Guess what S.C. town - Ridgeway

Ridgeway, S.C.

Caroline in the City correctly identified the location of the tiny Police Station in the "Guess what S.C.?" entry on the blog and Frankie on Facebook. My entries roll over to Facebook and there was a separate discussion there. The Police Station is billed as the world's smallest Police Station and was in use until the 1990's.

Larger resolution files here. Ridgeway, S.C. is in Fairfield County and I was tickled to see they are using my pictures on their web site.

Originally known as New Town, Ridgeway obtained its present name when the owners of the Charlotte and South Carolina Railway decided not to build the railroad on the Camden route, but rather to use the "ridge way." The railroad spurred growth of the town.

The first telegraph line was completed in the Ridgeway area in 1855 with wires being stretched from tree to tree. The telegraph played an important role in the civil war as did the town itself.

The earliest settlers of the Ridgeway area came south in the late 1700's from Virginia after the Revolutionary War. Others came north from Charleston in the early 1800's.

The light colored building houses a wonderful gift shop and upstairs Laura's Tearoom, which I was told you'd best have reservations for. Thanks to Caroline in the City whose original entry on Ridgeway sparked my interest in the first place and prompted the day trip last fall. I had a good meal in the Old Town Hall, bottom photo. It is a neat little historic town and made a worthwhile drive in the country.