Stateburg, SC: August 2nd, 2013 - This One is Really A Stretch

Back in the day, my ancestors on my mother's side were in and around the Stateburg area in South Carolina.  The Friersons and the Dargans both attended the Church of the Holy Cross, and somewhere along the line, my great grandfather and great grandmother met, fell in love, married, and started a family.  The relative wealth of that generation was disseminated and diluted among children and children's children until it was spread so thin that the estate, Cherry Vale, had to be sold off to pay bills.  Sometime later, the US government bought the land, flattened it, and put an Airforce base on it.

All that to say, Stateburg is by no means a tourist destination.  We only went there for the family history.

The Church of the Holy Cross is still standing, although it has adopted a curious stucco look:

 I guess it thought that would be fashionable.

The graveyard attached is filled with gravestones bearing names from my mother's side of the family:

Sorry to get all grave-stoney on you.  I know death isn't the most pleasant topic.

We also went to see the gravesite (more death!  aaaah!) of Thomas Sumter, famous throughout South Carolina for being a something-or-other.

 See?  I took a picture of the information tablet this time.  I'm learning.

That was about it.