Fort Mill: Images of America
LeAnne Burnett Morse
Arcadia Publishing (2015)
A unique community for all seasons
For more than 20 years Arcadia Publishing has reconnected people to their community, their neighbors, and their past by offering a curbside view of hometown history and often forgotten aspects of American life. Composed in a unique pictorial format with over two hundred vintage images and accompanying captions, Arcadia books animate the cherished memories, people, places, and events that define a community. From the iconic Images of America series and Images of Aviation series to Postcard Histories and so many more, these richly illustrated histories bring to life small-town America. The 20 specific series include American Century Series, Black America Series, Images of America, Images of Sports, Making of America, and Then and Now.
What we have in Fort Mill is LeAnne Burnett Morse’s lively exploration of seven specific historical components of the Fort Mill, South Carolina, community. They are:
1. Prelude to Township: A Meeting at the Nation Ford
2. Prosperity in the Piedmont: Commerce and the Rise of the Mills
3. The Springs Family: Building a Legacy
4. Small-Town Sacrifice: Answering the Call to Service
5. Mind, Heart, and Soul: Schools, Churches, and the Arts
6. Life in Paradise: The African American Experience in Fort Mill
7. Living Here: The People and Places of Fort Mill
Readers will appreciate the inclusion of hundreds of archival photos (each with an extensive caption) that are strategically placed within Morse’s narrative. She gratefully acknowledges sources who were of critical importance to her research, notably the Fort Mill Historical Museum.
I cannot include any of these photos in this brief commentary but perhaps it will be of interest and value if I share with you the an excerpt from of captions of five (5) photos among dozens that caught my eye:
o “This hand-drawn map of early Fort Mill shows the town during the time period from 1850 to 1880. The names of most streets are recognizable today, includingCnnecticiut, Academy, and Clebourne Streets. Present-day Tom Hasll Street” was named Booth during this period. The street was renamed for Medal of Honor recipient Thomas Lee Hall, a member of Company G who was killed in France during World War I.” (Photo and full caption on Page 13)
o “A bystander on the town hall porch checks oyt town’s first modern fire truck. It did not have a water pump, but rather two 30-gallon chemical tanks for fighting fires.” (Page 36)
o Theodore Harris, pictured here, in 1917, was a test pilot during World War I. Fort Mill saw a high percentage of young men off to the war in Europe given the size of the town.” (Page 73)
0 “Solomon Sprtt (1839-1894) was a slave on the plantation of ThomasDrvyden Spratt. During the Civil War, he led a group of slaves in an endeavor to care for women and children left behind when the men went to the front lines.”(Page 96)
o “Elliott WhiteSrings excites the crowd with an under-bridge pass at the dedication ceremony for the Buster Boyd Bridge over Lake Wylie on August 17, 1923. The plane was a Morse Fighter with a single seat.”(Page 122)
To repeat: These are brief excerpts from remarkably substantial captions that accompany most of the hundreds of archival photos.
These are LeAnne Burnett Morse’s concluding remarks in her lively as well as informative Introduction: “Since 2000, Fort Mill has experienced an astronomical 42-percent population growth. The sleepy, self-contained village has become a rapidly expanding bedroom community for workers in adjacent Charlo0tte [NC] and Rock Hill. But the town has not lost its unique identity or been swallowed up by the personalities of the larger cities that surround it. The same pioneer spirit and commitment to community that emerged in Little York continues to thrive with the arrival of new settlers from around the world to present-day Fort Mill.”
Well-said and eminently true. My wife and I recently spent a long weekend in Fort Mill and can personally attest to its “unique identity ” as, yes, a dynamic community but also as a warm and welcoming destination to visit and embrace. The area is especially lovely and its historical significance comes to life with style and grace.