Raymond Boylston Jr. of Springfield, formerly of Belvedere and North Augusta and a former member of the Aiken County Historical Commission, was guest speaker at Sunday’s meeting of the Old Edgefield District Genealogical Society meeting.

Boylston’s ancestors owned property where Healing Springs is located. Accompanying him was Hunter Henry, who came through Edgefield over 50 years ago, writing insurance.

“I was born in Aiken, which used to be part of the Old Edgefield District,” he said. I grew up in Springfield. I attended Graniteville High School and married someone from North Augusta.”
Boylston focused on his new book, “The Hills by the River,” a history of North Augusta and the surrounding area. Among his other books are “Butler’s Brigade,” “Edisto Rebels at Charleston,” “The Battle of Aiken,” and “Small Towns.”

Boylston led the audience on a journey from prehistoric times to the 1960s in an in-depth view of the early history of the area including significant details about the early Native Americans living along the Savannah River. He said that 500 million years ago, the hills he speaks of in his book (this area) were the highest mountains in the world.

“The ocean periodically came right up to the foot of the mountains,” he said. “The ocean covered everything from the coast.”

Another Ice Age came, he said, and the ocean level dropped 400 feet. The mountains over millions of years washed away and formed 200 foot sand dunes and the ocean became a large seashore.

“Eight hundred thousand years ago, the ocean receded and grasses grew,” he said. “The first human beings inhabited the area, the Indians. There were no trees then, just grasses.”

Boylston said the Woodland Indians were the next to come when trees were here.

“The Indians were the first to discover America, then the Vikings came in the year 1000. Columbus was a latecomer in 1492,” he said.

He described the Indians as tall and looking more European.

“There was no Edgefield then,” he said. “No Old Edgefield District. There was nothing here but back country.”

From the Spanish in 1540, to Desota and his 300 men who killed, captured and robbed and brought

European disease to the Indians, Boylston led the journey to the arrival of the English 100 years later.

“They were here to stay, for income,” he said. “There was no way to make money so they decided to trade with the Indians. Most of them were in the Old Edgefield District. Beech Island was a booming Indian trading post and the first town in the OED. The 50 to 100,000 deerskins a year helped them survive.”

He told about the great Indian trading posts of Savanna Town and Silver Bluff, as well as the early settlers of the New Windsor Township. The first settlements near present-day North Augusta, including Campbellton, Martintown and the Hammond homes and ferry were included. From there, he led the discussion through the various wars to the invention of the cotton gin and the booming cotton industry.

The cotton boom brought more black slaves to the area, he said. The Civil War brought economic devastation to the area economy. He spoke of the Edgefield people involved in the war.  There was a slow recovery, he said, and eventually an overthrow of the South Carolina Reconstruction government.

The City of North Augusta was a planned community which became a great tourist destination with the construction of the Hampton Terrace Hotel. The area survived the Great Depression and in the 1950s was part of the Savannah River Plant boom.

After he spoke, Boylston signed autographs and answered questions. About 40 people attended the meeting.