Historical Sites

Col. Charles McDowell of North Carolina and his Overmountain Men met with Col. Elijah Clarke of Georgia and two local Spartan Regiment of Militia companies at Cherokee Ford. They intended to prevent British Major Patrick Ferguson and his 1000 Loyalists from crossing the Ford into North Carolina. Hearing of nearby Fort Thicketty, a Loyalist stronghold, McDowell detached Col. Clarke with some Overmountain Men and the Spartan Regiment to capture the fort. The raid was successful.

199 Wolf Den Lane, Gaffney, SC 29340

In 1780, the Trail to Dogwood Springs was used as a route for Patriot forces to traverse the area during the Revolutionary War. It served as an escape route for American troops retreating from British forces, making it strategically important.

Corner of College Drive and Union Street, Gaffney, SC

Fords, or river crossings, were strategic intersections where settlements and commerce grew. Grindal Shoals, at the time of the Revolutionary War, was used by Brigadier General Daniel Morgan’s “Flying Army” and British Legion Colonel Banastre Tarleton’s forces just before the Battle of Cowpens. The community of Greater Grindal Shoals was decimated.

On the Pacolet River about a hundred yards upstream from the Highway 18 bridge

This cemetery contains memorials for Greater Grindal Shoals pioneers, the early Backcountry of South Carolina. Early settler names are Whelchel, Ashworth, Barnes, Blanton, Collins, and Ownby. Zebulon Vance Whelchel (1901-1973), for whom Lake Whelchel in Gaffney is named, is a direct descendant of early pioneer Martha Ann Stockton Whelchel (1732-1816), buried in this cemetery. Lake Whelchel is located on the Overmountain Trail of Revolutionary War fame.

Take Brickhouse Road out of Gaffney, turn right onto Spring Lake Road, and go to the end of the road at the cul-du-sac.

During the 18th century, Smith’s Ford (named for owner William Smith) was an important crossing and trade link with the Cherokees in the Tryon Mountains to the west. Patriot Col. Charles McDowell’s Overmountain Men used this crossing in 1780, sending raiders to attack Loyalists and British at Musgrove’s Mill. Also, the same year, Patriot Brigadier General Thomas Sumter, severely wounded at the Battle of Blackstock’s Farm, was carried in a litter tied between two horses over this ford into the mountains to avoid capture by British Colonel Tarleton’s pursuers.

• 1090-1098 Smith’s Ford Road, Gaffney, SC 29340. 
• 13217 Smithford Road, Hickory Grove, SC 29717, on the east side of the Broad River at Smith’s Farm.

John Nuckolls, Sr. (1732-1780) settled this land around 1767, built a farm, raised his family, and was murdered by Loyalists at McKown’s Mill nearby in 1780. Nuckolls fought the Cherokees to make the Grindal Shoals community safe for his family and pioneer neighbors. He was known as a stout Whig or American Patriot; thus, his farm became known as Whig Hill.

Historical Marker located at Union Highway (Hwy. 18) to Old Racetrack Road, Gaffney, SC