Ferguson

Overview

Cypress, scrip and a lake

Ferguson was built to cut the old-growth bald cypress of the Santee River swamps. In 1881 two Chicago lumbermen, Francis Beidler and Benjamin F. Ferguson, formed the Santee River Cypress Lumber Company and bought land across the Congaree, Wateree and Santee basin, some of it for $2 an acre. A 2013 account puts the purchase at more than 165,000 acres; a University of South Carolina historian, quoted in 2020, says close to 200,000. On the Santee they built a mill and a town for its workers and named it for Ferguson.

It was a well-built company town. Wikipedia lists paved streets, indoor plumbing and coal-gas street lights; a railroad historian quoted in 2013 adds a school, a hospital, a hotel and houses for the 350 workers and their families, with fences by the 1910s. The USC historian puts the town's peak population much higher, at about 2,500. The kiln turned out creosote-treated railroad ties. The workers were paid in scrip that only the company store would take, and the town kept to itself, shipping its logs by rail to Eutawville and Cross.

The company closed its Ferguson operations in 1915, and the post office followed in 1917. A University of South Carolina oral history of 2020 dates the business to the early 1890s through the late 1910s and the town to 1890 through 1940, and its historian says the company was out of business by 1920. Parts of the company's land later became Congaree National Park. The Santee Dam was finished downstream in November 1941, and Lake Marion's shallow water covered the townsite. Most of it is still under the lake.

Timeline

A mill town on the Santee

1. 1881Chicago lumbermen Francis Beidler and Benjamin F. Ferguson found the Santee River Cypress Lumber Company. It buys more than 165,000 acres along the Congaree, Wateree and Santee, some for as little as $2 an acre; a USC historian puts the holdings at close to 200,000 acres.
2. 1880sThe partners build a company town on the Santee, named Ferguson, with paved streets, indoor plumbing and coal-gas street lights. Sawmills and a kiln for creosote-treated railroad ties follow.
3. 1890The post office opens.
4. 1890s–1910sAccounts of the town's size differ: a railroad historian counts houses for 350 workers and their families, and a USC historian puts the peak population at about 2,500. They are paid in company scrip, good only at the company store; the coins read Santee Mercantile Co. Logs go out by rail to Eutawville and Cross.
5. 1915The company shuts down its Ferguson operations and lays off the workers. The town empties. A USC historian says the company was out of business by 1920.
6. 1917The post office closes.
7. 1930sA boy from Eutawville plays among the company's abandoned offices, where the records were left in the desks, as he recalled in a 2020 oral history.
8. Nov 1941The Santee Dam is completed downstream, and Lake Marion rises over the townsite. Trees were cut and anchored in place rather than cleared.
9. 2007–2008A drought lowers the lake enough for four-wheelers to reach the island. Looting follows, and signs go up against driving four-wheelers across the lakebed.
10. 2013, 2019Paddlers visit the kiln on Ferguson Island. By 2019 more of its walls and roof have fallen.
11. May 2020A photo from the water shows the concrete kiln and a row of piers standing on the island's edge.

What's left

The kiln on Ferguson Island

What stands above water is on Ferguson Island, a small wooded island just north of Ferguson Landing. A row of cypress trees hides the ruins from the landing. The main ruin is the lumber kiln on the north side of the island. In April 2013 a paddler found the lake high, saw waves breaking on old pilings out in the water, and called the kiln a "hulking" reminder of the town. Returning in July 2019, he found that more of its outer walls and roof had collapsed since 2013, and he passed an overgrown round brick structure with arched windows and brick ruins lining the island's banks. Where his maps put the main mill and the houses, there was only water. A paddling report posted in 2016 estimated that about 30 percent of the kiln had already fallen.

The photo above, taken from the water on May 2, 2020, is the newest dated look we found. It shows the roofless concrete kiln and a row of concrete piers at the island's edge, with a rusted iron piece breaking the surface in front.

How much shows depends on the lake. In the 2007–2008 drought the water fell far enough for people to take four-wheelers out to the island. Looting of the exposed sites followed. A 2013 account, citing a local article, says signs were posted against driving across the lakebed and that everything on the island, from bricks to pottery, is under the protection of the South Carolina Public Service Authority.

The 1920 Eutawville sheet below shows Ferguson on the south bank of the Santee, a cluster of buildings by the river with a rail line running in. The 1943 sheet no longer names Ferguson: a new shoreline is drawn south of the old townsite, and the county line still traces the old river channel. The 1990 sheet shows that channel winding through Lake Marion just north of the center of the crop, with Sixteen Island to the east and Eutaw Springs on the shore to the south.

