The City of Aiken

Use the Aiken County Government Index to locate county offices, libraries, and other departments to help with your research.

Railroads, Cotton, & True Love

family Captain William W. Williams, a cotton merchant from Charleston, built the first frame house of its kind in this part of the country in 1820. On the corner of Ray Lane and York Street, Chinaberry is the only surviving landmark preceding the town. Capt. Williams, Mr. W. Aiken and several others created the South Carolina Railway and Canal Company.

The railroad began in Hamburg (North Augusta) on the banks of the Savannah River. Cotton was loaded into boxcars there, and then transported to the Charleston seaport for shipping to Europe. Capt. Williams wanted the railroad to come to his cotton fields, instead of dealing with transporting it to Hamburg.

Alfred Dexter, a young, Harvardeducated surveyor, had already concluded that the rail should be laid 15 miles south of the Captain’s fields. Dexter recalculated the rail toward the captain’s fields, but, it was impossible for the train to negotiate the 500 ft. grade between his field and Warrenville. To add to the frustration, Dexter met and fell in love with the captain’s daughter, Miss Sara. He begged the captain for his daughter’s hand in marriage, to which Capt. Williams replied, “No railroad for me, young man, no wife for you!” Dexter went back to the drawing board with the help of his assistant, C.O. Pascalis. Together, they designed a stationary engine with a winch situated on the crest of the hill where Park Ave. curves into Hayne Ave. today. This allowed trains to negotiate the steep grade. The stationary engine pulled trains up and down the slope on a cable over a windlass so they could make their way safely between stops. Coming within 100 yds. of the Captain’s home. The 136-mile journey from Charleston to Hamburg was the first successful scheduled railroad service in America and the world’s longest railroad. It was completed in 1833. Dexter married his love in 1834. Dexter and Pascalis began creating a geometric street map and plotted the new town with expansive, 150 ft. wide boulevards. This would allow wagons pulled by as many as six horses to turn around easily. They envisioned parkways planted with seasonal flowers and shrubs at the centers of the boulevards. Aiken was chartered in 1835 and named in honor of the president of the railroad, William Aiken, who had been killed in an accident before the project was completed.

Transcription Credit Discover Aiken County, 2021 Visitor's Guide

AikenGenWeb Notes:

Captain William W. Williams is buried in the Williams Family Cemetery on the south side of the City of Aiken. A photo of his headstone can be found here. There is no notation of his wife.

Alfred and Sarah, who are rumored in old newspapers reports to be buried in the Williams Family Cemetery in unmarked graves, are not buried in Aiken County. Both are buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Montgomery County, Alabama. Montgomery County is the home of Alfred's parents, Alfred and Charlotte Morton Dexter. Alfred, Sr. is a founder of Montgomery, and is the son of Samuel Dexter, who was a member of the 1774-75 Provencial Congress. Alfred's wife, Charolotte, is the daughter of Perez Morton, Governor of Massachusetts and Revolutionary War Patriot from Boston.

Andrew Alfred Dexter, born 1809 in Nova Scotia, and died 6 Dec 1853 in Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama, He died after contracting yellow fever while surveying a route for the railroad between Mobile, Alabama and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Henrietta Sarah Williams, born 30 Sep 1815 in Edgefield County, South Carolina, died enroute to Palanetine, Texas, 10 June 1890, at the age of 74.

William Aiken, born in County Antrim, Ireland, immigrated to Charleston, S.C. at the age of 10. He was the pioneering founder of the South Carolina Canal and Rail Road Company, one of the first rail road companies to be charted in North America. He is the father of William Aiken, Jr., 61st Governor of the States of South Carolina. The William Aiken House is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Newspapers: Aiken Standard: 25 August 1970 - 20 May 1971 - 8 July 1970 - 11 Feb 1975 - 20 Oct 1975 -
Documents: Dexter Family Genealogy - 1840 Federal Census Barwell, SC - 1850 Federal Census Macon, Alabama - Montgomery, Alabama Will Index - Alabama Card Index - Daughters of the American Revolution -
Image credits in above links: Newspapers.com & Ancestry.com online digital assests. Extracted by: Angie Rapids

The Winter Colony

The Winter Colony During the 1800’s Aiken became a popular health resort for coastal residents wishing to escape malaria and yellow fever. Rice and indigo planters found the dry pine-scented air good for breathing ailments. Wealthy northerners began visiting during the harsh winters and the area was transformed into The Winter Colony. It was a place to let loose, away from the New York society columnists! The Winter Colonists brought their horses to Aiken to extend their equestrian activities throughout the year. Riding, racing, foxhunting and polo were among the top favorites. The colonists also enjoyed tennis and golf longer in the south. Today every equestrian discipline is found in Aiken. Polo, the “game of kings,” has been played on Aiken’s Whitney Field continuously since 1882. Grandiose cottages were enjoyed by the Vanderbilts, the Whitneys, the Iselins, the Astors, the Rutherfords, the Hitchcocks, and more elite. Cottages were defined as homes with more than twenty rooms. Coker Springs was a supplier of the fresh clean water that serviced the City of Aiken.

Read about Coker Springs and the connection to Aiken Regional Hospital.

Read references to Madame Bonnetheau and the all girls school that flourished in the area.