H*2176 Session 103 (1979-1980)
H*2176(Rat #0424, Act #0597 of 1980) General Bill, By P.B. McLeod
A Bill to create the Old Jacksonborough Historic District in Colleton County
and to place such district under the jurisdiction of the Old Jacksonborough
Historic District Authority.-at
01/09/79 House Introduced, read first time, placed on calendar
without reference HJ-96
01/10/79 House Read second time HJ-110
01/11/79 House Read third time and sent to Senate HJ-127
01/11/79 Senate INTD. & PLACED ON LOC. & UNCONTESTED CAL. W/O
REFERENCE SJ-7
03/07/79 Senate REFERRED TO SENATORS FROM DISTRICT NO. 15 SJ-3
03/26/80 Senate RECALLED FROM SENATORS FROM DISTRICT NO. 15 SJ-11
03/26/80 Senate Amended SJ-11
03/26/80 Senate Read second time SJ-11
03/27/80 Senate READ THIRD TIME SJ-5
03/27/80 Senate Returned SJ-5
04/09/80 House Concurred in Senate amendment and enrolled HJ-1969
04/16/80 House Ratified R 424 HJ-2118
04/22/80 Signed By Governor
04/22/80 Effective date 04/22/80
04/22/80 Act No. 597
04/29/80 Copies available
(A597, R424, H2176)
AN ACT TO CREATE THE OLD JACKSONBOROUGH HISTORIC DISTRICT IN COLLETON COUNTY
AND TO PLACE SUCH DISTRICT UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE OLD JACKSONBOROUGH
HISTORIC DISTRICT AUTHORITY.
Whereas, the General Assembly recognizes the great historic and cultural
significance of South Carolina's only provisional state capital, at the
Village of Old Jacksonborough on the banks of the Edisto River in Colleton
County; and
Whereas, the British defeat at the Battle of Yorktown in Virginia, in
October, 1781, signaled the termination of the Revolution, South Carolina's
General Assembly elected in December, 1781, not to convene in Charleston
because the capital city continued to be occupied by the British who remained
there for another year until December, 1782, forcing the Legislature to meet
for its 1782 session in a non-hostile environment, at the Village of Old
Jacksonborough in then Saint Bartholomew's Parish; and
Whereas, during 1782, the final year of the Revolution in South Carolina, at
the Village of Old Jacksonborough, the meetings of the General Assembly were
conducted in the Masonic Lodge and in the Tavern of Peter DuBose; and
Whereas, John Matthews was elected by the Jacksonborough Assembly on January
31, 1782, as South Carolina's second Governor, succeeding John Rutledge. He
administered the state's civil government from the Village of Old
Jacksonborough until December 14, 1782, when the British departed Charleston,
after which civil government was administered from the capital city; and
Whereas, for a time during the final push of the Revolutionary Forces toward
Charleston, the headquarters for General Nathanael Greene, Commanding General
of the Southern Continental Army, was located in the area around the Village
of Old Jacksonborough to protect the General Assembly convened there, the
headquarters having previously been located in December, 1781, at nearby Round
O; and
Whereas, close by the Village of Old Jacksonborough is the tomb of Colonel
Isaac Hayne, the gallant American martyr, who was carried to his execution
from the Prevost Dungeon of Charleston's Exchange Building on August 4, 1781;
and
Whereas, near the Village of Old Jacksonborough lie the ruins of Saint
Bartholomew's Parish Church, established in 1706, known as Pon Pon Chapel, and
later as "Burnt Church". John Wesley preached here on April 24,
1737. Buried in the churchyard is Congressman O'Brien Smith (1756-1811) at
whose nearby Duharra Plantation on the Combahee River in present Colleton
County President George Washington during his southern tour was a guest on the
night of May 10, 1791. Smith served as a State Representative (1788-92;
1793-1800; 1808-11); State Senator (1800-05); Member of Congress (1805-07);
and as second President of the Hibernian Society of Charleston. Also buried in
the churchyard is Aedanus Burke ( 1743-1802), a State Representative (1779-88)
and later a judge; and
Whereas, in the proximity of the Village of Old Jacksonborough is the
cemetery and site of former Bethel "Pon Pon" Presbyterian Church,
organized in 1728; buried here is Commander John Herbert Dent (1782-1823),
Acting Commanding Officer of the U. S. Frigate Constitution "Old
Ironsides"; also buried here is Simon Verdier (1780-1853), a State
Representative (1822-23, 1850-52) and State Senator (1823-30, 1838-42); and
Whereas, the site of Edmundsbury Episcopal Chapel, built in 1758 and named
for Landgrave Edmund Bellinger, is near the Village of Old Jacksonborough. Its
cemetery contains the graves of two South Carolina Lieutenant Governors,
William Cotesworth Pinckney (1768-1833) and Merrick E. Carn (1808-1862)
Pinckney was a State Representative (1798-1806, 1824-26); Speaker of the House
of Representatives (1804-1806); State Senator (1806-1810); Lieutenant Governor
(1820-1822); and member of the Nullification Convention (1832-33). Carn was a
State Representative (1842-48); Intendant of Walterboro (1854); State Senator
(1850-58); Lieutenant Governor (1858-60); and signer of the Ordinance of
Secession (1860); and
Whereas, near the Edisto River crossing close by the Village of Old
Jacksonborough, on August 30, 1781, General Francis Marion with a force of
four hundred Patriots intercepted a force of five hundred and forty Hessians,
Britishers, and Tories at the Battle of Parker's Ferry, forcing the enemy to
withdraw to Charleston; and
Whereas, the court house and jail in the Village of Old Jacksonborough
served as the seat of justice for Colleton District from 1799 to 1822, when
Walterborough became the county seat. Now, therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Historic District created
Section 1. There is hereby created the Old Jacksonborough Historic District
(District) in Colleton County, which shall be under the jurisdiction of the
Old Jacksonborough Historic District Authority (Authority), a body politic and
corporate under the laws of this State.
