Cheraw to Crowburk - Chesterfield & Lancaster

">

">

">

">

The railroad was named for the two counties for which is was planned to provide service.  The railroad never made it to Lancaster County however.  As construction progressed, funds ran out as the railroad approached the community of Crowburk to the west of Pageland.  Pageland experienced a boom due to railroad traffic when the line arrived.  Once the railroad reached Pageland in 1904, various businesses, including the Blakeney Hotel (pictured above), sprang up along the tracks in order to serve travelers.  The Pageland train depot was located on North Sycamore Street near East Godfrey Street.  Seaboard Air Line was affiliated with the line and apparently managed for a period until 1940.  The railroad was run by others for a few years after that and then was abandoned and the tracks were removed.  Some small sections of track did survive and can be located with a bit of investigation.  Supposedly track does still exist near a mine in Crowburk.  From Cheraw on the SAL, the line went through Excelsior, Thompson, Evans Mill, Rivers, Chesterfield, Caloe, Ruby, Mt. Croghan, Maynards, Guess, Magnums, Pageland and ending in Crowburk.

The Blakeney Hotel in Pageland.  The building used to have a balcony on the front.  The railroad ran behind the hotel and was a primary reason for it being built.  (Photo courtesy of Whit Whitaker).

Thanks to Whit Whitaker for the top picture on this page.

At Mt. Croghan, the old ROW has been maintained to provide access to farm fields.  This is one of the only places that the old ROW can be made out.