Galivants Ferry – Marion County, South Carolina

This shot of east-bound US 501 was taken from the boat landing on the Marion County side of the Little Pee Dee River at Galivants Ferry.

Long an important river crossing, the community of Galivants Ferry is named after Richard Gallevan, the man who was granted ferry rights in 1792. Always a rural and somewhat isolated community in western Horry County, Galivants Ferry is best known today as the site of the Galivants Ferry Stump, a biannual political rally for the Democratic Party faithful.

When it began in 1876, the Galivants Ferry Stump was an opportunity for locals to hear candidates speak, which they did while standing on a tree stump so they could be seen and heard by the crowd. This practice is the origin of what everyone knows today to be a “stump speech.”

Candidates still come to Galivants Ferry and locals still gather along with prominent Democrats from the state and nation. In 2006, Joe Biden was the keynote speaker for the event. Candidates now make their speeches from the porch of a country store.

Bucking the trend in which political events strive to employ the most up-to-the-minute media technology, the decidedly low-tech atmosphere at the Galivants Ferry Stump remains a blend of carnival and church picnic, complete with plenty of food, music, and balloons – plus lots of hand-shakin’, back-slappin’, and baby kissin’.

Special thanks to photographer Ben Lawson of Aynor for submitting this handsome shot!