For Some, Boswell's Beach Was "Hallowed Ground"

The final Kingstree Live of the summer drew a large crowd to the depot August 10. After July's Kingstree Live, we looked at the Wee Nee Beach Pavilion and its 20-year run as Kingstree's playground on Black River. It was, however, not the river's only playground.

All photos from August Kingstree Live

Located five miles from Kingstree, off what is now Martin Luther King, Jr. Highway, Boswell's Beach offered a dance pavilion and a dining room, which were used regularly by Kingstree residents, particularly during the 1920s and 1930s. Located at a point where Black River makes a sharp turn,  leaving a wide expanse of sandy beach on the opposite side of the river, the property was developed by Charles William Boswell, a Clarendon County native who resided in Salters. Mr. Boswell worked as assistant cashier for the Bank of Williamsburg until its failure in the 1920s. He then worked as telegraph operator for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.

Before Boswell took possession, the beach had for years been used as a seine yard by area fishermen and had played its role in both the American Revolution and the Civil War, according to an article, published in the News & Courier on July 1, 1928. This article noted that stories passed down from generation to generation told that during the Battle of the Lower Bridge in March 1781, Francis Marion had his men stationed all along the river from the bridge to the seine yard. Marion's men burned the bridge, and a large number of British troops were killed that day by McCottry's Rifles. Legend says their bodies were dumped into Robinson's Hole, a deep hole in the river.

During the Civil War, Col. James Pressley's men also lined the bank to keep Potter's Raiders away from Kingstree, which they, too, accomplished by burning the bridge. And because of these two events, many locals considered the area from Boswell's Beach to the bridge to be hallowed ground.

The article continued, "Today it is called 'Boswell's Beach.' People from near and far come there to enjoy the river in more ways than one. It is a good bathing spot. Fishing is desirable. There are the advantages of a country club, and many pleasant dances are held here. The wide white beach just across the river is an ideal spot for the frolic of little children. But to many it is still the old seine yard."

The first mention I have found of Boswell's Beach in a news account was in the Charleston Evening Post in August 1924. It read, "Boswell's Beach on Black River is proving itself an attractive resort." During the 1920s, regular Tuesday evening dances were held there, with many Friday night dances as well. Picnics, bridge parties, fish suppers, swimming parties, and wiener roasts were also popular events. Some "society items" in statewide newspapers on occasion called it "Boswell's Country Club." Bands such as the Carolina Ramblers, the Junior Collegiates, and the local high school orchestra provided music for the many dances held at Boswell's. C.W Boswell, Jr., better known as "Soup," led a small orchestra that often performed at these dances. Sadly, he was found shot to death near St. Stephens in November 1928.

On at least two occasions, Boswell's Beach played a role in scavenger hunt parties. In October 1926, Lena Whittle, a faculty member at the Kingstree school, entertained her co-workers at such a party which began at the home of Mrs. L.D. Rodgers. Clues were distributed at Mrs. Rodgers' home and the guests then took their automobiles throughout Kingstree searching for other clues which eventually led them back to the piazza at the Rodgers' home, where the prize box of candy was discovered by Marion McFadden. Afterward, everyone gathered at Boswell's Beach for a picnic and marshmallow roast around a bonfire. 

In January 1927, 50 college students gathered at the home of J.C. Kinder, where they, too, were given clues which led them first to the river bridge, then to the cemetery, the athletic field, the cafe, and finally to Boswell's Beach, where Jack Meadors discovered the prize, which also happened to be a box of candy. They, too, enjoyed a marshmallow roast around a bonfire on the beach after their hunt.

Sarah Nunnally, the home demonstration agent for Williamsburg County, staged a day-camp for boys and girls at Boswell's Beach in 1925. 

In August 1925, the Kingstree Kiwanis Club was organized with 50 members in a meeting at Boswell's Beach. W.H. Welch was elected the first president of the club. The Kingstree Chamber of Commerce held twice yearly membership meetings at the Beach and also entertained the tobacco warehousemen who came to town each summer to work the tobacco market. Churches held their annual picnics there, and such businesses as Consolidated Telephone and GMAC often held meetings there, as well. 

In January 1930, C.W. Boswell suffered a stroke while on his way back home from an evening in Florence. Boswell became ill while driving, and as his companion did not drive, they flagged down a cabbage truck which took him back to Florence to the hospital, where he died about 10 minutes after being admitted. He was 56 years old at the time of his death. 

Boswell's Beach continued operation under the management of Charlie Blakely, but it seems from newspaper reports that during the 1930s, it became more of a meeting and dinner venue than a place for picnics, parties, and dances.

During those years, the American Legion, the Kiwanis, the Kingstree Chamber, the Williamsburg County Medical Association, Carolina Power & Light, the Pee Dee Medical Association, the staff at Kelley Sanatorium, and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad all held regular supper meetings at Boswell's Beach.

Perhaps the one event that made Boswell's Beach known throughout the state was D.J. Epps' twice yearly pine bark stew and barbecue feasts. In spring and fall, Mr. Epps invited 150 to 300 of his friends from all over the state to enjoy barbecue and his very famous pine bark stew. These dinners started sometime in the nineteen-teens when they were held in one of the warehouses and were still going strong in the 1930s.

There was also an artesian well at Boswell's Beach, which in 1928, Clemson College had analyzed and found to be pure water containing magnesium and sulphur. One of my own earliest memories involves that well. During the ice storm of December 1958, we were staying with my grandparents, who lived about two miles from Boswell's Beach. They had heat but no water, so my mother and  grandfather went to Boswell's to fill up several jugs from the well. As my grandfather rarely drove over 20 miles an hour in the best of times, it was little wonder that it seemed to my young mind that it took them hours to bring the water back. It probably did.