Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023 - 19

OUR BLUE RIDGE TOWNS
TOWNOFPENDLETON.ORG
the Pendleton Historic Foundation.
" I have a constant flow of people
in here. We had 6,500 visitors
last year from 41 states, " Perkins
says.
A summary of Pendleton's long
history doesn't do it full justice:
For that, you'll need to read Jacqueline
Reynolds' 276-page " Recollections
& Reflections of Pendleton,
South Carolina: Timeline of
Village History 1785-2020. " Reynolds
moved to Pendleton in 2000
with her husband, a graduate of
nearby Clemson University, and
her book carries detailed accounts
of plantation owners and homes,
schools and businesses, churches
and cemeteries, businesses and factories.
It's the place to go to learn
about Pendleton's renowned historical
figures, including John C.
Calhoun, Samuel Maverick and
Thomas Green Clemson. " Recollections
and Reflections of Pendleton "
includes records of the antebellum
slave population, as well as
the work done by freed slaves after
the Civil War. Reynolds' historical
recall is encyclopedic, and she's
the perfect complement to Mayor
Frank Crenshaw's forward-looking
commitment to his hometown.
" When I was a kid, they were
still producing and growing cotton
here, " Crenshaw says. " Today,
we're the only town in Anderson
County with a full-time planner
on staff. We're committed to our
Downtown Master Plan, which is
strongly pedestrian-friendly. "
And it shows. Late on Friday
afternoon, the sidewalks are full,
and the six restaurants around the
Green have people waiting for tables.
Even the storefront names are
spot-on alluring: the Blue Heron
Restaurant and Sushi Bar; Swamp
Fox Distilling; Newtique Boutique;
Green Heart Awakening.
At the far end of the Green
stands the oldest Farmers Society
Hall in America, where 200 years
ago, gentleman planters gathered
to exchange news and innovative
farming techniques. The Society
still meets on the upper
floor-and on the
ground floor, the 1826
Bistro serves
locally
sourced seasonal dishes
that draw rave reviews.
Pendleton has a wellstocked
bookstore in the
old Hunter's Store, with
a
well-chosen
regional
collection and large children's
section.
Owner
Amy Albright is committed
to holding author
events in her shop-recently
Ron Rash did a
reading and signing.
Around the corner
on Exchange Street, the
Art Gallery on Pendleton
Square is hosting
its Second Friday gathering,
where artists and
patrons meet and talk
art and life. Down the
street, Mama Rae's Ice
Cream Shoppe is selling
ice cream in every shape and combination
you can imagine, and everyone
seems pretty happy-even
the people waiting in line for a restaurant
table.
A few blocks off the Green sits
200-year-old
St.
Paul's
Episcopal
Church, surrounded by a churchyard
containing the graves of John
C. Calhoun's wife, Florida Bonneau;
Thomas Clemson and wife
Anna Calhoun Clemson; and Confederal
General Bernard Bee (who
allegedly gave the name " Stonewall "
to General Thomas J. Jackson
at the First Battle of Bull Run). It's
a beautiful place to wander, shaded
by ancient trees with their own stories
to tell.
And a couple miles up Old
Greenville Highway from the
church stands Ashtabula Plantation,
one of three original plantation
homes now owned by the
Pendleton Historic Foundation.
" It's a constant restoration project, "
Foundation Director John Perkins
says. He points to the partially
painted, odd blue ceiling on the ve " The
people here are our
biggest asset. Pendleton
is a special place. "
randa. " This color-it's haint blue.
Originally made from crushed indigo
plants. The low country planters
brought it with them when
they came to the upcountry . . .
it was supposed to scare away the
ghosts, " Perkins says.
He shares that the plantation
was raided in April 1865 by Union
troops searching for Jefferson Davis
and the Confederate Cabinet after
Appomattox.
And yes, you can't stand on the
veranda of this plantation home,
looking at massive live oaks on
the expansive lawn, and not think
about " Gone with the Wind. "
Pendleton tells
its long, deep
story very well-it's no wonder the
entire town is on the National Register
of Historic Places. But know
that it's also looking forward, with
a full and walkable downtown,
partnerships with nearby Clemson,
and a thriving manufacturing
economy in surrounding Anderson
County.
It's a beautiful balance of what
was . . . and what can be.
JULY/AUGUST 2023 19
The Pendleton
Farmers Society
Hall is the oldest
in America.
http://www.TOWNOFPENDLETON.ORG
Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Blue Ridge Country July/August 2023
