History of Aiken, South Carolina

A Concise History of Aiken, South Carolina

Lydia Taylor April 29th, 2008

Aiken was founded in 1833 by William Aiken, president of the South Carolina Canal and Railroad Company. The Railroad was just completing a rail line from the port of Charleston to Hamburg (now North Augusta) SC, and the newly minted town was a stop along the way. At that time, the railroad was the longest in the world. Aiken is one of the few ‘engineered’ cities in SC, having been laid out by Alfred Dexter and C. O. Pascalis. The town proved popular as a resort for wealthy residents of Charleston wanting an escape from the humidity and malaria of lowland SC.

Aiken did play a role in the Civil War, as a sharp cavalry engagement took place between a small force commanded by Confederate General Joseph ‘Fighting Joe’ Wheeler and raiding elements of U.S. General Sherman’s army during his march through Georgia and the Carolinas. As a result of this battle, Sherman’s advance was halted for a time. The Battle of Aiken is re-enacted every year.

The horse community got it’s start in the 1890’s with the arrival of Thomas Hitchcock and his wife Louise. They founded the Palmetto Golf Club, the Aiken Hounds fox hunting society, and Aiken Preparatory Day School. They also set aside the land now known as ‘Hitchcock Woods.’

Fast forwarding to today, Aiken is now the seat of Aiken County. The city is home to a large population of horse breeders and sportsmen and the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame. Two major steeplechase races are held there, the Imperial Cup every March, and the Holiday Cup in October. Equestrian Polo also is a popular sport. Horse riders will find it interesting that many of the stoplights in town have signal change buttons mounted high on the street corners, so riders can change the lights!! If you are an equestrian enthusiast, Aiken is the town for you.

For many years the city boasted the highest income per capita in the United States. It is still a very wealthy town today. Famous residents or former residents include Senator Strom Thurmond, the wrestler Paul Wight, and William ‘The Refrigerator’ Perry and his brother Michael Dean Perry. My husband went to school with Paul at the former St. Angela Academy, which is now a horse stable(!) next to Hopeland Gardens.

If you are interested in Real Estate in Aiken, SC…

The City of Aiken has it’s own MLS system and as a result most real estate for sale in the city appears within that system. The GAAR-MLS, which is where NorthoftheSavannah.com’s MLS Search pulls it’s listings from, shows some homes for sale in Aiken, but that list is far from comprehensive. Since I can not adequately service my clients interested in Aiken, I provide referrals to excellent Realtors who have access to the Aiken-MLS. Unfortunately, I typically do not handle the area.