• Concrete lumber kiln, partly collapsed (2019; standing in a 2020 photo)
• Concrete piers at the island's edge (2020 photo)
• Round brick structure with arched windows (2019)
• Brick ruins along the island's banks (2019)
• Pilings offshore, visible as breakers (2013)

Historic maps

Ferguson on USGS maps, 1920–1990

Crops from the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection, centered on the townsite. Each sheet shows what surveyors mapped that year; compare them with today's topo and aerial on this page.

19201:48,00019431:62,50019901:100,000

Map & directions

Getting there

Eutawville is the nearest town. Both routes follow SC 45 and SC 6 to Fredcon Road and end at the end of Ferguson Landing Way, about half a mile south of the island. Paddlers in 2019 put in at Ferguson Landing in Eutaw Springs. We have not confirmed who runs the landing or whether it charges a fee. From Charleston, take I-26 to exit 177.

Base map: USGS The National Map (public domain). Routes: OSRM on © OpenStreetMap contributors data (ODbL), computed October 2026. Times assume dry roads.

Directions go to the end of Ferguson Landing Way, the closest road to the island, where the drive ends, not to the townsite.

Photos

Ferguson in photos and maps

The kiln and concrete piers on Ferguson Island, May 2, 2020Ferguson on the Santee on the 1920 USGS Eutawville sheet

Visitor reports

Been to Ferguson?

Been there lately? Tell the next visitor what you found: whether you could get in, the state of the road and what's still standing. Photos are welcome. We read every report before it appears here.

Thanks. Your report reached us, and we'll read it before it goes on the page.

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Nearby

Other sites near Ferguson

Straight-line distance from the townsite to other mapped sites in our South Carolina index.

• Strawberry Chapel and Childsbury Town Site30.8 mi SE · Berkeley
• Dorchester34.1 mi S · Dorchester
• Clementia47.3 mi S · Charleston
• Springville67.0 mi N · Darlington
• Bookman71.1 mi NW · Richland
• Dunbarton74.8 mi W · Barnwell
• Meyers Mill78.8 mi W · Barnwell
• Alston81.7 mi NW · Fairfield

Sources

Sources and credits

1. Wikipedia, "Ferguson, South Carolina" (revision of September 20, 2026): Beidler and Ferguson, the 1881 company, 165,000 acres at as little as $2, the town's streets, plumbing and gas lights, the creosote kiln, 350 workers paid in scrip, the 1890 and 1917 post office dates, the 1915 shutdown, the lake covering the site, coordinates and the 72 ft GNIS elevation.
2. Wikipedia, "Lake Marion (South Carolina)" (revision of October 5, 2026): the Santee Dam of November 1941 and Santee Cooper.
3. University of South Carolina, "Memories of a drowned town", May 7, 2020: Richard Mims's memories of the abandoned offices in the 1930s, the town dated 1890 to 1940, the business from the early 1890s to the late 1910s, the trees anchored in place, the link to Congaree National Park, historian Jessica Elfenbein's figures of close to 200,000 acres and a peak population of about 2,500, and the company out of business by 1920.
4. Random Connections, "The Ghost Towns of Lake Marion, Part 2 – Ferguson", posted April 17, 2013: a paddling visit at high water, the kiln on the north end, pilings offshore, the school, hospital and hotel (quoting railroad historian Tom Fetters), rail to Eutawville and Cross, the 2007–2008 drought, looting, the four-wheeler signs and Santee Cooper's protection of the island's artifacts (citing a local article).
5. Random Connections, "Return to Ferguson", posted July 18, 2019: the put-in at Ferguson Landing, the trees screening the ruins, more of the kiln collapsed, the round brick structure, brick ruins along the banks, wind and whitecaps, the capsized pontoon boat.
6. Paddling.com, "Lake Marion in South Carolina", posted September 21, 2016: a paddle to Ferguson Island, about 30 percent of the kiln fallen, submerged broken-off trees.
7. Wikimedia Commons, "Ferguson, SC.jpg", taken May 2, 2020: the kiln and piers from the water.
8. USGS GNIS, "Ferguson (historical)", feature 1242618, and "Ferguson Landing," feature 1231280: locations.
9. Historic maps: USGS Eutawville 1920 and 1943 and Saint George 1990 sheets. Elevation: USGS 3D Elevation Program point query. Routes: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, October 24, 2026.

Photo and map credits

• The kiln and concrete piers on Ferguson Island, May 2, 2020: Evanoco, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
• Ferguson on the Santee on the 1920 USGS Eutawville sheet: U.S. Geological Survey, USGS catalog, Public domain
• Topo map, area base map and aerial imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain).
• Historic maps: USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (public domain): Eutawville 1920, 1:48,000; Eutawville 1943, 1:62,500; Saint George 1990, 1:100,000.