Location:

The City of Hardeeville is located at the southern end of Jasper County, within the Lowcountry Region of South Carolina. The city is 15 miles south of the Town of Ridgeland, which is the county seat, fifteen miles north of Savannah Georgia, and 22 miles west of Hilton Head Island. Hardeeville is bisected by Interstate 95, the principal north-south corridor for the east coast of the United States, and includes two interchanges along the interstate, Exit 5, and Exit 8. Several major roadways intersect within the city, including US highways 17, 278, and 321. The CSX Railroad also passes through Hardeeville.

Historical Background:

In the 1700's, the area that now encompasses Jasper County was known as the "back country" of Beaufort District, part of St. Peter's Parish. Rice formed the basis of Jasper County's economy at that time with extensive plantations along the Savannah River. This pattern of development, in which families with vast wealth controlled enormous tracks of land along river frontage, did not lend itself to the formation of towns. Robert Johnson, the first royal governor of the colony, sought to change this situation by creating a series of townships throughout the backcountry. Purrysburg was the principal township in Jasper County. Jean Pierre Purry, of Neufchatel, Switzerland, settled a group of poor Swiss Protestants in the 1730's. The settlement, located along the Savannah River just to the west of present-day Hardeeville, never became a great success. The Savannah River was not easily navigable at that spot, and it was not a healthful place for the settlers, many of whom moved to other parts of South Carolina and Georgia. A few of the colony's citizens moved a few miles to the northeast, to slightly higher ground away from the river. Here, they gave their first settlement the name of "Switzerland". Located about five miles south of Ridgeland on US Hwy. 17, this small community is still known by that name.

As Purrysburg declined, the village of Hardeeville came into being as a location for the summer homes of planters along the New and Savannah Rivers. The names of some of these planters were Cheves, Screven, Barnwell, Izard, Rutledge, Blake, Hardee, Lynah, and Hugar. Thomas and Pearson Hardee, for whom the town was named, came to St. Peter's parish from North Carolina around 1800. They owned Hardee Plantation, which is now part of Delta Plantation. The Delta Plantation house is located on the old Hardee Plantation lands. About three-quarters of a mile northwest of the house grounds is the brick-enclosed Hardee family cemetery.

The village of Hardeeville enjoyed a leisurely existence as a summer resort until the Civil War. In January of 1865, Union troops led by General Sherman marched through the region and set fires that destroyed much of the area. The only buildings in the village that escaped the fires were two homes (the Williams home and the Martin home, neither of which are still standing), and the Methodist Church, which had been pressed into service as a hospital.

The Civil War marked the end of large-scale rice agriculture along the Savannah River, and much of the land that comprised these plantations was broken up into parcels. New money arrived in the late 19th century to reconsolidate the former plantation lands. Some of these outsiders sought recreation and sport; two notable examples being the Pineland Club, which was South Carolina's first hunt club, and the Okeetee Club, whose large landholdings lie just to the north of Hardeeville.

An even more powerful force arrived when large timber companies began buying up former agricultural lands. The Argent Lumber Company, based in Hardeeville, arose in the early 20th century. H.W. Philips of Suffolk, Virginia, secured logging rights to the timber on the Okeetee Club, and contracted with the Garysburg Manufacturing Company of Garysburg, North Carolina, to mill the lumber in 1916. The Argent Lumber Company had a planing mill, dry kiln, and storage shed along the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Hardeeville. At the same time, Argent created a network of railroads throughout the county to bring the lumber from remote tracts. These railroad lines used narrow-gauge engines, and Argent's Engine Number 7 remains on permanent display at the Hardeeville City Hall. Several Argent mill houses remain in the County, moved away when Union-Camp Corporation purchased the Argent properties in the late 1950's.

At the same time, Argent created a network of railroads throughout the county to bring the lumber from remote tracts. These railroad lines used narrow-gauge engines, and Argent's Engine Number 7 remains on permanent display at the Hardeeville City Hall. Several Argent mill houses remain in the County, moved away when Union-Camp Corporation purchased the Argent properties in the late 1950's.

Hardeeville was divided between Jasper and Beaufort Counties when Jasper Country was created in 1912. The town did not enter Jasper County fully until after World War II. The major influences of growth in Hardeeville during this century include the railroad, the timer industry and, later, the development of two major highways, US Highway 17, (the "Coastal Highway) and Interstate 95. Today, tourism plays a vital role in the economy as north and southbound travelers frequent the restaurants, gasoline stations and overnight lodging accommodations in Hardeeville. Once a feasible resort for antebellum planters, the City of Hardeeville has grown from a small community supported by an agricultural economy to the most populous town in Jasper County. Over the years, Hardeeville has seen considerable expansion in services and other businesses that have supported both employment and population growth. Author: Low Country Council of Governments, PO Box 98, Point South, South Carolina 29945.

It is most appropriate at this juncture to let the reader know that the next century of the History of Hardeeville is being written as you read this.

As a very special treat for our visitors we have a link for you where you can read a history of Jasper County and all the little hamlets and villages that make up the history and present of this still unspoiled gem in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Come and visit with us the "Moving Finger of Jasper" by Grace Fox Perry. Please take time to relax and enjoy this fascinating history and story.

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