Though many may measure a state's significance by its larger cities, it is the
small towns of South Carolina that create the Palmetto State's distinct and
special identity in the South and in the country. Located near the Savannah River
in Anderson County and along South Carolina's Heritage Corridor, Iva is one
such town, for it is a community forged by the determination and industriousness
of a people whose values are based on a respect for family, church, and hard work.
In Around Iva, South Carolina, a collection of over 200 postcards and
photographs, many published here for the first time, you will tour one of the
Upstate's most historic areas, from Iva and Starr to Antreville and smaller
communities, such as Moffetsville, Due West, Lowndesville, Gregg Shoals, and
Harper's Ferry. The entire spectrum of small-town life unfolds in these historic
images, allowing you to experience life in the early part of the twentieth century
on the area farms, in the one-room schoolhouses, in the area churches, from
Baptist to Presbyterian, and along the unpaved streets that were crowded with
early textile mills, general stores, banks, barbershops, and gin houses.
This volume also introduces you to many of the area's more famous citizens, such
as Iva Cook, the daughter of founder Dr. Augustus G. Cook; Sam Wakefield, a
three-star general and military hero; Winston Metz, a prisoner of war in World
War II; along with many images of early ministers, teachers, town leaders, and
everyday citizens at work and at play.