The Town of Seneca
Seneca South Carolina was founded in 1873, and at the time was dubbed the ‘City of Opportunity’. Named for the nearby Cherokee Town of Sunigu (to the English known as “Seneca Town”), todays population is at around 8,000.
A History of Seneca can be found in this article from Wikipedia:
The town was located at the intersection of the Blue Ridge Railroad and the newly built Atlanta and Charlotte Air Line Railroad. Both lines are now part of the Norfolk Southern Railway. A. W. Thompson and J. J. Norton, who were locating engineers for the Air Line Railroad, purchased the land from Col. Brown of Anderson, South Carolina. A stake marking the center of town was driven into the intersection of the railroad tracks and the current Townville Street. The land was divided into lots for one-half mile from the stake. An auction was held on August 14, 1873. The town was given a charter by the state legislature on March 14, 1874. In 1908, the name was changed to Seneca.
Seneca developed as a marketing and shipping point for cotton. During the harvest, wagons bringing cotton would line up for blocks from the railroad station. A passenger terminal, several hotels, and a park were built near the railroad tracks. Recently, this park was named the Norton-Thompson Park in honor of its founders.
The first school was built in 1874. The community was the home of the Seneca Institute – Seneca Junior College, which was an African-American school from 1899 to 1939.
Textile mills came in to the area with the construction of a plant-and-mill village by the Courtenay Manufacturing Company in Newry on the Little River in 1893. W.L. Jordon built another textile plant and mill village east of Seneca. This village has been called Jordania, Londsdale, and Utica as the ownership of the plant changed. The J. P. Stevens Plant, which was later called the Westpoint Stevens Plant, was a large integrated textile mill built on Lake Hartwell. Many other textile mills came to the area. These plants were the main industry for Seneca for the first half of the twentieth century. Nearly all these textile plants have been closed.
With the construction of Lake Hartwell in 1963, Lake Keowee in 1971, and Lake Jocassee in 1974, Seneca and the area saw dramatic changes. The recreation provided by the lakes and other attractions such as nearby Clemson University brought many retirees from other parts of the country. Retirement communities have been built in the area.
Today Seneca and the Lake Keowee area are known for a Great Relocation Area, Luxury Lake Front Homes, recreation, fishing and boating, all situated at the Foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, with a beautiful Lake Setting.
Visit Historic Ram Cat Alley in Downtown Seneca and see the local businesses lining the newly renovated area!
Join us for a relaxing evening on Lake Keowee and see if you can leave!
