From King Cotton to Sen. Strom Thurmond to the rise of the Republican Party in the South, Aiken County has a rich political history.
"We grew very little cotton in the state until 1792," said Owen Clary, the chairman of the Aiken County Historical Commission, speaking to about 75 people at a lecture at the Aiken County Historical Museum last week.
After the crop was introduced, it dominated local society from 1800 to 1850, he said. "In Aiken County, our whole economy, way of life, politics were based on cotton."
Mr. Clary opened the museum's five-part lecture series, Snapshots of Aiken Past and Present, with a discussion about 200 years of Aiken County politics.
The sold-out series is co-sponsored by the University of South Carolina Aiken's Continuing Education Department.
Mr. Clary highlighted the county's political swings, movements and interesting characters.
Hamburg, which no longer exists, was the most important town in the area from 1820 to 1860, he said.
"Sand Bar Ferry Island became a favorite dueling spot," with more than 30 people being killed in disputes over politics from 1840 to 1860, he said.
He also said that at one time Aiken County men (women were not allowed to vote) cast their ballots by public announcement at the county courthouse.
"You didn't have a secret ballot until after the Civil War in South Carolina. The most important person you voted for was the sheriff," Mr. Clary said.
Democrats ruled the county from 1830 to 1865, and the only time they were not in control was during Reconstruction from 1865 to 1876, he said.
Aiken County, which was established in 1871 during Ulysses S. Grant's presidency, was formed from parts of Edgefield, Orangeburg, Lexington and Barnwell counties.
"I think the formation of Aiken County was a political boondoggle to get back at Edgefield," Mr. Clary said.
He thought it was no coincidence that Aiken County was bigger than Edgefield County.
"In 1850, Edgefield County was the 10th richest county in the nation," he said. "After the war, it was one of the poorest counties."
Mr. Clary said Thurmond was instrumental in changing the South from a Democratic to a Republican stronghold.
"By 2000, Aiken County is the second most Republican county in South Carolina," he said.
Elliott Levy, the executive director of the museum. said he wants those attending the lectures to have a clearer picture of Aiken County's past.
"I want them to walk away with interesting information and a better knowledge of what their home territory is about," Mr. Levy said.
Susan Reynolds, who has lived in Aiken for six years, said she learned some interesting things from Mr. Clary's lecture.
"I just wanted to learn a little more about Aiken history. For one thing, I didn't know there was ever a time when we were Democratic," she said.
Reach Betsy Gilliland at (803) 648-1395, ext. 113, or betsy.gilliland@augustachronicle.com.
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