Oconee County, nestled in the foothills of the Upstate, possesses a rich history intertwined with its geography, which extends from the fertile Cherokee lands along the waters of the Tugaloo tothe mountain forests of the churning Chattooga River. Equal to the challenges of the region's harshyet beautiful terrain, the people of Oconee Countyentered the 20th century with an agrarian economyestablished by Revolutionary War veterans, cultivatedby German settlers, brutalized by the events from theCivil War, and advanced in part by educators from the county's military institute, Clemson College.
In this unique compilation, Oconee native Piper Peters Aheron incorporates photographs from local groups and families with seldom-seen images from the archives of the Oconee County Library, the Clemson University Library, and the South Caroliniana Library to create a fascinating look at the optimism and the hardships, the architecture and the landscape of rural, communal life from Brasstown to Stamp Creek, from Mountain Rest to Madison, and from West Union to Newry and beyond. Oconee County offers a visual tour of yesteryear, an era of unpaved Main Streets, moonshine distilleries, and horse-drawn wagons. Whether a longtime resident or a newcomer to the area, every reader will be intrigued by the many changes the region has undergone over the last hundred years.