“H” is for Honea Path [Anderson County; population 3,504]. A water stop on the Greenville and Columbia Railroad in the 1850s developed into a town whose name origin is uncertain. It may be misnamed for William Honey, as early landowner and trader, or it may be double-named by Cherokee Indians, with “Honea” being an Indian name for “path”—according to folklore. When the town was chartered in 1855, it was referred to as Honey Path, but in 1917 was incorporated as Honea Path. Located on the Anderson-Abbeville county line, Honea Path became a cotton mill town. In 1934 it was the site of one of the most infamous events in American labor history—where six strikers were killed by armed guards at Chiquola Mill. In 1908 Honea Path became the smallest town in the nation with a Carnegie Library.
“H” is for Honea Path
