Laurens (Images of America)

A picturesque community in the Upstate's piedmont landscape, the city of Laurens possesses a rich heritage and unique small-town character and charm. Since its founding in the latter part of the eighteenth century, the city, named for Revolutionary War hero and distinguished South Carolinian Henry Laurens, has grown and developed into the county's primary crossroads, serving not only as the county seat, but a center of social activity, from circuses to Chautauquas. This volume, with over 200 black-and-white photographs and postcards, captures the Laurens of yesteryear, a time measured by the sound of railroad whistles, hoof beats on dusty streets, and the early noisy stirrings of automobiles. Covering the many elements
of everyday life in Laurens--the academic, industrial, spiritual, and social--this visual history takes readers on a remarkable tour through the area's past, showcasing early schools, such as the Laurensville Female College and the "old" Central School; turn-of-the-century textile mills, such as the Laurens Cotton Mill and the Watts Mill Plant; a wide variety of churches, including Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian denominations, to name but a few; and early residences and businesses that make up the Laurens Historic District.

Author and local historian Libby Rhodes, a writer for the Laurens County Advertiser, has compiled a wonderful pictorial retrospective that celebrates and preserves the history of Laurens. A visual treasure, Laurens serves as fitting testimony to the strength of character and resiliency of the town's citizens over the past 300 years and will appeal to both longtime residents and newcomers to this historic Palmetto town.