Trenton, South Carolina History
The coming of the Charlotte, Columbia, and Augusta Railroad also saw the
establishment of the town of Trenton in the late 1860's. The area has been long
known as the Pine House community, a name derived from the "Piney Woods Tavern"
or "Pine House," which was a stagecoach way-station located nearby. It was here
that President George Washington dined in 1791 during his trip from Augusta to
Columbia. Today, a marker stands near the intersection of S.C. Highway 121, 19,
and 25 reporting his visit.
James Monroe Wise is thought to be the founder of Trenton, as he built the first
store and residence in 1870 (still standing on Wise Street,) and was
instrumental in developing the village. In 1877, a town charter was issued in
the name of Trenton, and the name of the post office was changed from Pine House
to Trenton the next year.
Also, plantation homes such as "Darby," and Col. Benjamin Hatcher's plantation
home on Highway 25, and "Marshfield" on Youngblood Road, still stand in Trenton.
Ebenezer Baptist Church, organized in 1871, is located on the corner of Wise
Street and Airport Road. Here the gravesite of Governor Benjamin Ryan (Pitchfork
Ben) Tillman, who was a United States Senator during the administration of
Woodrow Wilson, is peacefully nestled among weathered wrought iron fences and
moss-covered statuary.
The Ben Tillman Library was established in 1923 and houses Tillman's portrait
and many of the Senator's books and memorabilia. Tillman's old home site is
located near the town limits on Highway 121, north of the Pine House.
When welcome visitors step inside three other old churches, Trenton Methodist
(1874), Trenton Presbyterian Church (ca. 1875), and Our Savior Episcopal Church
(1882), they experience a quiet reverence surrounded by simple and lasting
tributes to devout inhabitants who carried the Christian banner for the Trenton
community.