The District shall be composed of the Village of Old Jacksonborough, as well
as any other historic sites that may have historical or cultural connection or
relevance to Old Jacksonborough.
Composition of board of regents
Section 2. The Authority shall be governed by a board of regents consisting
of nine members, as follows:
(a) The resident Senator for Colleton County shall serve ex- officio;
(b) The Representative in whose district the present Village of
Jacksonborough is situate shall serve ex officio;
(c) Four members resident in Colleton County appointed by the Governor upon
recommendation of the Colleton County Legislative Delegation;
(d) One member resident in the First or Second Congressional District
appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate;
(e) One member resident in the Third or Fourth Congressional District
appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate;
(f) One member resident in the Fifth or Sixth Congressional District
appointed by the Governor with the Advice and Consent of the Senate.
The terms of the members shall be for four years and until their successors
are appointed and qualify except that those originally appointed to the board
of regents, four shall serve two years and three shall serve for four years.
The length of such terms shall be determined by lot. In the case of any
vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled in the manner of the original appointment
for the unexpired portion of the term only. The board of regents, upon being
appointed, shall meet and elect a chairman and such other officers as it deems
necessary from its membership.
Rules governing meetings of board
Section 3. The board of regents shall meet upon the call of the chairman or
a majority of its members, and a majority of its members, excluding the ex
officio members, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
The board of regents shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled
to receive reimbursement for mileage at the existing state rate. It may employ
a director and other employees who shall perform such duties as the board may
direct. Compensation paid the director and other employees shall be fixed by
the board.
Powers of Historic District Authority
Section 4. The Authority is authorized to:
(a) Make studies, surveys, maps and do such other functions as may be
necessary to determine the exact site and location of the Village of Old
Jacksonborough at the time it served as the state's provisional capital,
determine the exact site and location, and obtain information about the
buildings used for sessions of the General Assembly during its 1782 session;
(b) Make studies, surveys and maps about other structures, dwellings,
buildings, roads, streets, bridges and highways, in or near the Village of Old
Jacksonborough;
(c) Make studies, surveys and maps to determine, identify, locate, and
designate the historic and cultural sites in the surrounding area, including
the dwelling in which Governor John Matthews visited, the headquarters of
General Nathanael Greene, the tomb of Colonel Isaac Hayne, Pon Pon Chapel, the
grave of Congressman O'Brien Smith, Duharra Plantation House where President
Washington spent the night, the grave of Judge Aedanus Burke, the graves of
Commander John Herbert Dent, Senator Simon Verdier, Lieutenant Governor
William Cotesworth Pinckney, and Lieutenant Governor Merrick E. Carn, the site
of Bethel "Pon Pon" Presbyterian Church, Edmundsbury Episcopal
Chapel, and the Battle of Parker's Ferry, and such other historic and cultural
sites as may be located and identified.
Further
Section 5. The Authority may, without regard to the laws and procedures
applicable to state agencies, procure supplies, services and property and make
contracts and expend in furtherance of this act funds donated or funds
received and may, within the limits of statutory authority, exercise those
powers that are necessary to enable it to carry out efficiently and in the
public interest the purposes of this act.
The Authority shall have the power to procure and purchase books, documents,
transcripts of documents, or other historic or cultural materials, paintings,
works of art or any artistic objects of historic or cultural interest; to
collect and preserve objects of interest pertaining to natural or cultural
history of the Village of Old Jacksonborough, Colleton County, or the State of
South Carolina and other like property; to arrange and catalogue them; to
provide for their restoration when necessary; to provide for public display,
examination and use in the furtherance of the cultural life of the Village of
Old Jacksonborough, Colleton County, and the State; to purchase or lease
property or buildings necessary to establish and conduct a museum of cultural
history and natural science, an historic restoration of the Village of Old
Jacksonborough, or an historic site or restoration at any other of the sites
set forth herein; to mortgage or pledge its real or personal property, and to
receive funds, grants, donations and appropriations for the purpose of
establishing and operating historic restorations, historic sites, or a museum
of history and natural science. The Authority shall have full power to
operate, maintain and expand any restoration or museum so far as its funds
allow. The Authority may enter into agreements, leases, working arrangements
with other museums, art centers or eleemosynary corporations or with state or
federal departments or agencies in the acquisition of historic sites or
historic objects or in the purchase, development and operation of historic or
cultural properties, pageants or dramas for the historical, cultural, or
economic development of the Village of Old Jacksonborough, Colleton County,
and the State of South Carolina.
Further
Section 6. The Authority is authorized to accept donations of money,
property or personal services; to cooperate with national, state, civic,
patriotic, hereditary and historical groups and institutions of learning; and
to call upon state and federal departments or agencies for their advice and
assistance in carrying out the purposes of this act.
Further
Section 7. The Authority shall select markers and appropriately mark and
designate points and places of historical interest in the territory that may
comprise the Old Jacksonborough Historic District. The Authority shall be
responsible for the operation and upkeep of such historical sites. It shall
receive and disburse funds, accept donations, and compile, print and sell
historical pamphlets. In addition, the Authority shall advise the county
legislative delegation on matters of historical interest in the Old
Jacksonborough Historic District, Colleton County, and adjacent areas.
Time effective
Section 8. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor. |