KERSHAW CORNERS

 

All gold does not glitter or it seems so in Kershaw SC. There’s a quiet about this place, even with the busy 521 route running through the middle. The town situated just a few miles from the largest gold mine in the Appalachian region has never experienced the growth or prosperity you would expect.

The promise of these things are found in every corner of Kershaw. Corners that were partially developed after Benjamin Haile discovered gold flakes on his farm in 1827. Soon the rush was on, the Southern Railroad followed in 1887.

Only a local line still exists. There are reasons for all this, but no clear ones. Maybe it was when the Haile Gold Mine was purchased by owners far away who only saw the town as a place to provision its workers. Maybe it was that Kershaw edged in on two counties but never had enough sway to attract the county seat from either. Maybe the town simply became a place left in limbo.

Still glimmers of brighter times can be found on the corners of Kershaw. Large buildings built and left, government offices closed, a worker’s motel and grocery store, local cafes. The line of harvest trucks that amass there in the spring, and the clanging of the Lancaster Chester Railroad going through town. Notes left and crosses can be found that sound continued hope and love for the corners of Kershaw...