the estate of Esquire Pipkin and the central and northern portion of the town islocated upon that land.    Lying north and east from the lands formerly owned by Esquire Pipkin and extending to and even beyond the Adamsyille road, covering several square miles and several thousand acres of land, Moses Parker, the grandfather of Capt. John R. Parker, claimed as his own.    Capt. Parker now lives on lands set off as dower to his grandmother, and has no intention of transferring his possessions to other hands.    Mr. F. P. Tatum purchased his plantation lying just east from McColl from the late Isaac Pipkin, and while Mr. Pipkin might have sometimes regretted the sale, it is safe to say that Mr. Tatum has not regretted the purchase.    Lying west from McColl are the beautiful plantations of H. L. B. McColl, T. H. Bethea, W. P. Lester, and then the plantation of R.  J.  Tatum.  Then  you  come to the thriving town of Tatum, so named from Richard J. Tatum, who a number of years ago came from North Carolina and made his home in Marlboro.   He married the daughter of the late Jesse Bethea, of Adamsville, and settled where he now resides.  The town grew up at his very door; the depot and most of the town being on Hamer lands.    There are two handsome churches, a large, roomy school building, a half dozen store houses and quite a number of comfortable residences.    Fine farms lie all around the town, and Mr. Tatum, the Easterlings, Hamers and  Manships know how to work them.   Two doctors,  McKenzie and Reese, attend to the sick when there is any sickness to attend.   They do not need a lawyer, because they all behave themselves and pay their debts. The "write-up" of McColl by J. E. Norment of the News and Courier has been freely used in preparing this chapter. This is a FREE website. 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