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“C” is for Camden

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“C” is for Camden (Kershaw County; 2020 population: 7,248). In 1758 Joseph Kershaw established a store on Pinetree Creek. Located on the path between Charleston and the Catawba Nation, Kershaw’s store led to the development of the village of Pine Tree Hill. The settlement was renamed in honor of Charles Pratt, the first Earl Camden—a champion of colonial rights. During the American Revolution two major battles were fought in the vicinity and the British occupied the town. In the 1880s wealthy tourists began to spend their winters in the little town, bringing with them an interest in equestrian sports. The Carolina Cup steeplechase, begun in 1930, is an annual event. Camden boasts more than sixty well-preserved buildings in its historic district that attests to a rich past and to a lifestyle respectful of that heritage.

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Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.