Andrews, South Carolina

History

The towns of Rosemary and Harpers Crossroads were settled along the Georgetown and Western Railroad, which started operation in 1886. In 1905, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad built a route through the town, along with a sizable maintenance shop. In 1909, voters agreed to incorporate the two separate towns into a single community, which was named Andrews, after Colonel Walter H. Andrews, who played an important role in the incorporation. Andrews worked for the Atlantic Coast Lumber Co. and served as mayor through most of the 1920s. In 1915, a town hall was built, which is now a museum. By 1919, Andrews had reached a population of 2,000 and continued to grow. During the 1920s, Andrews had the title of being the fastest growing town in the United States for its age. The two schools were the Andrews School and the Rosemary School. These were segregated, with the Andrews School being the white school and Rosemary being the black.

When the Great Depression of the 1930s started, Andrews was hit hard, with population down by 700 when Seaboard scaled back its operations. In 1932, the local economy was dealt a further blow when the Atlantic Coast Lumber Co. closed its nearby plant. The lumber business never regained prominence in the area. The economy subsequently improved in the late 1930s when an International Paper paper mill was built in Georgetown County.

From the History section of Andrews, South Carolina on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.