The above picture shows an unusually quiet Main Street in historic downtown Union. Here you’ll find a variety of specialty shops, unique architecture, and the Union County Museum. Also within walking distance are the Union Town Clock and the Union County Courthouse.

SCIWAY would like to thank Ann Helms of Spartanburg for submitting this picture. Ann writes, “These are some of the restored buildings along Main Street in Union, including the old Dodds 5 & 10 cent store built in 1890. Most of the downtown was built between 1878 and 1940 during the heyday of the railroad in Union.”

“This picture is the scene that my in-laws see every time they look out their back kitchen window in Kelton, a small community in Union County.”

The county was named for the old Union church, which was so named because it served the Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian congregations.

Other buildings in the historic mill district include a power house, an ice factory, a company store, and a bank and drug store. All of the buildings are listed in the National Historic Register.

The engineering firm belonging to W.B. Smith Whaley designed the buildings and many other textile plants across the state. While the mill is slowly being demolished, the office has been restored. The historic mill district in Buffalo is probably the best remaining example of a South Carolina mill town.

SCIWAY thanks Ann Helms of Spartanburg who provided this picture and historical information.

To be eligible to receive a $10,000 library grant from the Carnegie Corporation, a local community had to agree to raise any remaining construction costs and also maintain the library after it was built. In 1905, citizens of Union County purchased the lot for the building and raised an additional $3,500.

In 2009, Union’s library was named the Best Small Library in America by the Library Journal.

SCIWAY thanks Carol Gant of Rock Hill for sharing this photo with us.

See a photo of the Williamsburg Carnegie Library in Kingstree.

Lara says, “This picture is actually in my backyard. I was on the way out the door to work one cold morning and looked up and saw this! I immediately ran and got my camera. It is one of my favorite shots.”

Ed writes, “Rose Hill Plantation, located in Union County, was the home of William H. Gist, known as a fire eater and the Secession Governor. Today it is a peaceful, serene place to visit with plenty of photo opportunities. I found it to be a very rewarding experience to walk among the rose gardens and grounds and to wonder what it was like to have lived in such a time and place as this during such a tumultuous time in our state’s history.”