Local History Talks: "The Social and Religious Climate of the Old Ninety-Six District Before the American Revolution" with Dr. Timothy Drake

Please join us on Thursday, June 13th when we welcome guest speaker, Dr. Timothy Drake, who will present us with The Social and Religious Climate of the Old Ninety-Six District Before the American Revolution.

In the late colonial period, the Ninety Six District was a judicial district established in the SC backcountry which encompassed much of the west-central part of the colony. Into this District came many new immigrants from Scotland, Northern Ireland, France, Germany, and England, along with a considerable number of families from Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. The Calhoun and Pickens families that later settled in the Pendleton District (on and near what was to become Clemson) were among the first Pennsylvania / Virginia families who settled within the Ninety Six District.

The purpose of this presentation is to give a better understanding of the everyday lives of these early settlers along with some of their commonly-held beliefs and traditions, many of which still persist in their descendants to the current day. 

Dr. Timothy Drake is the State's Entomologist and the assistant director in Clemson’s Division of Regulatory and Public Service Programs. In addition to being an educator, he is also a preservationist and local historian. He has more than 40 years of experience working with historic preservation efforts across the state and has served for several years on the Anderson County Museum advisory committee. He is current president of the Belton Museum Association, a member of the Pendleton Farmers Society, the Sons of the American Revolution and the Pendleton Historic Foundation. He has served as vice president of the Pickens County Historical Society.

Local History Talks is a program happening on the second Thursday's in February, April, June, August, and October. Our guest speakers will discuss interesting local history topics within the Upstate of South Carolina.